ehowton ◾ ◾ A Doll's House

My father had driven up from Texas for the holidays - ostensibly to spend time with the kids but I think he really just wanted to make rhubarb pie. Last time he was in town he'd spied the bags at the local Mennonite grocer and had me put five pounds of them in my freezer. In the end, he got plenty of both. Last time he was here we watched Les Misérables. This time, the

kylecassidy production of A Doll's House.

Having grown up with Dad taking us to numerous plays and (mostly) musicals at the Dallas Summer Music Hall in Fair Park, and reading aloud (mostly) Neil Simon's plays, I've always enjoyed the art. The DSM was a large production company, but I've seen a handful of smaller companies too, notably Rogers & Hammerstein's Carousel in Corpus Christi and Gilbert & Sullivan's Ruddigore at the Inwood Theater in Dallas.

It was with great anticipation I presented to my father, A Doll's House for the evening's entertainment when the last of the guests had departed and the children settled in for the evening. From the liner notes fror those who aren't familiar with this production,

You weren't supposed to see this play - almost no one was. It ran for five performances at the Ebenezer Maxwell Mansion in Germantown, a suburb of Philadelphia, where sold-out audiences of twenty-five packed the 19th century parlor...

Much to my chagrin, Dad was familiar with it, having seen Glenda Jackson perform the lead role some 30-years prior, but what struck me most about the play which unfolded before me was how I managed to relate, at some point or another, to each of the vastly differing characters. While I greatly enjoyed the cast - who really brought the characters to life - the idea of living a superficial relationship indefinitely (and glimpsing abhorrent behavior under duress) is rife in the pages of my intimacy posts.

A 2011 Psychology Today article which delved into Narcissistic Personality Disorder concluded that while the behavior of some with NPD are blatant with their assumed superiority, others don't outright express they believe they should be able behave however they want, whenever they want without objection; that their needs absolutely have priority over everyone else; that it "hurts them" if their motivations, actions, or shortcomings are ever questioned; and that they are adept at sporadically ensuring other's needs are very well met to keep them off-balance (for both control and to establish a deserving history).

I disagree with that conclusion because it assumes intent - that one acknowledges they comprehend their disability. What if someone had NPD and wasn't smart enough to cognitively string cause together with effect? That would be a whole lot worse than struggling with a personality disorder. The DSM-IV states those with NPD, Have a sense of entitlement, i.e., unreasonable expectations of especially favorable treatment or automatic compliance with his or her expectations. Imagine going through this life with a belief that non-compliance to every whim was an actual hardship? What life must look like to those sad, frustrated little people.

Anyway, back on topic, and as requested, a photograph of the the production's inaugural viewing!

Thanks,

kylecassidy for the enriching experience, and for sharing

trillian_stars with the rest of us.