Tony-nominated Laurie Metcalf talks role in 'A Doll's House, Part 2'

NEW YORK (WABC) -- Actress Laurie Metcalf recently made headlines when ABC announced it was bringing back the hit show "Roseanne," but the star was also in the news when she was nominated for a Tony Award.

Metcalf won three Emmy Awards for her work as Aunt Jackie on the original run of "Roseanne," and she has four Tony nominations to her credit for her work on Broadway. Now, she is favored to win next month for her lead role in "A Doll's House, Part 2."

The sequel to the biggest hit of 1879 is one of those plays you just don't believe could work, but it does.

"The characters are in period costume," she said. "But the body language and the dialogue is very contemporary."

"A Doll's House" ended with Metcalf's character Nora walking out on her husband and children, which was quite controversial in the 19th century.

"What did they call it? The door slam heard round the world?" she said. "There were many productions were banned."

Part two picks up 15 years later, when Nora returns to find her uptight husband, played by Chris Cooper, right where she left him.

Their daughter, who Nora left as a child, is played by Condola Rashad, and the drama is often played for laughs.

Metcalf has said she is a lot like the character she plays.

"I'm Nora in the sense at this time in my life and in her life, that we have tried marriage and decided that we are not marriage material," she said.

The actress calls herself a workaholic, and the conclusion to her role on the Great White Way coincides with her reprisal of Aunt Jackie.

"We thought we were done talking, but we found out we got a whole lot more to say," Roseanne Barr said.

"Like 20 years worth," Metcalf chided.

The cast will re-unite on the air in the middle of next season, right here on ABC.