Stetson’s Second Stage Theatre Hosts ‘A Doll’s House, Part 2,’ opening Thursday

Stetson Today April 5, 2022
Graphic with four framed photos of theater actors in blue background
Graphic with four framed photos of actors in Second Stage Theatre
In “A Doll’s House, Part 2,” Nora returns to her family after spending 15 years apart from them. Pictured from left to right are, top, Jackson Gray and Delicia Bent, and, bottom, Liza Tananbaum and Hope Brown.

Stetson University continues its 116th season with Lucas Hnath’s “A Doll’s House, Part 2,” which will run Thursday through Sunday, April 7-10, at Stetson University’s Second Stage Theatre, located inside the Museum of Art, 600 N. Woodland Blvd., adjacent to the DeLand campus.

In “A Doll’s House, Part 2,” Hnath’s shrewd and stylish sequel of sorts, the audience is reintroduced to Nora Helmer, a wife and mother who demanded her independence in Henrik Ibsen’s 1879 drama, “A Doll’s House.”

The audience is greeted by the question: “What now?” Nora returns through the door she so deliberately closed 15 years prior, and the audience holds its breath anticipating the answer as she reengages with her estranged family. Each character in “A Doll’s House, Part 2” delivers important ideals about relationships and familial obligation while making the audience laugh with the show’s amusing wit and fervent pace.

“By writing a sequel to a 140-year-old piece that is the cornerstone of modern drama, Hnath has managed to capture and build upon the same questions, ideas and arguments Ibsen asked of audiences in 1879. While in some ways we have ‘advanced,’ this play reminds us that who we are (and have always been) is an amalgamation of complexities striving to survive in a world where the answers are seldom easy.”

The preceding quote from Director Trevin Cooper exudes his excitement for delving into this unique piece of drama with students at Second Stage Theatre. Cooper is an adjunct professor at Stetson University and has connected with students through Theatre History, Performance and Theatre Appreciation courses on campus. This is his directorial debut at Second Stage.

The cast includes Liza Tananbaum as Nora, William Jackson Gray as Torvald, Hope Brown as Anne Marie and Delicia Bent as Emmy.

Performances will take place April 7-9 at 8 p.m. and April 10 at 3 p.m. at Stetson Theatre Art’s Second Stage. Admission is free for all.

For more information or reservations, please call Stetson University’s Second Stage Theatre Arts box office at (386) 822-8700.