It’s not often that a produc tion of Henrik Ibsen’s “A Doll’s House” begins with a Purim party. But that’s the case in “A Doll House,” presented by 24/6: A Jewish Theater Company. Transplanting the action to the modern-day Orthodox Jewish community might seem like a loopy idea, but it works surprisingly well in director Yoni Oppenheim’s condensed adaptation.
After all, the treatment of women in that insular world isn’t so different from the subjugation that inspired the Norwegian playwright’s groundbreaking 1879 feminist classic.
The basic characters and situations remain the same. Nora (Etta Abramson) is tortured over forging her father’s signature on a financial document to save her husband, Torvald (Leor Hackel), from ruin. Other characters include Nora’s impoverished friend Linde (Miriam Gardin) and Torvald’s recently terminated employee Krogstad (Avi Soroka), who threatens to reveal Nora’s crime.
Nevertheless, the play is jarringly contemporary. Nora sings along to Madonna’s “Like a Prayer” on her iPod. Fateful messages are delivered by e-mail read on a BlackBerry. Krogstad writes a blog. And Linde lost her money due to investing with Bernie Madoff. “Thank God for online coupons,” she sighs.
It’s gimmicky, to be sure, and having a singer/guitarist performing original tunes that comment on the action doesn’t help.
But despite the low-budget production values and uneven performances, the play retains its power. In the final scene, when Nora removes her head scarf and tells her husband she’s leaving him, he angrily refuses to grant her a “get,” or Jewish divorce.
That doesn’t prevent her from walking out of the room and slamming the door.