For Immediate Release: February 28, 2005
Media Contact: Theater Catalyst, 215.563.4330

Featuring local favorite actors:

Pat Doran as Torvald Helmer righteous moralist, model of propriety and respectability.

Sarah Doherty as Nora, a trophy wife and mother, whose marriage is about to be put to the test.

Kim S. Fairbanks as Kristine Linde, friend and confidante to Nora, a woman who only functions to serve someone else.

Charlie Delmarcelle as the bank clerk of ill-repute, former suitor of Kristine.

Harry Philibosian as the secretive and tragic Dr. Rank.

Dr. Henry Gleitman will direct.

Theater Catalyst's Eureka Project, known for daring premieres including The Blue Room, Desdemona: a play about a handkerchief, Mamet's Boston Marriage and the Barrymore nominated production of Men of Stone, presents A Doll's House as part of its Reading the Classics Series. Last month's reading was The Importance of Being Earnest. Look out for Noel Coward's Blithe Spirit in April and George Bernard Shaw's Arms and the Man in early June.

The reasons why A Doll's House is deemed to be a classic piece of literature are manifold. It undermined the position men had held, without question, in the society of the nineteenth century. It attacked middle-class values and the hypocrisy inherent in the moral codes of the time, where reputation of honor was more consequential than the honor itself. Nora's rejection of marriage and motherhood scandalized contemporary audiences. In fact, the first German productions of the play in the 1880s had an altered ending at the request of the producers. Ibsen referred to this version as a "barbaric outrage" to be used only in emergencies. Ibsen was writing in a time of revolution and this incendiary piece was to change the face of traditional romantic literature and welcome in an age of realist drama in its stead.

This play is also a wonderful story, with rich and complex characters. It seems so black and white at the outset. You know who the good guys are and who the bad guys are. Then Ibsen takes you for a closer look at the morality of their actions, and what lies beneath the surface of them. The hypocrisy of the age becomes strikingly clear in the climax of this masterpiece. Come and see this wonderful play in a staged reading, featuring local professional actors who will bring this piece alive for your pleasure. Admission always FREE, and donations are gratefully accepted.

This staged reading will take place on March 30th at the PlayGround @ the Adrienne, 2030 Sansom St. at 7pm. For information and reservations call 215 563 4330.

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