Jennifer King was planning on a relaxing fall at Napa Valley College. The director of theater arts and instructor was going to concentrate on a production of “African Tales,” while Richard Rossi, the former chairman of the NVC fine and performing arts department, returned to direct the Ibsen classic, “A Doll’s House.”

This was until she began helping out, reading the part of Nora, as Rossi auditioned men for roles. “The more I read it, the more I realized how accessible the role was for me,” she said. “The role really is Hamlet for women.”

It was Rossi, however, who announced, “I think I’ve found my Nora.”

“My background is in acting,” King said, “although my focus (at Napa Valley College) has been on teaching and directing. I didn’t want anyone to think I was cannibalizing the role, but I guess it will be good for my students to see me practice what I preach.”

One of the great masterpieces of the world theater, “A Doll’s House” opens Friday and runs through Oct. 19 with performances on Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m.

 In “A Doll’s House,” Nora Helmer is a young housewife, entirely dependent on Torvald, her husband of eight years. In order to save him from a debt, and to spare his masculine pride, she arranges a loan without his knowledge, by forging a signature. When her crime is revealed, Torvald turns on his wife, and exposes the illusion of their marriage. In one of the most famous and scandalous climaxes in 19th-century drama, Nora leaves her husband and children, determined to forge her own identity.

“It is so timely,” King said. “During this political year, no matter how you feel about Hillary Clinton or Sarah Palin, it’s time to look at how we treat women and what their role in society is. What do these woman have to do to survive?”

King quoted Ibsen, who based his 1878 play on the experiences of a young woman he admired, “A woman cannot be herself in modern society with laws made by men and with prosecutors and judges who assess female conduct from a male viewpoint.”

 After directing highly praised productions of “Death of a Salesman” and “Cages aux Folles” at the college, King said she thought “it was time to do a woman’s journey” and asked Rossi to take it on.

Rossi, director of many past NVC productions including “Equus,” “Amadeus” and “My Fair Lady,” in addition to persuading King to play Nora, asked an NVC alumni Benjamin Stowe to return to Napa Valley College to play Torvald. Stowe, who worked with Rossi at the college, is now a member of the Sonoma County Repertory Theater and has performed with the Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival.

Also in the cast are Rick Pollaziol, owner of Weapons of Choice, a Napa-based business specializing in theater weaponry sales and rentals, and Loretta Long, a favorite performer on the NVC stage. Rounding out the cast is Dorian Sanmartino, who was last seen in NVC’s production of “Love’s Labor’s Lost,” Karla Bunter, Kirsten Raschko and Sam Burch.

“I feel like I’ve been given a gift,” King said, of her experience working with Rossi, who is now a freelance actor and director, last seen in the Aurora Theater’s production of “Master Builder.” “I knew he was good but I didn’t know how good.”