PicksInSix Review: Hedda Gabler - Remy Bumppo Theatre Company
‘Hedda Gabler’: A Woman of Secrets
PicksInSix® Review | Guest Contributor | Ronald Keaton
An interesting take on the great Henrik Ibsen play “Hedda Gabler” is the latest offering from Remy Bumppo Theatre Company at the Theater Wit now through March 8. It was adapted for Roundabout Theater Company in NYC by American playwright Christopher Shinn some years back, and it (along with Remy Bumppo Artistic Director Marti Lyons) aspires to make the play fresh and even a bit modern. It all takes place in the newly purchased home of Jorgen and Hedda Tesman, a spacious and sterile drawing room from scenic designer Joe Schermoly.
The plot, in brief: Hedda and Jorgen have returned from a long honeymoon. In their new home, Hedda finds herself bored with her options and company. Upon their arrival, George realizes his academic rival Eilert has begun working on a manuscript again. Jorgen doesn't realize that his wife and rival are former lovers. The manuscript could place Jorgen's professional path in jeopardy, while securing Eilert's future. After a night out, Jorgen finds Ejlert's manuscript which he had lost while drinking; it doesn't help that Ejlert is an alcoholic. Hedda, rather than tell Ejlert that the manuscript has been found, convinces him to kill himself. And she burns the manuscript. After learning his suicide was not the clean death she imagined, she takes her own life.
Hedda is one of the great roles in world theatre and has been compared in some circles as a female Hamlet. Originally the play had a hugely scandalous premiere back in 1891, because it dealt with a woman trapped in a marriage she doesn't want to be in and trying to find her way out. Even the title uses her maiden name, as Mr. Ibsen stirs the creative pot of his realism. There are, of course, the inevitable bourgeois trappings along the way. A former lover reappears. A judge uses his position liberally to get his way. Her husband is far too committed to his work. There's an aunt whose calling is to be a caretaker to those in her sphere. They all push Hedda to making desperate decisions for all kinds of reasons.
She's a woman full of secrets, owning several of her own. She knows the faux pas of several in her realm, and we don't always understand how she possesses such knowledge here and there. The interesting thing about the Shinn adaptation is that Hedda is constantly fighting for control in her life, as opposed to a traditional life of being manipulated through the elements around her. It gives her own character a more feminist regard, which is both admirable in the story and, at its original production, upsetting to many.
The cast aims gallantly toward that more contemporary retelling. As Hedda, Aurora Real de Asua is at once brittle and desperately commanding, and she wears it all on her sleeve as a unique badge of honor. Indeed, even in enviously observing about one character's suicide that it takes "a special courage" to even consider such a deed—one she purposely drives to make happen in her goal for independence—this Hedda shows us a woman who evolves to taking no prisoners. She wants what she wants, even at the cost of her own life. And Ms. Real de Asua draws her strong line in the sand. It's difficult to pull together and fascinating in its results.
Eduardo Curley is Jorgen, properly laser-focused on his career while being the doting husband. It could be a thankless role, but Mr. Curley gives it a well-needed clarity. As Judge Brack, Greg Matthew Anderson is just as smooth and smarmy as he can be; the Judge/Hedda scenes are properly driven by his expertise. Felipe Carrasco is a fine Ejlert, the fly in the ointment for Jorgen's ambitions, even as he doesn't really mean to be. His alcoholic breakdown is subtle and highly effective. Annabel Armour once again is such an appealing actor; her tenderness and reserve as Miss Juliane, Jorgen's aunt, is both a light touch and a welcome layer of humor. Gloria Imseih Petrelli offers a strong look at Thea, Ejlert's writing partner and lover, whose own stance at being betrayed is tender and painful. Remy Bumppo stalwart Linda Gillum is a dependable Berte, the maid.
GUEST CONTRIBUTOR | RONALD KEATON received an Equity Jeff Award for the performance of his one-man show CHURCHILL. www.solochicagotheatre.org. Coming soon, his new solo play about Ben Franklin, THE FIRST EMBASSY.
PHOTO | Michael Brosilow
Remy Bumppo Theatre Company
presents
Hedda Gabler
Theater Wit
1229 W. Belmont Ave
though March 8, 2026
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