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Hedda Gabler Reviews
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Overall, not worth it. Review by: , Mar 22, 2009 |
| Didn't love it. I am a big fan of Ms. Parker, but this play did not use her strengths. She did well, but not a home run. There needed to be more passion, more psychosis, for it all to be believable. Other actors were weak. Not worth the money. Sorry, I had hoped for better. |
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My recommendation:
Don't go
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Spouse/Partner
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Recommended for:
Seniors
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Hedda Gabler-Hedda Gabler Review by: theatergoer, Mar 22, 2009 |
One of the previous reviews said this is a tricky one to critique and that's exactly what it is.
My husband and I purchased tickets six tickets for our two children and their spouses and ourselves. We all disagreed with the negative reviews; we thought the play was excellent. My husband and I saw the a previous revival with Kate Blanchett as Hedda Gabler and felt Mary Louise Parker's interpretation was better. This Ibsen plays is ... read more filled with contradations because no sooner does one impression register than a wave of another, contradictory one succeeds it. The first act is long as it builds to help the audience understand Hedda's motivations. it's not for everyone, but definitely worth seeing. |
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My recommendation:
Make an effort to see
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Recommended for:
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| 3 |
Not recommended for anyone Review by: BeBe, Mar 18, 2009 |
| Interesting play, but dreadful performance by Ms. Parker. No life, no oomph, possibly just bad direction. Expected so much more and was seriously let down. I wouldn't recommend this to anyone. |
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Don't go
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| 4 |
Not bad, especially if you enjoy serious drama Review by: , Mar 8, 2009 |
This is a tricky one to critique. A fair number of people are giving this show a bad review, and I sort of understand why. For one thing, this is a fairly dry, slow-moving play to begin with, so it won't suit some tastes. Plus, the acting is a little bit suspect. Hedda and her husband are very believable, but the other characters don't benefit from the same top-notch acting. On the other hand, Parker has a strong presence, and the ... read more production clearly strives to create a quality production. I guess I would chalk this up to personal tastes: If you're touring NYC and looking for a fun evening, or you enjoy show tunes and comedies more than serious drama, maybe Guys and Dolls, Billy Elliot, and a few others are better choices. On the other hand, if you like serious drama, and you enjoy seeing the old standards even if they aren't perfectly suited to modern tastes, I think this would be a worthwhile and enjoyable experience. |
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My recommendation:
Go see if you get a chance
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| 5 |
DESPERATE hOUSEWIFE: OSLO Review by: Beth M, Mar 7, 2009 |
HEDDA GABLER
By Beth Mandelbaum
This afternoon I saw the much maligned revival of Henrik Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler produced by the Roundabout Theatre Company, but even with its flaws, it was a worthwhile experience to be able to see such a well known and deeply revered classic play. This production took a chance on being different, and so therefore took a risk in modernizing and putting a contemporary spin on a play written in, I believe,... read more, the late 19th century. However, since I have never seen any other productions or films of this work, I have no way of comparing it to the author’s original intentions.
Hedda Gabler has two of my favorite actors in leading roles: Mary Louise Parker, whose brilliance I feel in love with when I saw her in fantasies such as Reckless and Prelude To A Kiss, and then last season in the extremely imaginative Dead Man’s Cell phone; and Michael Cerveris, who I saw most recently in Stephen Sondheim’s Bounce and in two of Sondheim’s most dark and chilling musicals, Assassins and Sweeney Todd.. To me, neither can do any wrong. However both were often raked over the coals by critics, who essentially felt that Mary Louise Parker was miscast in the role of Hedda Gabler, the quintessential “desperate housewife” for whom everything is her life is stultifying, disappointing, claustrophobic, and boring; and that Mr. Cerveris, while a fine actor, was somewhat misdirected in his interpretation of the role of her husband, Jorgen Tesman, to whom she had been recently married. Hedda makes no bones about not loving her husband.
