April 28--The Definition Theatre Company, an intriguing new Chicago theater company formed by graduates of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and currently in its inaugural season, describes itself as "featuring a multi-ethnic core companionship of actors," which is an interesting update of the notion of ensemble.
The current production, an 85-minute version of Henrik Ibsen's "A Doll's House" directed by Michael Halberstam, does not really allow for a full exploration of the nature of this companionship since only two members of the ensemble -- Tyrone Phillips, who plays Torvald, and Mercedes White, who plays the domestic servant Helen, are in this cast. The lead, Nora--she who famously slammed the door on her patronizing husband -- is played by another newcomer, Miriam Lee, a very engaging young performer, as are both Christopher Sheard, who plays Krogstad, and Krystal Mosley, who plays Mrs. Linde and who adds a certain note of impassioned gravitas.
So in some ways, this low-budget production in the basement of the Chopin Theatre feels very much like a showcase for young actors. Some very promising ones, too. But at times it achieves rather more. Halberstam's cut of the original text -- using, I think, a public-domain translation -- gets across the core relationships in a short running time. For fans of the famous Ibsen play, it's a bit like the experience of watching the 90-minute "Phantom of the Opera" produced in Las Vegas. You don't really lament the missing bits.
The multi-ethnic casting adds additional resonance, especially since Phillips and Lee have quite the potent on-stage relationship. Phillips' Tyrone is a repressed, smug, buttoned-down fellow, while Lee's Nora is at once exuberant, determined and vulnerable, all fine qualities for any Nora. Both of these very handsome actors are names to watch.
Yaw Agyeman makes the mistake of adding fake age to Dr. Rank, which does lend a collegiate air to the show (and is unnecessary). And the production values, certainly, are simple. Frankly, given that Halberstam was doing a lot of deconstructing here, he probably would have been best served by yet more radical choices and risk-taking.
Why not? He's working with exceptionally capable young actors in a Wicker Park basement.
Still, the story everyone told here clearly worked. "Oh my God, she's going, Oh, Oh, Oh!" exclaimed the woman behind me, clearly both surprised and invigorated, as the play arrived, quickly, at one of the most famous endings in the entire canon of dramatic literature.
Jones is a Tribune critic.
cjones5@tribpub.com
REVIEW: A Doll's House by Definition Theatre Company
2.5 STARS
When: Through May 3
Where: Chopin Theatre, 1543 W. Division St.
Running time: 1 hour, 25 minutes
Tickets: $25 at definitiontheatre.org
