Doll

Writer Erik Jackson and director Joshua Rosenzweig were onto something with this one (the program indicates it was "freely adapted from Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House). For anyone who had to read Ibsen's play in high school or college or whatever, it is evident that this work begs for someone to camp it up. It has everything: the put-upon, suffering housewife waiting for feminism to be invented, and her ungrateful husband who mentally takes advantage of her, all wrapped up in a highly dramatic vacuum of high drama. Thankfully, the delightful Theater Couture (best known for their very successful Tell-Tale from a few seasons ago) delivers on this front in this exceptionally detailed, often uproarious (if slightly overextended) updating. New York mainstays of fabulousness Sherry Vine and Candis Cayne star as Nora Helmer and Kristine Linde, old friends brought together again through a hardship, only this time, Nora's past includes prostitution, an ugly endeavor that comes back to haunt her in the form of Nils Krogstad (Mario Diaz), a sleazy pimp who attempts to blackmail her. Nora's hubby Torvald (David Ilku) is a stern family man who (quite literally) treats Nora as his own private Barbie doll (Vine's inventive costumes even feature a pull-string), and is always horny. But Nora is seeking something else, something more redeeming.

Yes, even in camp terms, this sort of story can get soggy, but the proceedings are so lively and fun-loving, it's hard to deny the ample entertainment value. The best scenes involve Vine and Cayne, two delectable comic performers, who can trade quips with the best of 'em. Saucy and playful but unfailingly sharp comediennes both, they enliven the show's sporadic doldrums (a little too much plot, actually). The best scene (a real showstopper) is an elaborate "Tarantella" conceived by Cayne which illustrates dance trends through the ages. It is impossible to watch Ms. Cayne do anything and not smile; she has expert timing and can pull off even the biggest groaners (My favorite: her breathy, deadpan insouciance when reacting to a flatulent-sounding doorbell: "Shouldn't have had that last bon-bon.")

Doll is the kind of show that doesn't really stick with you, but it's giddy fun while it lasts, and the attention to detail sets it apart from other, lesser New York shows of its ilk. Kevin Adams' innovative scenery and David Dalrymple's dazzling costumes add real fire and prove that you don't need a Lion King-size budget to be genuinely creative. And, best of all, for those who fondly remember Janet McTeer's galvanizing, Tony-winning turn as Nora Helmer years back, that grande dame never had the moxie to belt out Scandal's "Goodbye To You" at the conclusion.