Like many of Ibsen’s timely, psychological plays, “Hedda Gabler” is set in 1890’s Norway, and concerns the restrictive roles society places on women and men.
Hedda (played by tall and stately, Marianna Gailus) is the daughter of a famous general. She recently married Jorgen (a shorter, Max Gordon Moore). Jorgen is a mild-mannered scholar and aspiring professor. Hedda is a spoiled aristocrat. And so, we see right from the beginning that this couple is mis-matched.
Like a game of chess, Hedda’s manipulative character is immediately revealed by how thoughtlessly she treats Jorgen’s dear Aunt (Felicity Jones Latta) and his maid (Mary Lou Rosato). The play then centers on Hedda’s jealousy regarding her former classmate, Thea Elvsted (Stephanie Machado) whom she discovers is now married, and has a secret lover on the side, Eilert Lovborg (James Udom). It turns out that Hedda also had an affair with Lovborg earlier (which is hard to believe as Udom is not convincing enough). Never the less, family friend, Judge Brack (Austin Durant) who has sly motives of his own, serves to complete this “soap opera” version of Paul Walsh’s translation.
The masterful, long-time Artistic Director, James Bundy, who is leaving, chose to direct his favorite, Ibsen classic as his final offering.
Special mention should be made of Lyle Laize Qin who designed a Hedda’s gorgeous gowns. Jessie Baldinger’s appropriate, Norwegian setting, and mood lighting by Larry Ortiz contributed to the cold atmosphere and unsympathetic characters that one loves to hate.
