This is the first published acting edition of Ibsen’s A Doll’s House, as revitalized through the lens of American drama master Thornton Wilder. Nora, the wife of a banker, Thorwald, has a secret debt, incurred with good intentions and a forged signature. When her husband is promoted to bank manager, the threat of blackmail threatens to destroy his career and their family life together. As circumstances unravel, Nora realizes the truth of her situation: she accuses her husband and her father before him of having used her as a doll. In one of the most famous scenes ever written for the stage, Nora slams the door on her domestic life as wife and mother until she can learn to be herself. The marriage of Ibsen’s naturalistic style with Wilder’s knack for emotional nuance creates a modern, vigorous acting version of this revered classic drama.
Thornton Wilder's acting version of A Doll's House premiered on Broadway at the Morsco theatre in December 1937 under the direction of Jed Harris.