Utah Valley University's School of the Arts

UVU Presents Exciting New Translation of Henrik Ibsen’s ‘A Doll House’.
Utah Valley University’s Department of Theatrical Arts presents its final main stage show of the 2009-10 season: a new translation of the highly acclaimed and controversial, “A Doll House” by Henrik Ibsen. The production will open on March 25 and play through April 10 at 7:30pm (excluding Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday) in the Noorda Theatre. In addition there will be one matinee for school groups on Thursday, April 8 at 10 a.m.
“A Doll House” is the first modern realistic drama written. It came as quite a shock to audiences then and still creates a stir with audiences now. Ibsen often wrote about “taboo topics,” airing out people’s “dirty laundry.” In “A Doll House” he criticizes marital norms of the time and the way husbands and wives treat each other. This play is considered to be one of the first feminist plays written, showing the strength of women and what they can accomplish, as main character, Nora, puts it “…to sit and work and make money. It was almost like I was a man.”
In this production Ibsen’s classic gets a modern day lift with a new American translation by BYU playwright professor Eric Samuelson. A more modern setting, the play is set in a small town in Minnesota during the 1950’s, a boom time for the U.S., these characters come alive like never before.
Samuelson served an LDS Church mission to Norway and also comes from Nordic ancestry. He has taken this classic and translated it to be in the simple language of the people. The simplicity of it allows the audience to get involved with the story and enables a lighter mood. “I know that most people don’t think of Ibsen as fun,” says director James Arrington the creator of the Farley Family Reunion, “but we have mined ‘A Doll House’ for comic potential and have found fertile ground. It is fun!”
Tickets to “A Doll House” may be purchased by calling (801) 863-PLAY or online at www.uvu.edu/theatre. UVU Theatre and its season are supported by the UVU School of the Arts.