One day to go! More coverage – this time up on the Baylor website (fancy!). Thanks to Bethany Harper and the Baylor Media Communication folks.
Baylor Theatre Presents “Nora,” A Doll’s House like You’ve Never Seen Before
Friday, November 13, 2015
By BETHANY HARPER, student newswriter
Baylor University’s theatre department will continue their 2015-2016 season with “Nora,” portraying the life of a family who appears picture-perfect but carries a hidden secret that stains their seamless public perception.
The show will run in Mabee Theatre from Nov. 17 through Nov. 21. Performances are each night at 7:30 p.m. with additional matinee shows at 2 p.m. on Nov. 21 and 22.
“Nora” is an Ingmar Bergman adaptation of the novel “A Doll’s House” by Henrik Isben. The play, directed by Cason Murphy, tells the story of a seemingly flawless mother, Nora Helmer, and her three beautiful children and successful husband. Her picture-perfect life, however, has been financed with a well-kept secret that was the catalyst for her family’s success. As the secret is exposed, her pristine “dollhouse” loses its glamour and is stamped with the ugly truth.
“Murphy has layered on a concept which sets the entire production in contrast to the silent but ever-watchful eyes of the family’s young daughter,” said Stan Denman, Ph.D., professor and chairman for Baylor’s department of theatre arts. “The audience is challenged to examine what the implications are for the next generation of young women as they witness the painful struggle to break free of repressive expectations and find an identity of their own.”
In order to make the play more current and accessible, Murphy moved the setting to the late 1950s and early 1960s.
“Setting ‘Nora’ in this time period provides the perfect atmosphere for the leading character to have her great awakening and break free from the constraints of a society that has sought to keep her under lock and key,” Denman said.
Nora Helmer, played by Kat Wilson, “has the best of intentions, but gets herself into a pickle that she cannot resolve,” Wilson said. “In this play, we witness the importance and value women should place on defining themselves as individuals apart from outside influences.”
Wilson is a senior theatre performance major from Forney, Texas.
“I hope ‘Nora’ empowers the women of Baylor’s campus the way it has empowered me,” Wilson said. “That they would see themselves in a new light of independence in order to redefine themselves in whatever way they choose apart from any outside influences or pressures.”