A Doll House

By: Henrik Ibsen

Narrated by: Calista Flockhart, Tony Abatemarco, Tim Dekay, Jeannie Elias, Gregory Itzin, Jobeth Williams

Length: 2 hrs and 10 mins

Publisher's summary

Nora Helmer has everything a young housewife could want: Beautiful children, an adoring husband, and a bright future. But when a carelessly buried secret rises from the past, Nora’s well-calibrated domestic ideal starts to crumble. Ibsen’s play is as fresh today as it was when it first stormed the stages of 19th-century Europe.

Recorded in Los Angeles before a live audience at the James Bridges Theater, UCLA in September, 2011.

Director: Rosalind Ayres

Producing Director: Susan Albert Loewenberg

Calista Flockhart as Nora Helmer

Tony Abatemarco as Dr. Rank

Tim DeKay as Torvald Helmer

Jeannie Elias as Anne-Marie/Helene

Gregory Itzin as Nils Krogstad

JoBeth Williams as Mrs. Linde

Associate Producer: Christina Montaño. Recording Engineer/Sound Designer/Mixer: Mark Holden for The Invisible Studios, West Hollywood. Sound Effects Artist: Tony Palermo. Editor: Wes Dewberry

©2011 L.A. Theatre Works (P)2011 L.A. Theatre Works

old fashioned

this soap opera does not survive the ages. good performance but boring story. I did laugh a few times and that was nice

Nice production

Wow. This version is snartly paced and played. The sound quality was great and I finished it in one sitting. I was fully engaged from start to finish.

If Happy Endings Don't Matter ...

Any additional comments?

If Happy Endings don't matter to you, you might love this book. Might.

A "theater audio-book". The book was entertaining in the beginning. The humor increasingly lagged with each chapter. As the end drew near I hoped for a happy ending. Real life does not always have happy endings; I prefer stories that do. The story ended with a loud noise - without giving the story away - I don't know for certain what the noise intended to signify. Neither choice was happy.

I gave this book a 3 because it held my attention. It is short and I wanted to see how it ended.

Classic!

What made the experience of listening to A Doll House (Dramatized) the most enjoyable?

Great performance of a classic. I've heard about it for years but never seen the play. Betty Friedan references it in The Feminine Mystique, so that reminded me to get A Doll House. I'm so glad I did. It's not just for feminists, so don't let that idea fool you. It's just good.

not what I expected

There were a lot of breathy moments by ms. Flockhart which made it weird to listen to. the material was sometimes a comedy based on the audiences reaction, but it was not in the end. I don't feel any emotional connection to any of the characters because they all felt contrived and out of a cartoon on how silly people can be.

a referendum on equality

I have revisited this wonderful work, and it had helped me to reflect upon my own marriage and how I should now equally share the journey of life and love together with my spouse

Unwilling to be her father's or her husband's doll

Ibsen denied that he was entering the fight for equal rights for women when he wrote A Doll House, but whether or not intended that is exactly what his play does. And it does so with great force and effect.

I first saw the play in London approximately 25 years ago. I liked it then and I like it now. Nora had literally lived her life for her father and then for her husband with no thoughts of her own needs; she has been their doll. When she comes to that realization, the reality that she is a person in her own right, Torvald is too set in his own views of marriage that he fails to see that it should be a true partnership. So he forces Nora to leave so she can live her life rather than living exclusively to meet his needs. My wife and I celebrated the 47th anniversary of our marriage partnership yesterday. Ibsen's drama deserves some credit for making such marriages more common.

The performance is quite good, but Calista Flockhart's Nora character was much better performed than the other parts.

Never heard before

I liked it, even though I had a long break in between. The story failed to catch my interest at first, but when I sat down to listen to the ending, it won me over. It was a great find.

Great listening. Compelling narration!

Most interesting and compelling story. Excellent cast. I would recommend to everyone. Hours felt like minutes!

Better Seen than Heard Sometimes

I really enjoyed this play, however something was missing by an Audio Only version. As an example as banter between husband and wife was occurring there was laughter from the audience. As a listener it was obvious that physical actions of the characters were causing the humor, however I had no idea what they were doing. Overall the actors & actresses did a superb job or relaying the feelings and emotions of their characters that it wasn't necessary to "see" them.
I also found it quite interesting that a play written in 1879 still has so much relevance in 2019. Apparently issues that cause marital strife have not changed much in 140 years.