"Hedda Gabler"

September 10, 2010 — I thought my summer theatre season was over until I discovered Theatre Kapow was staging Henrik Ibsen's "Hedda Gabler" at the Stockbridge Theatre at Pinkerton Academy in Derry, New Hampshire. This is a difficult play and I admire Theatre Kapow's gutsiness in taking it on. They did an admirable job for the most part, but this play is all dialog with little action, so it's important that the actors convey the characters' feelings and motivation. I thought they could have done this more effectively. At times I felt they expended so much time and energy memorizing the enormous amount of dialog, that they didn't give enough attention to studying their characters' personalities. They didn't really bring the characters to life for me.

The multi-talented Carey Cahoon had the difficult role of Hedda. She also participated in costume selection for the play, and has had experience as a director. The costumes and set were accurate for the period and well-done.

Overall, in spite of my complaints, I'm glad I saw this production. I saw one other Ibsen play, "A Doll's House," on Masterpiece Theatre a few years ago, and had always been curious about "Hedda Gabler," the tragic ending of which I was aware of, but that didn't spoil my enjoyment of this presentation.