By Sandi Masori
SAN DIEGO — It’s always fun to see who turns up in the performances at The Old Globe. Right now we have Katie Holmes (Dawson’s Creek, Poker Face, All My Sons) in town as the lead character in Henrik Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler. In this new version, written off a fresh translation from the Original Swedish by Erin Cressida Wilson and directed by Barry Edelstein, gone is the flowery prose and subtle innuendo of the previous Victorian translations, and in its place is language that is to the point and easy to understand.
It’s hard to summarize the play. I’m still trying to work out if the main character is a hero or a villain, or maybe both. I can’t imagine the role in anyone else’s hands, and it’s Holmes’ expressive face and physical expression that make the character endearing. You really want to like her.
The show starts with Hedda Gabler and her new husband George Tesman (Charlie Barnett) coming back from an extended honeymoon. The community including George’s Aunt Julie (Saidah Arrika Ekulona) and Judge Brack (Alfredo Narciso) has helped to buy and set up a home for the young newlyweds. The house is one that Gabler was heard expressing admiration for at a previous time (before the play setting).
From the beginning we wonder how loyal Gabler is to her new husband as she flirts and manipulates all the men around her including her husband, the Judge, and her husband’s rival Ejlert Lövborg (Alexander Hurt,) who may be involved with her married friend Thea Elvsted (Celeste Arias).
Even Thea is not immune to Gabler’s manipulations. We aren’t really sure why she is playing games with everyone, perhaps she is bored, or perhaps she is a creative soul struggling against the bindings of a woman in her time. Whatever it is, no one is really better off for her interference.
Since the play was written there has long been a discussion as to whether she is the victim of her time and circumstance, or the monster.
The set design by Mark Wendland is very simple and stripped down, all placed on a large turntable in the stage floor: a long couch, a couple of Ottomans, a furnace, a vase, and then the piano in the background. Everything takes place in the Tesman home.
The acting is solid as you would expect from an all- equity cast. The onstage pianist, Korrie Yamaoka, is an important part of the action, and her music keeps everything moving along, so much so that at curtain call, the cheer the crowd gave her was almost louder than that given Holmes.
The play itself was a good experience and the 90-minutes, no intermission, passed quickly.
The visit to Balboa Park was a little more frustrating though. It was my first visit since the new parking rules went into effect and I found the process confusing and unclear. I tried to register on the site for locals and paid the $5 fee to register. Then I tried to reserve a permit for the day I was to attend. I got three separate emails telling me that I had registered and it had been submitted. I was not sure if the $8 payment went through or not, or if it was even needed as Sundays are not supposed to be enforced for California residents. I thought that I had paid but then got another email a few hours later that my submission was accepted but would not be active until I paid.
In the end I will need to check my credit card statement to see if it went through or not. Suffice it to say that the enjoyment of the play made me forget about the parking hassle, but it is something that needs to be factored into any future visit to the park.
Hedda Gabler won a week’s extension and now plays at The Globe through March 15. It’s probably best for mature audiences as there is some language and adult situations.
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Associate Editor Sandi Masori is a theater and food reviewer for San Diego Jewish World.