Long Wharf Presents A DOLL'S HOUSE 4/28-5/23, Cast Includes Tim Hopper & More

Long Wharf Theatre Artistic Director Gordon Edelstein follows up his triumphant re-examination of The Glass Menagerie and his exploration of the new works of Athol Fugard with his adaptation of Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House, running on the Mainstage from April 28 through May 23.

The press opening is scheduled for Wednesday, May 5 at 7:30 p.m. Please RSVP as soon as possible.

The cast is comprised of Tim Hopper, Mark Nelson, Maegan Pachomski, Linda Powell, Ana Reeder (playing Nora), and Adam Trese. Edelstein, recently nominated for a Lucille Lortel Award as Outstanding Director, will direct the show. The creative team is comprised of Michael Yeargan (sets), Jessica Ford (costumes), Russell H. Champa (lights), David Budries (sound), Lisa Ann Chernoff (stage manager), and James Calleri (casting).

A Doll's House continues Edelstein's exploration of the classics, dusting the cobwebs off, searching for the vibrancy of the work in a context relevant to the modern audience. "I wanted to examine whether this masterpiece, one of the iconic plays of dramatic literature, can comfortably sit in contemporary suburban Connecticut. I believe it can," Edelstein said.

Edelstein believes in the primacy of the writer's work, and as such, has been faithful to Ibsen. "I adapted Ibsen's play in much the same way I adapted Chekhov's Uncle Vanya. I am doing Ibsen's play as he wrote it, except that I am making the language speak able in today's words. Most translations are Victorian and stuffy. I've cut out some of the repetitive beats and simplified some of the overwrought plot points," he said.

Henrik Ibsen wrote the play in 1879 and it immediately caused a groundswell of controversy with its critical depiction of marital life. In fact, Ibsen briefly succumbed to pressure to change the play's famous ending - Nora's choice to leave her family - a decision he later regretted and retracted. "Ibsen's play was written in a very specific social context - late 19th century, pre-feminist, conservative Scandinavian culture. A great deal has changed, but I think the primal relationship between men and women has not. I hope people see the play anew."

For more information about A Doll's House or to buy tickets, visit www.longwharf.org or call 203-787-4282.

A Doll's House, by Henrik Ibsen, adapted and directed by Gordon Edelstein
April 28 - May 23, 2010
Stage II
Tickets: $35-$65
Performance Schedule: Tuesdays at 7 p.m., Wednesdays, at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m., Thursdays and Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m., and Sundays at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.
Box office phone number: 203-787-4282
Website: www.longwharf.org.
ABOUT THE CREATIVE TEAM

Tim Hopper
Rank
Mr. Hopper making his Long Wharf Theatre debut. He has worked extensively on stage at theatres across the country. His many stage credits include the title character in Picasso at the Lapin Agile in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago; The Tempest (Steppenwolf); Three Changes (Playwrights Horizons); Uncle Vanya (Intiman); More Stately Mansions (New York Theater Workshop - Obie Award winner), and many others. On film, Hopper has appeared in School of Rock, Vanilla Sky, The Last of the Mohicans and others. His television appearances include "Grey's Anatomy," "Medium," "Third Watch," "Oz" and several of the Law & Orders."

Mark Nelson
Nils Krogstad
Mr. Nelson last appeared at Long Wharf in Underneath the Lintel, directed by Eric Ting (Connecticut Critics' Circle Award). Last year he performed in seven countries with The Bridge Project, Sam Mendes' new classical rep company. New York credits include Picasso at the Lapin Agile (Obie Award); The Invention of Love (Lincoln Center); Three Sisters and After the Fall (Roundabout); A Few Good Men; and four plays by Neil Simon. He played the title role in Uncle Vanya (with Tim Hopper) at Seattle's Intiman Theatre, directed by Bartlett Sher, and all thirty-six roles in I Am My Own Wife (Carbonell Award). Mark has directed productions at Manhattan Theatre Club, the Drama Dept, McCarter Theatre, Berkshire Theatre Festival and the Juilliard School. He teaches acting at Princeton University.

Maegan Pachomski
Helene
Ms. Pachomski She has been seen in Quinnipiac productions such as The Laramie Project as Reggie Fluty, Love's Labour's Lost as the Princess, The Girls Next Door as Norma, and Medea as the Nurse. Ms. Pachomski is a graduate student completing her Masters of Occupational Therapy at Quinnipiac University. This is her Long Wharf Theatre debut. She would like to thank Gordon for this wonderful opportunity. She would also like to thank all of her loving friends and especially her family for their support.

