A Doll’s House, Part 2
Actor’s Express
through September 30, 2018

It was quite an unusual theme in the late 1800’s when Henrik Ibsen put together this story about a woman who stood up for herself and took a hike, leaving her husband and kids to deal with life on their own. This sequel by Lucas Hnath is a co-production by Actor’s Express and the Aurora Theatre.

It is pretty poignant inasmuch as it relates to women standing up for their rights, even in these days. Freddie Ashley directs the show with an all-star cast. The story is about Nora (Tess Malis Kincaid), who walked out on her husband, Torvald (Rob Cleveland) some 15 years before. She ran off and sought to find herself, which she did as an author whose works were published under a nom de plume. It seems she faces some legal difficulties and has to impel Torvald to comply with some things to keep other things on track.

She calls at the house to be welcomed by the maid, Anne Marie (Deadre Moore) who may hear and see things from a different perspective, and may not wish to get stuck in the middle of a family feud. The daughter Emmy (Shelli Delgado) comes into the morass when she shows up and sees her mother after all those years. And, it is what she hears and sees that enters into the scene.

If you’ve heard Sinatra sing After You’ve Gone then you may think that is the message of this script. A very nice and easily working set by Isabel and Moriah Curley-Clay, and actions and reactions that may cause you to think of yesterday’s newscast. It isn’t one for the kiddies, but nobody gets physically harmed or abused. More info at Actors-Express.com

The Seagull
Serenbe Playhouse
through September 30, 2018

Anton Chekhov penned this work in the 1890s, which he thought was a comedy. It opened in 1896 in St. Petersburg to less than enthusiastic audiences. Chekhov pulled back and didn’t want it to get staged in Moscow. But, it was, and since then has gone on to play in venues around the world; regardless that the so-called humor is pretty dark, and often feels like an expression of life under Tsar Nicholas. It didn’t dissuade Chekhov from sticking to his writing and his second work, Uncle Vanya, was even more widely categorized as a comedy.

The play has been reworked many times, including an adaptation by Simon Stephens in 2017. This one is the adaptation of Yale graduate, Elizabeth Dinkova, who is also directing the production on the lake at Serenbe.

You meet up with an actress, Irina (Park Krausen), and her brother, Peter (Allan Edwards). Her daughter Constance is played by Maythinee Washington. A high end writer, Boris (Lee Osorio) enters into the family of distress and dysfunction. The other performers are Skye Passmore as Simon, Shannon McCarren as Nina and Brooke Owens as Masha.

The show is about these folks trying to deal with life, when life sometimes feel like something one might like to avoid. The seagull is an example of a creature who could be dead yet survive and mature. Not a likely situation for mere humans back in Mother Russia.

It is performed well and energetically, albeit is certainly not for the kiddies nor the faint of heart viewers. But, it is a Chekhov work. For info visit website at SerenbePlayhouse.com