Tenth Anniversary Season
A D O L L’ S H O U S E, P A R T 2
by Lucas Hnath
Directed by Kirk Jackson
with
Allen McCullough, Gaia Visnar, Janis Young & Randolyn Zinn
CAST (in order of appearance)
Anne Marie……………………….…Janis Young
Nora….…………………………...Randolyn Zinn
Torvald…………………..…..Allen McCullough
Emmy…………………………………Gaia Visnar
Set Design: McCzinn & Co.
Set Construction: Chase McIntosh, Phoenix Pedroso, Preston Niles & McCzinn& Co.
Scene Painting: Seancolin Hankins & Christina Hankins
Costume Consultant: Sarabell Wrigley
Stage Manager: Florence Gill
Running Crew: Daniela Naranjo-Zarate
Intern/Emmy understudy: Elizabeth Kenney
DIRECTOR’S NOTE
“From below, the sound of a door slamming shut” is how Henrik Ibsen’s audacious convention-breaking 1879 play A Doll’s House ends. Dubbed “the door slam heard round the world”, it signaled the emergence of Ibsen as a (reluctant) proto-feminist. However, Nora’s liberation from her stifling marriage was received as a threat to middle class values, and Ibsen was forced to create an alternate ending wherein Nora breaks down in tears and vows to stay for the children’s sake - in order for the play to be produced in Germany.
“The room is empty. And silent. Silent and empty for a while. Until…there’s a knock at the door” is how Lucas Hnath’s audacious convention-breaking 2017 play A Doll’s House, Part 2 begins. That silence is the time-lapse of fifteen years since Nora departed, as well as the 140 years since Ibsen set her free.
“I knew it had to start with a knock at the door, because that made me laugh,” says Hnath. And though the “play came out of such a love and appreciation of Ibsen’s work,” Hnath fashioned another play that stands on its own. So, while prior knowledge of the original may yield insight, it is not necessary to enjoy “part 2”. The impulse originated the moment he casually jotted the title, A Doll’s House, Part 2 on a piece of paper and it made him laugh.
It’s no surprise then that this revisited classic drama is now a very witty, smart and emotionally bittersweet experience. Whereas in Ibsen’s play it takes several acts for the characters to finally slough off convention and allow themselves to debate their points; here, they are all debate, and you may well find yourself swayed first by one person’s argument and then another. Ultimately, it’s a play about hearing those arguments, about listening to those other points of view. And isn’t that what our world needs now? -- Kirk Jackson 5.24.21
Special Thanks: Monique Vukovic, Rocky Friedman Vargas & Michael Broadhurst, Karen Trott & Peter Herdrich, Jane Sobel, Timmy Bullock, Cinda Morse, Benjamin Wickett, Jasper Hickson, Richard MacPike.
LUCAS HNATH (Playwright) Hnath’s work as a playwright includes A Doll’s House, Part 2; Hillary and Clinton; Red Speedo; The Christians; A Public Reading of an Unproduced Screenplay About the Death of Walt Disney; Isaac’s Eye; and Death Tax. His work has been produced nationally and internationally, including at Playwrights Horizons, New York Theatre Workshop, Soho Rep, Actors Theatre of Louisville/Humana Festival of New Plays, Ensemble Studio Theatre, Mark Taper Forum, Steppenwolf Theatre, South Coast Repertory, Royal Court Theatre, and on Broadway at the John Golden Theater. He is a member of Ensemble Studio Theatre and a resident of New Dramatists. His plays are published by Dramatists Plays Service, Playscripts, Nick Hern Books, Overlook Press, and Theatre Communications Group. Lucas Hnath is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Dramatic Writing. He holds both a B.F.A. and M.F.A. from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts.
KIRK JACKSON (Director) For LRT Kirk played matriarch Gaga in Lucy’s Wedding and Uncle Beattie in Lucy Caldwell’s (Irish) Three Sisters. He directs plays and operas, most recently at Hubbard Hall: Stupid F#*king Bird (an adaptation of The Seagull), A Walk in the Woods, The Book Club Play, Rigoletto, and Gianni Schicchi. He develops and directs original solo work, including Fear of Heights by Kevin Flynn at White Heron Theater in Nantucket, and husband Oliver Wadsworth’s The Tarnation of Russell Colvin, here in Vermont and New York. In NYC he has assisted Ivo van Hove on many groundbreaking productions at New York Theatre Workshop, where Kirk also appeared in the world premiere of Quills by Doug Wright. He directs another production of A Doll’s House: Part 2 later this summer in the Catskills, and a new opera, A Dill Pickle, in Worcester MA in October. Graduate: Yale School of Drama. Faculty: Bennington College.
