Tonight I'd like to start posting links to reviews of recent productions. I'll begin with Ibsen's Hedda Gabler. The 2009 production starring Mary Louise Parker has produced a number of striking images. Let's see what the critics thought of the performance itself.
The New Yorker's John Lahr weighs in here:
http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/theatre/2009/02/09/090209crth_theatre_lahr
The New York Times' Ben Brantley criticizes this production severely:
http://theater.nytimes.com/2009/01/26/theater/reviews/26bran.html
On the other hand, Brantley praises the touring production that starred Cate Blanchett:
http://theater.nytimes.com/2006/03/03/theater/reviews/03hedd.html
Here she is with Hugo Weaving (Judge Brack).
Hilton Als, however, is more skeptical, claiming that Blanchett is really playing 20th century actress Katherine Hepburn rather than Hedda.
http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2006/03/20/060320crth_theatre
Als preferred Glenda Jackson's Hedda.
For more about this film version, see this link:
http://lecinemadreams.blogspot.com/2011/01/hedda-1975.html
Surprise! Surprise! The film was released in theaters. Patrick Stewart played Hedda's former lover, Lovborg.
Let's look at some other recent productions.
In 2009, Chicago's Raven Theater's production received much praise:
http://chicagotheaterblog.com/2009/05/08/review_raven-theatre_hedda-gabler/
Adrian Noble directed this British production just last year:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/theatre/theatre-reviews/7397799/Hedda-Gabler-at-the-Theatre-Royal-Bath-review.html
http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/2010/mar/08/hedda-gabler-theatre-royal-review
German director Thomas Ostermeier tries to answer the question of why a contemporary Hedda doesn't just leave Tesman and start over:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/2008/feb/29/theatre1
More locally, the always-intriguing Washington Shakespeare Theater Company has staged this play:
http://dctheatrescene.com/2008/02/16/hedda-gabler/
The Philadelphia-area Mauckingbird Theater Company has imagined Hedda as a lesbian:
http://www.broadstreetreview.com/index.php/main/article/mauckingbirds_lesbian_hedda_gabler
I'll finish with a link to a review of an interesting 2007 production from Pittsburgh:
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07170/795181-325.stm
See the link below for the entry with the plethora of video clips, including the one pictured below!
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