There are no period costumes, no props, nothing resembling a set. With “A Doll’s House,” an adaptation by the British director Jamie Lloyd set to open on March 9, Chastain has no theatrical set pieces or ambience to fall back on. Wearing petticoats, a bustle and a prosthetic nose she applied herself, Chastain immersed herself in the play’s 19th-century mannerisms and aesthetic, studying how to curtsy and properly hold a fan, even embroidering during rehearsal breaks to stay in character. “How am I not being my authentic self in order to be palatable to others?”Ĭhastain last appeared on Broadway a decade ago, when she starred in “The Heiress” as Catherine Sloper, a dowdy, awkward aristocrat. “I hope people will come to the theater and go: How am I doing that?” she said. We’re playing a part so we’re palatable enough, so that people hopefully will listen to us.” But that’s part of how we are helping it continue, women not being seen as equal. “Because girls are taught so young to be smaller, right? So our voices get higher, we don’t want to be threatening, we’re docile and meek. Nora has stepped in the cage to gain what little power she has,” Chastain said. So that’s not just, oh, Torvald is a villain because he’s put Nora in a cage. “When denied, you work within a system to gain power, and we’re all responsible for that. She plays the role of the pretty, fragile, childlike wife for a reason. The answer came as she began to realize Nora isn’t a victim dominated by her condescending husband, Torvald. “So how can I as an actor approach it in a way that doesn’t feel like I’m here to give everyone in the audience a lecture?” “I’m such an advocate, I’m so outspoken, so even putting me in the part, we’re already doing something, right?” Chastain said. So she wondered if taking on the role of Nora, theater’s most famous oppressed housewife, might seem too pointed, even preachy. In films as varied as “Zero Dark Thirty” and “The Eyes of Tammy Faye,” she’s embodied complicated, ambitious women who refuse to be constrained. She was reflecting on what it means to be starring in a raw, radical reimagining of Henrik Ibsen’s 1879 play - a work long celebrated as a profound exploration of how gender roles confine women, distorting their identities.Ĭhastain has fought for pay equity in Hollywood, pushed for support of Planned Parenthood and used red-carpet and talk-show appearances to champion causes such as the women protesting repression in Iran. She was fighting a cold and drinking Throat Coat herbal tea, dressed in a navy sweater and white sneakers, a fluffy tan coat pooling around her. “I don’t want it to feel like a TED Talk,” she said.Ĭhastain sat in the upstairs lounge at the Hudson Theater, where preview performances of “A Doll’s House” began on Feb. (For a much more in-depth history of Reed Crandall, Roger Hill’s profusely illustrated biography Reed Crandall: Illustrator of the Comics from TwoMorrows is an absolute must read.)Ĭrandall was born 106 years ago, so here are 13 COVERS (and splash pages) from his early work appearing in Quality Comics’ publications.Less than a week before she was set to appear in a Broadway revival of “A Doll’s House” as Nora, one of the most iconic female roles in Western theater, Jessica Chastain confessed to a nagging worry. In addition, he drew for Treasure Chest comics for 12 years and expanded his market in the ’60s to include absolutely jaw-dropping, breathtaking illustrations for reprints of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ novels. Over the next 30 years, with his work appearing in comics published by EC, Atlas (Marvel), Warren and others, his art grew more and more polished until a Reed Crandall illustration could be recognized as totally his own fantastic solid style and no one else’s. During that time, Crandall’s amazing work could be seen in Quality’s Blackhawk (pre-DC), Smash Comics, Hit Comics, Modern Comics, Military Comics, and more. Iger Studio in the 1940s, which packaged complete comic books (stories and art) for various publishers, including Quality Comics. Blackhawk and the Freedom Fighters - before they were the Freedom Fighters!Įven from the beginning of his comic-book career in 1940, the late Reed Crandall (born February 22, 1917) was one of the industry’s best artists, working at first for the S.M.
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