ALLEN MCCULLOUGH (Torvald) LRT Co-founder where he has been seen in Three Sisters, Circle Mirror Transformation, Men of Tortuga, The Cherry Orchard, Uncle Vanya, The Seagull. Film & TV; Divorce, Blindspot, Sweetbitter, The Marvelous Mrs. Maizel, Vinyl, Martha Marcy May Marlene and Law and Order C.I. Recent -- Nixon in Frost/Nixon Palo Alto, Amy & the Orphans- Roundabout, Underlying Chris 2nd Stage, As You Like It, Romeo & Juliet, Folger Theatre; Malvolio in Twelfth Night, Baltimore Center Stage; also Long Wharf, Westport, Williamstown, Irish Rep and others; Broadway tour of Twelve Angry Men. As a Director: Shaw’s Overruled for LRT; All My Sons and Our Town at Hubbard Hall. Allen was born and raised in North Bennington, Vt. With love to Randolyn. allenmcc.com
GAIA VISNAR (Emmy) is thrilled to return to North Bennington, having been part of LRT’s 2017 production of Adam and Evie. Born into a Slovenian acting family, she grew up as a theatre kid and became actively involved in her country’s acting community. In addition to an extensive international acting education, she is a graduate of Circle in the Square Theatre School in New York City, where she currently resides. Her performance as Claire in The Maids with The Seeing Place Theatre earned a 2019 NYITA nomination for Outstanding Actress in a Leading Role. Other recent theatre credits include the titular role in an international adaptation of Antigone (Outer Gaea Company – UK), Ismene in The People Vs. Antigone (The Seeing Place Theatre), Lady Anne in Richard III (Theatre Breaking Through Barriers), Maria in Twelfth Night (The Lady Shakes Theatre Company), Paige in The Doorman (HB Playwrights Theatre) and Brutus in Julius Caesar (Circle in the Square PW). She is a member of NYWIFT (New York Women in Film and TV) and LPTW (League of Professional Theatre Women). Follow her at www.gaiavisnar.com or @gaiavisnar.
JANIS YOUNG (Anne Marie) So glad to be here! Janis performed at Williamstown Theatre Festival (Summer and Smoke/Alma, opposite Christopher Walken; Abe Lincoln in Illinois/MaryTodd Lincoln; Man Who Came to Dinner); Dorset Th. Festival (Superior Donuts, Good People); Hubbard Hall (Long Day’s Journey Into Night/Mary Tyrone); Oldcastle Th. Co. (4000 Miles and other plays). Her New York work includes Lincoln Center (Campbells of Boston/Mrs. Campbell); Masque Th. (Don
Carlos/Queen); Circle in the Square Th. (Plays for Bleecker St, Jose Quintero, dir., Under Milkwood, Bill Ball, dir.); 92nd. Street Y (Song of Songs); APA (Midsummer Night’s Dream/Hermia with Rosemary Harris and Richard Easton). Janis was a founding member of ACT/San Francisco (Six Characters…/Stepdaughter, King Lear/Cordelia, Devil’s Disciple/Judith, Uncle Vanya/Yelena). Regional work includes Old Globe Th./San Diego and Milwaukee Rep.Th. TV work includes NYPD, the 3-year running role of Bernice in Another World, and CBC Festival: The Dolly Scene/Dolly. Film work includes Loving, opposite George Segal and The Boston Strangler. Janis is a graduate of Carnegie Mellon (Apel Award), was a Fulbright scholar (LAMDA/UK) and is a former faculty member of Bennington College.
RANDOLYN ZINN (Nora) LRT co-founder, she has acted on Broadway (The Rothschilds), the Public Theatre (The Ghost of Mrs. Beeton), New Georges (Frank, Frank), Lincoln Center (L’histoire du Soldat), Williamstown Theatre Festival (Portrait of Frida), New York Theatre Workshop (1951 & To See If I Could See Her), The West Bank Café (Get It Right), Long Wharf Theatre (Knight of the Burning Pestle and LRT (Three Sisters.) In film: Memory of Fire; Punk; The Story of Esther. She has directed and choreographed for many regional theatres, on Broadway (Sunday In the Park with George), at Juilliard (Electra) and on several films for Harvey Keitel. Her plays have been produced by New Georges BACA Downtown, LRT (Lucy’s Wedding), and Williamstown Theatre Festival. Her fiction has been published, won prizes, grants and fellowships. Her essays on dance, theatre and literature can be found at 3quarksdaily.com. MFA: The New School. Teaching: Juilliard, Circle in the Square and Pace University. With love to Allen. www.randolynzinn.com
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10th Anniversary Season Donors
Anonymous
The Fund for North Bennington
Kate Fincke
Oliver Wadsworth
Chuck Pfaff & Robert Irish
Tony & Jackie Marro
Karen Trott
Mary McIlwain
Willard and Maggie Boepple
Terry Belanger
In Memory of Maurice & Peggy Kahn
Muriel Palmer
Alan Wrigley & Christine Kopec
Dr. and Mrs. Rhode
Jane Burkhardt
Bob and Cora May Howe
Jane Sobel
Mari Jones & Robert Wolterstorff
Julie Kaufman
Marjorie Deane
Leslie Parke
Bob Guarino & Jack Leonard
Cheryl Gushee
John H. Dyck & Elizabeth P. Hardesty
Tom & Jennifer Fels
Sophia Healy
Judie & Bob Brower
Loretta Quigley
2020/9th Season Donors
Tamatha Blanchard
Lawrence Hambly
Susan Shopmaker
Nina Weber Worth,
Julie Kaufman
