Hedda Gabler, Ibsen Fest in Lanesboro

Hedda Gabler (Adrienne Sweeney--Commonweal photo)

The kickoff to the 2009 professional theater seasons starts this weekend with the much anticipated Ibsen Festival at the Commonweal in Lanesboro, Minnesota. The festival features music, lectures, films, visual art, and of course, a full production of Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler at the Commonweal. Previews of the play run Thursday and Friday with a Saturday evening opening.

The title character of the play has recently married (much to everyone’s surprise) aspiring academic, George Tesman. As Hedda prepares to settle into the predictable role of wife to a capable, kind, but not exceptional, husband, she remains obsessed with the possibility that someone can live a life of courage and daring. More importantly, she feels the need to pull the strings that facilitate the rise of this heroic person. Perhaps as her own life moves toward the common, she needs to believe that the exceptional is still possible. Like so many of Ibsen’s characters fixated on an ideal, her obsession ripples through the other characters with predictable and unpredictable repercussions. Hedda (the character as well as the play) is a favorite among Ibsen characters for her charm, wit, and shear bravado.

Hedda Gabler runs through June 12
The 2009 Ibsen Festival runs Friday - Sunday, April 17 - 19
Visit the Commonweal for festival details: commonwealtheatre.org
Follow this link for an Ibsen Fest Schedule of Events (PDF file).