Hedda Gabler
by Henrik Ibsen
A New Adaptation by Jon Robin Baitz, from a Literal Translation by Anne-Charlotte Hanes-Harvey
Directed by Gary F. Bell
Stray Dog Theatre
June 7, 2018
Stephen Peirick, Rachel Hanks, Ben Ritchie, John Reidy, Nicole Angeli Photo by John Lamb Stray Dog Theatre
I don’t think I would have guessed two years ago that Stray Dog Theatre would turn out to be the definitive interpreter of Ibsen plays in St. Louis, but now it’s certainly looking that way. Last year, SDT and director Gary F. Bell showed their impressive understanding of Ibsen with a riveting production of the classic A Doll’s House. Now this year, the company–along with most of the same cast–continues to impress with an equally excellent production of another iconic Ibsen classic, Hedda Gabler.
As I pointed out in my review of A Doll’s House last year, that play and Hedda Gabler essentially serve as counterpoints to one another in various ways, especially in that they portray central female characters who are, in different ways, trapped by societal expectations, who both find rather extreme ways of ultimately dealing with their situations. In other ways, though, the plays–and their central characters–are very different, even though Stray Dog has assmebled most of the same players for this production. Here, the headstrong, enigmatic, sometimes vindictive Hedda is played by Nicole Angeli. Her new husband, the earnest academic Jørgen Tesman, is played by Ben Ritchie. Jørgen is devoted to his studies, his two elderly maiden aunts including Juliana (Jan Niehoff) and another, much-beloved and ailing aunt who is often mentioned but never seen. Jørgen is devoted to Hedda, his aunts, and his studies, not necessarily in that order, and Hedda, the popular daughter of a famous general, is bored. She apparently married Jørgen because of his prospects for advancement in his career and for social standing, and she longs for power and the idealized days of her youth, when she held another young scholar, Ejlert Løvborg (Stephen Peirick), in thrall. When an old school acquantance, Thea Elvsted (Rachel Hanks) arrives in town looking for Løvborg, and Jørgen’s well-connected friend Judge Brack (John Reidy) suggests that the newly academically successful Løvborg might be in line for the promotion that Jørgen has been expecting, Hedda is driven by a combination of motivations–including jealousy–to exert her influence over Løvborg andThea in ways that threaten to destroy not only those around her, but Hedda herself. That’s as far as I’ll go with the description, but if you’ve read or seen the play, you know where this is going, and if you haven’t seen it, the unfolding of events is an essential element in the drama.
The plot is so deliberately constructed, and the dialogue so precise and thorough, that this play could potentially come across as tedious if not staged well, with just the right director and just the right cast. Fortunately, those factors are present here, and impressively so. As with A Doll’s House last year, director Gary F. Bell has gotten the pacing just right, highlighting the building tension and drama with just the right balance of action and silence. It’s all so well-choreographed, and the characterizations are excquisitely rendered, led by Angeli’s sharp, caustic, calculating Hedda. This is such a difficult character with her mix of vindictiveness, anger, boredom, and growing sense of helplessness, and Angeli gets all those points and more in her complex, perfectly pitched portrayal. Still, a great Hedda alone doesn’t make a great Hedda Gabler. The rest of the cast is just as crucial, and all the players here are excellent, from Ritchie’s kind, maybe a little too-earnest Jørgen, to Hanks’s initially shy but increasingly determined, idealistic Thea, to Peirick’s troubled visionary Løvborg, who has excellent chemistry with both Hanks and Angeli, to Reidy’s oily, calculating Judge Brack. These five main cast members, all holdovers from last year’s A Doll’s House, are joined this year by Niehoff in a fine performance as the concerned Juliana, and by the equally strong Suzanne Greenwald as the Tesmans’ housekeeper, Berte. It’s an especially cohesive ensemble that brings a great deal of energy to this deliberate, intricately plotted play that starts off with promise and slowly builds to a devastating, intensely effective conclusion.
The technical qualities here are also impressive, with Miles Bledsoe’s meticulous set, hair and makeup, and Amy Hopkins’s well-crafted costumes aiding in bringing the late 19th Century setting to life. Stray Dog’s Tower Grove Abbey venue, built in the early 1900s, provides an ideal location for the setting, as well. Lighting designer Tyler Duenow also contributes a great deal to the overall mood and atmosphere of the production.
I had seen Hedda Gabler once before, in 2012 in an excellent production at London’s Old Vic Theatre, but that was a different translation. This adaptation, by Jon Robin Baitz, is appropriately ominous and intense, and Stray Dog has staged it remarkably well. It’s a taut, well-paced, riveting, and sometimes disturbing psychological drama with strong, memorable characterizations by a top-notch St. Louis cast. It’s a prime example of classic theatre at its best, and another impressive turn from Stray Dog Theatre. Don’t miss this one. It really is that good.
Nicole Angeli Photo by John Lamb Stray Dog Theatre
Stray Dog Theatre is presenting Hedda Gabler at Tower Grove Abbey until June 23, 2018
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