Bluefield University Theatre Department will present Henrik Ibsen’s classic play “A Doll’s House” in Harman Auditorium on the Bluefield University campus February 21, 22, and 23 at 7:30 p.m. and February 24 at 3 p.m. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students and senior adults. Bluefield University faculty, staff, and students are free. There will be a post-performance panel discussion following each show examining the play’s historical context and its cultural significance in the 21stcentury.
Written in 1879, Henrik Ibsen’s “A Doll’s House” is considered a masterpiece of the Modern Realist movement. The play tells the story of Nora and Torvald Helmer. With a beautiful home, three loving children and a new position for Torvald as manager of the Joint Stock Bank the Helmers appear to be living a charmed existence—but all is not as it seems. Nora has gone from being her father’s pet to her husband’s prize…never learning what it means to be her own person. In a moment of despair, their seemingly perfect life comes crumbles into a lie and Nora is forced to make a life-altering choice—will she remain a possession hidden away in her doll’s house, or will she become a complete human being?
Nora is played by Bluefield University Theatre alumna Virginia Bird. Her husband Torvald is played by Graham High School student Brian Fisher. Sarah Minnix plays the role of Nora’s childhood friend Kristine Linde, Ed Fisher plays the role of Torvald’s old friend Dr. Rank, and Aaron Sudderth plays the secretive Nils Krogstad. Also, in the cast is Sharon Cobbler as the family nurse Annemarie, Staley Lyle as the maid Helene, and Robert Walls as a delivery man. The play is directed by BU Theatre faculty Charles M. Reese and Rebecca McCoy-Reese and stage-managed by BU students Andrew Viskup and Carrington Shelton.
This production of “A Doll’s House” will take advantage of the flexible seating in Harman Auditorium by presenting the play in an arena or in-the-round format. “We are constructing risers on the floor level that will place the audience around all four sides of the stage area. We tried this with our production of Doubt in 2017 and found it very effective,” says Reese. “It allows us to transform a large 600 seat auditorium into a very cozy performance space that will seat approximately 125 and will provide audience members with a much more intimate theatre experience.”
Following each performance, the cast and artistic team will be joined by members of the Bluefield University faculty to lead audience members in a panel discussion that will look at both the historical context of Ibsen’s play as well as considering its significance in the 21stcentury.