Mary Louise’s Hedda is so filled with ennui and tedium that she barely has a kind work for anyone. I was very struck by her slow, almost constant movements across the stage, like a sleek animal languidly poised for the kill. And this is exactly what her character is set out to do. Hedda is one of the most provocative and mysterious characters imaginable, often inscrutable, often a bit scary, because one never really knows what she is plotting and how her desire to control the lives of others, perhaps intended as “games”, generated out of boredom with her life, or perhaps she has an underlying psychological need to have mastery over others, will play out.. Hedda is both a profoundly destructive and self destructive force. One question to me is whether she is fundamentally evil, or if her life experience has transformed her into one of the most perplexing, complicated, amoral, highly manipulative, narcissistic, sexual creatures to be the focus of a drama/tragedy.
Sharing specific details of the plot would take away too much for anyone who has not seen this play before, but essentially seems to focus on triangles involving past love affairs and present day competitions, some overt and some underlying, but quietly seething.
And Ms. Parker’s style is to appear to have a “quiet” exterior façade, but everything she says and does points to emotions smoldering beneath the surface, which are revealed often in shocking and unexpected ways. The last line of the play is something like, “I can’t imagine why she would do that?” which for me is a key theme of Ibsen’s play.
At the end, Hedda meets her match when due to her maniacally evil deeds she has to give up the much needed control over others, and be controlled completely by another, with tragic results.
I never like to say that some of the actors were seemingly not quite up to par, but a few did strike me as missing the mark, which undoubtedly took away from some of the play’s power; but again this could be due to the direction and the reinterpretation of the original play. I always like to give actors the benefit of the doubt.
Also, the first act, which ran 65 minutes, was rather slow moving at times. But yet there was an increasingly strong sense of dramatic tension as the various characters become introduced and begin to interact. I have to say that the second act, which was just 45 minutes, moved much faster with it’s almost non stop intrigue, fascination, in its often horrific, repellant plot developments; Hedda increasingly has her way and goes for the jugular, almost literally, until her downfall. |
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My recommendation:
Don't go
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| 6 |
Wish I had not gone to this one. Review by: Theater Tony, Mar 5, 2009 |
| Not worth it at any price. Sorry but this does NOT work. Go see something else. |
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| 7 |
Very enjoyable! Review by: nyer, Feb 7, 2009 |
| Great show I had a great time! Mary Louis Parker shines...as does Michael Cervantes (from Sweeney Todd). I dont think the production is the best Roundabout has ever had.....BUT i thoroughly enjoyed myself. I loved the set....and Hedda Gabler is worth watching! |
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My recommendation:
Make an effort to see
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I saw this show with:
Spouse/Partner
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Recommended for:
Romantic Date, Adults
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| 8 |
Fabulous Review by: Sublimemilae, Jan 26, 2009 |
I had fabulous fun watching this play. I love Mary-Louise Parker's body language and movements. She makes her role feel fresh and it translates well. I felt like there was so much depth to a person who at first blush may seem so shallow. You can feel how tortured she is by simply having to exist. This adaptation was clearly written for the star or at least it seemed that way.
I will say that she was vastly superior to the rest of the cast ... read more but I think that's the point. Their roles were flat and were meant to highlight Hedda and the intriguing woman that she is.
I also loved the production. You really get the feel of the giant walls of a turn of the century victorian house where you can't afford any furniture. |
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My recommendation:
Make an effort to see
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I saw this show with:
Spouse/Partner
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Recommended for:
Romantic Date
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| 9 |
Good show Review by: , Jan 22, 2009 |
Unlike her last play Dead Man's Phone , Mary Louise Parker shines in this version of Hedda Gabler. Each and every cast member makes each others performance better so there is great chemistry
Stage veteran Michael Cerveris is flawless as always - I would recommend this show - even thought the setting is early turn of century - it seems they have modernized the language a little which makes the play flow and adds ... read more to its humor and drama
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| * Review is an opinion of a BroadwayBox user and not that of BroadwayBox.com and BroadwayBox, Inc. |
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