Nora by Ingmar Bergman – Westport Country Playhouse, Westport, CT, USA

The renowned Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen (1828-1906) wrote the play, A Doll’s House, which premiered in Copenhagen, Denmark on December 21, 1879 as a three-act play, and was considered to be quite controversial at the time due to its attitude toward marriage.

Nora with Liv Rooth and Lucas Hall

Swedish director, writer, producer Ingmar Bergman (1918-2007), adapted the play and presented it as Nora in 1981providing audiences with another take on this dark Henrik Ibsen play that challenges society’s mores.

With such an impressive pedigree and history behind the Ibsen and Bergman-adapted play, one might wonder what more could be done for a play that was written 135 years ago; yet Director David Kennedy was clearly up for, and met the challenge head on, for the third play in the Westport Country Playhouse 2014 season with his interpretation, which runs without an intermission.

The set design by Kristen Robinson captures and successfully utilizes minimalistic Scandinavian design, which allows the audience to focus on the five characters whose lives unfold over three days during the Christmas season.

Nora with Liv Rooth and Lucas Hall

Upon initial viewing, the lives of Nora, an attractive yet somewhat vapid and childlike housewife, (played by Liv Rooth), and her attractive, successful, banker husband, Torvald, whose career is on the rise, (played by Lucas Hall), appear to be as bright as the ornaments on the Christmas tree and as perfect as the beautifully wrapped gifts piled high around it.  It is only upon closer inspection as the audience watches the interaction between Nora and Torvald, watch how their characters unfold, and view their interaction with their stream of visitors (Shawn Fagan as the bank employee Krogstad, Stephanie Janssen as Mrs. Linde, a former school friend of Nora’s, and longtime family friend, Dr. Rank played by LeRoy McClain), that one sees and senses the many fractures and cracks in the façade of their marriage.

Nora – Stephanie Janssen, LeRoy McClain, and Liv Rooth

Old friendships and past lives entwined, long kept secrets and secrets threatened to be exposed, prove to be the undoing of Nora’s and Torwald’s marriage. The ending is shocking, brave, bold, and gives new life to the play, Nora.

Note: The play contains adult content and nudity.

The Cast   

Nora runs from July 15 – August 2, 2014. Performances are held on Tuesdays at 8:00 pm, Wednesdays at 2:00 pm and 8:00 pm, Thursdays and Fridays at 8:00 pm, Saturdays at 3:00 pm and 8:00 pm, and Sundays at 3:00 pm.

Nora with Liv Rooth and LeRoy McClain

For information on the play or to purchase tickets, please call the box office at 203-227-4177 or call the toll-free number at 888-927-7529, or visit them on the website at www.WestportPlayhouse.org.

The Westport Country Playhouse Box Office is open during Performance Days Tuesday through Friday from 12:00 pm until 8:30 pm, Saturday from 11:00 am until 8:30 pm, Sunday from 11:00 am until 3:30 pm, and is closed on Monday. Non-Performance Days, the Box Office is open Tuesday through Friday from 12:00 pm until 6:00 pm, and is closed on Monday.

Nora – Lucas Hall and Liv Rooth

The Westport Country Playhouse named as "Theatre Company of the Year" in December 2013 by The Wall Street Journal, opened in the 1930s in a transformed 1835 cow barn, which has, and continues to attract, a "who’s who" of prominent actors. Looking at the framed posters of past shows that line the lobby walls was like entering an encyclopedia of the arts. A few of the many renowned actors who have appeared on the stage there include Ethyl Barrymore, Dorothy and Lillian Gish, Tallulah Bankhead, Gloria Swanson, Don Ameche, Hume Cronin and Jessica Tandy, Jane Fonda, Danny Aiello, Blythe Danner, Jill Clayburgh, Richard Dreyfus, Whoopi Goldberg, Liza Minnelli, Bernadette Peters, Lynn Redgrave, Gene Wilder, and Westport residents Joanne Woodward and Paul Newman.

Nora with Lucas Hall and Liv Rooth

"Westport Country Playhouse, a not-for-profit theater, serves as a cultural nexus for patrons, artists and students and is a treasured resource for the State of Connecticut.  There are no boundaries to the creative thinking for future seasons or the kinds of audiences and excitement for theater that Westport Country Playhouse can build."

For information on upcoming events and other performances, please visit the website: www.WestportPlayhouse.org.

Upcoming Performances  

Westport Country Playhouse  
25 Powers Court
Westport, Connecticut  06880
United States
Box Office:     +1-203-227-4177
Toll-Free:       +1-888-927-7529
Fax:                 +1-203-454-3239
Box Office:     +1-203-227-4177
Website:         www.WestportPlayhouse.org
Facebook:       www.Facebook/WestportCountryPlayhouse

Follow the Westport Country Playhouse on Facebook at www.Facebook/WestportCountryPlayhouse

Follow Luxury Experience on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/LuxuryExperience

© July 2014. Luxury Experience. www.LuxuryExperience.com.  All rights reserved.