Linda Powell
Christine
Ms. Powell was seen most recently in Angela's Mixtape at the Ohio Theater. She appeared on Broadway in On Golden Pond (opposite James Earl Jones) and Wilder, Wilder, Wilder. Her off-Broadway credits include: The Overwhelming (Roundabout), Jitney, Jar the Floor (Second Stage), Pericles (Theater for a New Audience), Omnium Gatherum, Derek Wolcott's Odyssey, and ten seasons with the Willow Cabin Theater Company. Linda has worked at regional theaters around the country including Arena Stage, Cleveland Playhouse, Baltimore Center Stage, the Pittsburgh Public Theater, the Williamstown Theater Festival and NJ Shakespeare Theater. Film: Morning Glory, American Gangster, I Think I Love My Wife, Spinning into Butter and Northern Kingdom among others. TV: various lawyers, doctors, mothers, counselors and social workers. Linda is pleased to be returning to the Long Wharf where she first worked with Gordon Edelstein on Michael Henry Brown's play King of Coons.

Ana Reeder
Nora
Ms. Reeder's work includes Hedda Gabler, Top Girls, Sight Unseen (Broadway), Living Room in Africa (Edge Theatre Company), The Wooden Breeks (MCC), Hedda Gabler (New York Theatre Workshop), Small Tragedy (Playwrights Horizons, Obie award), Humble Boy, An Experiment with an Air Pump (MTC), The Time of the Cuckoo (Lincoln Center), Some Voices (The New Group) and more. Reeder has appeared on the television series "Damages" and on film in No Country for Old Men, Homewrecker, The Getaway and others.

Adam Trese
Torvald
Mr. Trese previously appeared at Long Wharf Theatre in 2001 in Kenneth Lonergan's The Waverly Gallery, directed by John Tillinger. His Broadway work includes in 12 Angry Men and A View From The Bridge. He has appeared off-Broadway in The Women of Lockerbie, the New York premiere of Dennis Johnson's Shoppers Carried by Escalators Into the Flames and The Time of the Cuckoo. Film appearances include 40 Days and 40 Nights Polish Wedding, Stephen Soderbergh's The Underneath, Palookaville, illtown and Laws of Gravity. His television appearances include "Law & Order: Criminal Intent", "30 Rock", "Rescue Me", "Lipstick Jungle", "The Sopranos", "Law & Order", "NY Undercover", "NYPD Blue", "Homicide" and "Murder She Wrote."

Gordon Edelstein
Director
Mr. Edelstein is in his eighth season as Long Wharf Theatre's Artistic Director. In addition to his work on the world premiere of Athol Fugard's Have You Seen Us?, Mr. Edelstein directed Coming Home at Berkeley Rep and Long Wharf Theatre's production of The Glass Menagerie starring Judith Ivey at the Roundabout Theatre. As a director, he has garnered three Connecticut Critics Circle Awards and during his tenure at Long Wharf Theatre, the theatre has produced world premieres by Paula Vogel, Athol Fugard, Craig Lucas, Julia Cho, Noah Haidle, Dael Orlandersmith, and Anna Deavere Smith. Over the course of his career, he has also directed and/or produced premieres by Philip Glass, Arthur Miller, Paula Vogel, Donald Margulies, James Lapine, Charles Mee, Mac Wellman, and Martin McDonagh, among many others, and has directed an extremely diverse body of work from Sophocles to Pinter, and from Shakespeare to Beckett. Under his artistic leadership, Long Wharf Theatre has received 14 additional Connecticut Critics Circle Awards, including six best actor or actress awards in plays that he directed. He was also given the organization's Tom Killen Award, given annually to an individual who has made an indelible impact on the Connecticut theatrical landscape. Mr. Edelstein has directed countless plays and workshops for Long Wharf Theatre including the world premieres of BFE (transfer to Playwrights Horizons), The Day the Bronx Died (transfer to NY and London), A Dance Lesson, and The Times, as well as We Won't Pay! We Won't Pay!, A New War, A Moon for the Misbegotten, Anna Christie, The Front Page, and Mourning Becomes Electra, starring Jane Alexander. Prior to assuming artistic leadership of Long Wharf Theatre, Mr. Edelstein helmed Seattle's ACT Theatre for five years.
ABOUT THE THEATRE