By Myra Chanin . . .

I usually arrive at the theater with varying amounts of trepidation, greater when an unfamiliar drama by a world-renowned playwright is being performed by a comparatively untested cast, as was the case with FAU’s The Lady from the Sea by Henrik Ibsen, runner-up to Shakespeare as Earth’s greatest playwright. I’d seen FAU’s productions in The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940 and A Chorus Line during the summer. Their performances were entertaining, but whether they had the depth Ibsen required remained to be seen.

As always, when I feel like an ignoramus, I cross-examine the know-it-all squatter who occupies my iPhone 24/7. She told me that The Lady from the Sea was the 20th of Ibsen’s 25 plays, right before Hedda Gabler and The Master Builder, which both end with premeditated or fortuitous suicide. Oy vey. I girded my loins, pushed the down arrow, and transferred The Lady from the Sea to my iPad before we all retired to my bed so I could read. I was intrigued by the honesty, honor, ethics, and morality of almost all the characters and tracked the plot’s twists and turns through murder, mysticism, apparitions, devotion, and guilt about slighted promises. I also learned Ibsen could write dialogue that was LOL funny and concoct happy endings as well as his usual dark, dismal Swedish polar night gloom and doom.

Fortunately, we survived the 15-minute monsoon on our drive to FAU. I wondered if the rain would keep ticket holders home, but FAU fans are hearty, and the theater was fairly full. The large stage of the Marleen Forkas Studio One Theater easily handled K. April Soroko’s soft pink and gray weathered, wooden nooks, where characters could gather. Sound Designer Thomas Shorrock’s arctic tunes were appropriately chilling. Jacqueline Shelley’s costumes were the equal of any sewn by for the Ladies of “Downton Abbey.” Gorgeous fabrics, beautifully sewn.

The Lady from the Sea was written about Swedish people, roles that in the past were snared by fair-skinned, blond-haired folks. Not this time. The Swedish roles were played by MFA Graduate Students whose skin and hair were less significant than their acting skills. Speaking of diversity, the leading man was African-American, the leading lady, Asian. His two daughters from a previous marriage were played by Jewesses. Their former tutor was Latino. A dying suiter was a Ukrainian adopted by an Italian family at the age of three. Two smaller roles were taken by a Brit and a Canadian. God Bless America, The Great Melting Pot. 

Did an inappropriate skin color, hair texture or eye shape, cause any dismay? Of course not! The acting was just superb. The cast transmogrified the essence of Ibsen’s characters and presented them as the flesh of their flesh. Actors and audience became intimate, absorbing and sharing Ibsen’s messages about life.

Ellida (Sarah Sun Park*) is the lady from the sea, the daughter of a Swedish lighthouse keeper. She fell in love with an American sailor (Kyle Smith*) who murdered his captain and was forced to flee. They plighted their troths in a makeshift marriage ceremony in which connected rings were cast into the sea. He vowed to return. She promised to wait. She was less committed and sent him a Cara Johann letter ending their engagement. 

Ellida then marries Dr. Wangel (Anthony Blatter*), a kind, considerably older widower because she is in no position to refuse; but she remains detached from him and his two resentful daughters, both only slightly younger than she. The older, Bolette, (Shayna Gilberg*) hides feelings of being entrapped into managing her father’s household when she longs to be back in school. The younger one, Hilde (Daniela Moon) openly acts out. Bolette is courted by her tutor, whose marriage proposal she rejects but accepts his friendship, which includes his paying for her return to school with no strings attached. 

When Ellida learns the sailor she “married” is coming to claim her, she begs Wangel to free her from her vows so she can freely choose how she wants to live. He doesn’t then he does. I was amazed at the depth of Ibsen’s understanding of the dissatisfaction of women caged by fears displayed in two hours of magical acting which I believe you’ll never regret or forget. 

We have two great artists to thank for the power of this performance. The playwright and Desmond Gallant—the Associate Professor and Director of FAU’s School of the Arts—who directed the play, deserve an equal number of Bravos. Gallant’s veneration of Ibsen began as an undergraduate acting student. He appreciates Ibsen’s exploration of the antiquated view of family and society, the imperative necessity of developing a sense of individuality as a condition of joy and health; the critical power to overcome one’s past; and the importance of choices to live in full freedom and responsibility. Gallant gave each actor, even those playing minor characters, a feeling of each one’s importance and value. Each one declared his/her lines like they owned the stage. 

This performance ended my concern about the future of theatrical arts. I have no doubt that any one of the women on stage and most of the men could take on roles meant for Meryl Streep or Robert DeNiro and blow them out of the park. I watched this performance never thinking actors were reciting lines and speeches, but rather that they’d become the characters they played. And everyone with whom I shared my thoughts, admitted to feeling exactly as I did. 

One explanation. An asterisk (*) after an actor’s name means she or he is an MFA Graduate Student. Daniela Moon, still an undergraduate, was the equal of any of them. 

The Lady from the Sea. Through October 8 at the Marleen Forkas Studio One Theatre at FAU’s campus (777 Glades Road, Boca Raton, Florida). Tickets and information here.

Photos: Morgan Sophia Photography