You do not go to Broadway in New York City for the first time and not watch a musical with mind-blowing choreography, costume extravaganzas, high-flying stunts and good ol’ razzle-dazzle. But there are always exceptions.
For a play headlined by Oscar-winning actor Jessica Chastain live, in the flesh, on stage, mind-blowing choreography, costume extravaganzas, high-flying stunts and good ol’ razzle-dazzle hold little attraction.
What's exciting is in-your-face, bold, stripped-down, stark, hardcore histrionics. No make-up, no costumes, no set design, no props, no music. Just acting.
The big lights of Time Square fade out behind you as the road down 44th Street leads you to the historic, ornate and magnificent 120-year-old Hudson Theatre that’s lit bright among the modern buildings (and scaffolding).
It’s 30 minutes till the doors open, but the line outside the Hudson is already long. It is, after all, not just any play starring a Hollywood star. It’s Tony-nominated American playwright Amy Herzog’s adaptation/revival of Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House starring Jessica Chastain which the Hollywood Reporter called ‘intensely intimate’ and ‘audaciously minimalist’.
As you step into the far-from-minimalist, chandelier-lit foyer of the theatre, ushers repeatedly and politely shout out that the one-hour fifty-minutes play will “be performed without an intermission and no restroom break, so please use the restrooms now”. That does not deter people from carrying glasses full of spirits purchased at the bar to their seats.
Roughly 20 minutes before the main performance starts, as people noisily rush to the loo and then settle down in the houseful auditorium, a red-haired woman in a generic and featureless black costume silently and sans fanfare enters the stage with a chair in hand. She looks familiar. Oh yes, the 'Zero Dark Thirty' star. She places the chair centre stage, seats herself down, crosses legs and looks at the audience. The stage begins to revolve. Slowly.
As it happens nowadays, you can see umpteen videos on YouTube of Chastain sitting silently on the chair as it revolves around the stage. But nothing can prepare you for the actual experience of seeing her in the flesh, sitting silently on stage, allowing a thousand pair of eyes to shamelessly ogle at her for 20 minutes as if she’s on display in a museum or zoo.
Slowly, the rest of the cast, one by one, join her on stage as she continues to be the only one revolving so that all eyes remain glued to her till the lights fade out and the play starts.
Even the most seasoned movie buffs will find it surreal to watch a world-famous actor, who you have only seen on screen, now act live, embodying a myriad of emotions, convincing you that she’s not just acting but actually the character you see with your own eyes, cycling through the emotions of a human on the verge…
In a very layered and deft manner Chastain, being the pro that she is, brings out the psychological and emotional journey of Nora, who, in spite of her best efforts of trying to be the perfect wife, mother, friend, homemaker, is, in the end, left spliced.
Through Chastain’s Nora, the audience meets a woman who is all at once vulnerable, calculating, guilt-ridden, happy, sad, paranoid, helpless, determined, strong, wronged and much more.
Chastain doesn’t let Nora out of your sight as she conveys the highs and lows of a woman pretending to be stoic, but is crumbling inside, revolution by revolution. She remarkably portrays how Nora exercises her choice in a world where it is expected that women must conform. In the end, she chooses to be free, walking away from her husband and three children. She emancipates herself by standing up for herself. Chastain, through all of Nora’s frailty, remarkably imbues her with strength. Succession’s Arian Moayad as her husband Torvald, is powerful. The acting chemistry between Chastain and Moayad ignites the theatre in the scene when he reads his workmate Krogstad’s letter and suddenly their energy shifts to another level. You forget Nora is centre stage as Torvald explodes. It’s electrifying, watching the performances live. You also realise the genius of playwright Amy Herzog and director Jamie Lloyd in stripping the play down to nothing but the motivations of the characters that allows Nora’s situation and desperation to resonate with modern men and women, even as the original play was written almost 150 years ago.
In the end, the door on the back wall of the stage rolls up and Nora/Chastain exits the building, stepping out on to 45th Street Manhattan, circa 2023. As you sit riveted to your seat, you know that even as her back is turned to you, Chastain is still very much in character as you witness Nora’s vulnerable body language, the stuff that Oscar-winning actors are made of.
The play is over, the actors stand up to face the audience for the curtain call and encore. Chastain runs back on stage from the wings, tears still visibly streaking down her cheeks. The audience provides thunderous love and approval.
Chastain and her fellow actors pick up their chairs and exit the stage. The play is over, the audience streams out, breathless, overwhelmed and changed.
But the performance is still not over. At least, not for those who know better, who rush to 45th Street to wait at the stage door for Chastain and Moayad to do a meet-and-greet.
In line this evening are three girls from Brazil who had already watched the show the previous day but had decided to stand in the meet-and-greet line again. “We were at Times Square and then we looked at the watch and said, ‘Oh! Jessica should step out now, let’s go!’”
A security guard/manager informs everyone in line that it would be preferred if people wear their masks and hands out masks for those who might not have one. No one wears masks. Everyone wants photos. With their faces clearly visible next to Jessica’s! The manager also tells everyone to keep a book ready in case anyone wants her autograph. She would be carrying a pen. One wonders when was the last time we saw a Bollywood star meet fans equipped with a pen, ready to provide autographs?
You could miss the moment when Jessica finally steps out because there is no fanfare and screaming paparazzi. Calmly, patiently, silently, Jessica makes her way down the line, meeting each fan, posing, chatting, signing. Two bodyguards tail her from a little away but other than them, she has no entourage, no PR team, nothing. Arian Moayad too makes his way down the line.
As Jessica steps in front of us, I blurt out excitedly, “I have come all the way from India, the land of Bollywood to see this play!” Jessica raises her eyebrows, “Oh!” I tell her that I love her performance in 'Zero Dark Thirty'. Immediately and with eyes lit, she says, “We shot that movie in Chandigarh!” She moves down the line, stark and badass as ever. I disappear into the concrete jungle, big lights and crowds at Time Square.
(Written by Faheem Ruhani)