Mary Feidner
Mark Barry & Sandra Magsamen,
Jacqueline Jacobus
Rob Bauer
Mari Jones & Robert Wolterstorff
Teru Simon
Maggie Maes
Mary Hazelton
Raymond Mullineaux
Susan and Rowan Hochstedler
Sandy Gartner
Betty Kenyon
Kiel Bonhomme
Kate Altman
Join LRT with a tax-deductible contribution at lrtvt.org/donate
LRT PRODUCTION HISTORY
2021—A Doll’s House, Part 2 by Lucas Hnath
2020—paused for the pandemic
2019—Lucy’s Wedding by Randolyn Zinn
2018—Three Sisters adapted by Lucy Caldwell
2017—Adam & Evie by Charles Mee
Circle Mirror Transformation by Annie Baker
2016—Men of Tortuga by Jason Wells
Overruled by George Bernard Shaw
Playing With Fire by August Strindberg
2015—Exit The King by Eugene Ionesco
2014—The Cherry Orchard by Anton Chekhov
2013—Uncle Vanya by Anton Chekhov
2012—The Seagull by Anton Chekhov
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FOUNDING MEMBERS//The Seagull, 2012
Michael Broadhurst, Ken Forman, Alex Jennings, Christopher McCann,
Elyse Knight, Allen McCullough, Kevin McGuire, Christine Decker,
Doug Ryan, Raquel Vargas, Randolyn Zinn
From Allison Jean White, Uncle Vanya, 2013
“Picture this: you wake up in a farmhouse close to the age of the play you are going to rehearse that day. You make your way down to the kitchen where the people with whom you laughed so hard you cried the night before are making coffee and breakfast and recounting another cracking story of theater days of the past. A castmate shares a new thought about the play you are working on that spurs an idea amidst the group to try out in the day’s rehearsal. It works. Or maybe it doesn’t. But the next one does. Your fellow artists are generous, willing, creative, and fabulous. The play is Uncle Vanya. The meals that await you are delightful, delectable, and as fresh as the rolling green hills on which you feast your eyes every morning and evening. There is something mystical about the whole experience that you can’t quite grasp...like the white horses that wander through the green fields and that gift your cast mate has for charming them. And a little like that insight you know you’ll have about the play long after it has closed. It is dreamy, surreal, and wonderful. Knowing you’ll have an audience in a matter of days and go home soon after, you decide there is no other option than to savor every moment. Did I mention it was Chekhov?
Our Mission. LRT re-energizes the intimate relationship between actors and audience by presenting new and classic plays set in real environments.
Our actors and artists hail from all over the world, work at the best theatres in America, appearing as well in film and television.
Xingrong Chen & Jay Reum in Three Sisters, 2018
PLEDGE FOR DIVERSITY
Living Room Theatre welcomes all to our productions and is pledged to reach towards a more just, open and democratic theatre process to celebrate new and classic plays.
We exist within an industry where power is not evenly or fairly distributed, and access is unequal. We commit to work consistently to create a more equitable and inclusive environment across our organization for artists, staff and audiences from historically underrepresented communities, including but not limited to people who identify as Black or African American, Indigenous, Latinx or Hispanic, Asian or Pacific Islander and all people of color, women, LGBTQ+, immigrants and people with disabilities. LRT is not exempt from upholding the pervasive systemic oppression in our industry and country, and we will continue to strive towards and learn how to be a more anti-racist, anti-oppressive theatre.
We will continue to strive for fairness and respect for all who work with us. We value community and work hard to provide access and a sense of belonging to all. We pledge to work continually to become a place of equity between the plays we produce, the directors, actors and staff we hire and the audiences we perform for so that everyone feels connected and welcome. We want our theatrical home to foster community and be a home for all.
Uncle Vanya, 2013 The Cherry Orchard, 2014
Exit The King, 2015 Overruled, 2016
Playing With Fire, 2016 “A Little of What You Fancy Does you Good,”, 2016
(Pictured above l to r) Rocky Friedman Vargas, Alison Jean White, Kevin McGuire, Polina Ionia, Rocky Friedman Vargas, Benjie White, Jeremy Michaels, Chris McCann, William Connell, Tom Coiner, Lizzie King-Hall, Michael Chinworth, Ken Forman, Evelyn Mahon, Randolyn Zinn
Men of Tortuga, 2017
Adam & Evie, 2017
Circle, Mirror, Transformation, 2017 Three Sisters, 2018
Three Sisters, 2018 Lucy’s Wedding, 2019
(Pictured above l to r) Ken Forman, Benim Foster, Allen McCullough, Maranda Rust, Iris Holm, Chase McIntosh, Oona Roche, Lizzie King-Hall, Allen McCullough,Ken Forman, Jackie Jacobus, Monique Vukovic, Oona Roche, Michael Broadhurst, Oona Roche, Kirk Jackson, Hanna Beck, Kirk Jackson, Karen Trott, Michael Broadhurst.