A new version by Erin Cressida Wilson
Directed by Barry Edelstein
Highly Recommended
Running till March 22, 2026
Reviewed by ODALYS NANIN
The Old Globe Theatre (The Hollywood Times) 03/06/2026
Hedda Gabler has been called the Female Hamlet! It’s the ultimate role for a dramatic actress to portrayed. A psychological drama that turned Henrik Ibsen into the father of modern theater. It’s the genius of Ibsen that makes this a riveting play to watch unfold in front of your very eyes. But to understand the play you must first understand the condition of women in the 19th Century and the poignant reason why Ibsen wrote it.
It was written in 1890, set in Norway during the Victorian era, defined by strict social codes, patriarchal norms where women were only expected to be wives and mothers.
Ibsen chose to name the play Hedda Gabler (maiden name) not using the husbands last name of Tesman. Hedda the beautiful daughter of General Gabler, has recently married Jorgen Tesman, an academic who is facing financial hardship. She is bored with both her marriage and life. She seeks her own freedom where she can make choices of her own.
This takes courage in a world where women are kept silent under the control of their husbands. Hedda is trapped in the suffocating bourgeoise society in which she lives.
She’s also pregnant brushing it off while she plays with her father’s loaded guns. She is an intelligent educated woman from the 19th century, but in many ways, not different from the modern woman of today. We need to hear her speak in our language so that we can see that she still exists in all of us.
Under the brilliant, stylized direction of Barry Edelstein this new adaptation of Hedda Gabler is thrilling, daring and brazenly modern. Center stage we see a long grandiose green mint color sofa next to it a large metal flute fireplace both items sit on a rotating platform. Upstage a raised platform with a grand piano simplistically designed by Mark Wendland. The grand piano is played by Korrie Yamaoka who’s dressed in black becoming part of the set. The original music by Caroline Shaw enhances the performance on stage as it crescendos during confrontations and melodic during romantic moments. The music stylizes the play into feeling almost like watching a silent film. The pianist playing the piano symbolizes the character of Hedda who also plays the piano at the later part of the play.
The stage lights (Heather Gilbert) change as the platform rotates giving us a different perspective of the location of the long grand sofa that dominates the stage. Flawlessly choreographed as light, sound and scenic design enhances the performance on stage.
The entrance of Aunt Julie Tesman (Saidah Arrika Ekulona) dominates the stage with her grounded voice and boisterous presence. Soon after enters George Tesman (Charlie Barnett) handsomely sweet recently arrived from his six-month honeymoon in Europe. Then enters Hedda Gabler (Katie Holmes) wearing an orange dress a modernized style of the 19th Century dresses. It’s a brilliant contrast against the green sofa as she sits to drink her tea. She is playful, alarmingly coquettish and exquisitely charming to all the men that desire her. She is however mean, loud and devilish to all the females in the room.
Katie Holmes embodies Hedda Gabler with such ease and precision of gaze, posture and manner as if she was wearing Hedda’s own skin. She stretches on her long green sofa as if she were a cat in heat. Then she jumps off the sofa and sits on the floor with legs open playing with some books. It may seem childish behavior but from Hedda’s point of view is absolute freedom.
Costume designer David I. Reynoso gives a free style to the dresses by insinuating a corset but without really having to wear one. Ingeniously designed to give Hedda Gabler the freedom in her movements that she craves in real life. Her nemesis Judge Brack (Thomas Edward Daugherty) enters to announce that Ejlert Lovborg (Alexander Hurt) is also competing for the professor position at the same University as Hedda’s husband George Tesman.
Ejlert Lovborg is Hedda’s ex-lover the man that got away. This was Hedda’s obsessive and destructive love affair that ended when she pointed her gun to his head. He enters carrying his new finished manuscript soon to be published. But Ejlert is now committed to Thea (Celeste Arias) who helped him write his manuscript.
The chemistry between the ex- lovers is palpable as EjLert confesses that he still yearns for her and that the manuscript it’s his baby. She exclaims you abandoned me! All of the men re- enter the room and decide to go to an event where Ejlert Lovborg will read his manuscript. Alas! Lovborg gets so drunk that he forgets his manuscript and Mr. Tesman retrieves it for safe keeping returning it to Hedda. Once Tesman is out of the room Hedda proceeds to burn it. Ejlert enters drunk and desperately looking for his manuscript. Hedda convinces him to take his life and give him her gun.
He declares that he will take his life that his career is ruined by losing his manuscript. Hedda smiles and tells him is the only brave thing to do. He exits with her pistol in his pocket.
This is where we realize the manipulative monster Hedda has become. She tells her husband that she burned it to help him get his position in the University.
Judge Brack enters telling everyone that Ejlert took his own life by accidentally shooting himself in the groin. Hedda realizes that he was a coward after all.
Judge Brack tells Hedda in private that he knows she gave him the gun to kill himself and that he will stay quiet in exchange for her sexual favors.
Hedda is now trapped not only by her boring marriage but by someone she has grown to detest. The Judge represents the inequality that exists in a patriarchal driven society.
Hedda goes to her piano and starts to play it. Then quietly walks downstage as the music morbidly continues, she takes her last pistol points it under her chin and a loud bang is heard.
She falls to the ground dead.
Her decision to commit suicide is the only free choice she’s left to make in order to free herself from the cage she was forced to live in.
