Theatre Production allows female roles to shine
By Nicki Crisci, Opinion Editor
The production of “Hedda Gabler,” Apr. 11-13 and Apr. 17-19 in Ransburg Auditorium, brought the University of Indianapolis’ theatre season to a close. Tackling social and psychological problems, this play explored the ideas of courage, individual freedom and boredom within everyday life.
Performed ably by the cast, each element of the show was well thought out. The setting design was a prominent part and melded well with the themes of the play. For instance, the walls were a dull beige color, mirroring Hedda’s boredom with life. They were also paper-thin and fragile, like the lives and relationships of the people who occupied it.
The most noticeable aspects of the scenery, however, were the angles of the walls. They seemed to curve in toward the stage, hovering ominously over the characters as if the world would crash down at them at any minute. The design, coupled with the well-placed lights, added to the mood and effect of the play, making scenes tense and believable.
“Hedda Gabler” had a talented cast including Ryan O’Shea, Alex Oberheide, Jennifer Lois Alexander, Emma Davis, John Waller, Lucas Souder and Leslie Gebby.
In summary, Hedda Gabler (O’Shea) is married to a prominent scholar George Tesman (Oberheide) and can find no happiness or sense of belonging in her relationship. She is constantly bored and longs for freedom. Meanwhile, characters like her husband’s aunt Ms. Julie Tesman (Alexander) and friend Judge Brack (Waller) further complicate her life with frustrations.
The only way she finds some release is by making others, like George’s contending scholar Eilert Lovborg (Souder) and his assistant Mrs. Thea Elvsted (Davis), fall under her control. She believes very strongly in having control over other people. Hedda wants to change a man’s destiny.
Lovborg and Thea had been working on a manuscript for a book and he ends up losing it in a small fight. George retrieves it and leaves it in Hedda’s possession. Lovborg tells Thea and Hedda that he has lost the manuscript and he and Thea act like they’ve lost a child. Hedda, in a jealous rage over Thea’s power over him and Lovborg’s own freedom, privately burns the book, saying, “Thea, I’m burning your child.”
The play ends dramatically with Hedda giving Lovborg a parting gift, a pistol, which he may have used to shoot himself in the heart. She finds his suicide quite beautiful, however, and says that he is free because he made a choice. But Judge Brack ruins her vision of his “beautiful” death by saying he was murdered by a woman and was shot in the bowels. Unable to cope with the idea that the death was ugly and that her life will continue to be boring, she frees herself by shooting herself in the temple in her ‘beautiful’ way.
While the inherent themes that Henrik Ibsen interwove in his play were portrayed quite well, the play overall tended to drag and left the audience as bored with their lives as Hedda Gabler was with hers. The four-act play tended to drift the interest from the plot sometimes, not leading the audience into any type of suspense.
It was the main actors, however, who were able to bring some life into the play. Without them, the experience would have truly been unenjoyable. Standing out from the rest were the women of the show. O’Shea, in particular, gave a powerful portrayal of Hedda Gabler.
Through O’Shea’s acting, the character of Hedda Gabler sprang to life in a believable manner. She is portrayed as a very strong, pushy, determined, cold, quirky and manipulative woman. She is jealous of others’ courage and craves to discover it in herself. In the end, she finds beauty, freedom and courage when she aims a pistol at her temple and ends her life. O’Shea was able to capture this character in her delivery. The lines, combined with her effortless interactions with Mrs. Thea Elvsted, made the audience connect with her easygoing manner and the range of emotions she showed throughout the play. Also, Alexander’s performance as Aunt Julie wasn’t unnoticed as she looked at ease on the stage and was a believable, worrisome, curious and painstakingly caring aunt.
The interesting aspect about the male roles in this play was that they didn’t seem nearly as prominent as they were in other plays. Souder’s role as Lovborg, for instance, while performed quite capably, was a bit short-lived. In other roles, Souder was on stage a considerable amount of time. He used his lessened time to his advantage, however, and perhaps performed his best dramatic role of the year.
The same could be said of Oberheide. While he was on stage constantly, the audience’s focus was on Hedda Gabler. It was a different experience to see Oberheide in a role that didn’t involve comedy. That being said, he pulled off drama brilliantly and took on the scholarly character role with ease.
Although the play did lapse into boredom at points, the cast gave it their best effort and made the last play of the season a different experience than the others offered during the year. New themes brought out hidden talents in some actors and enhanced it in others. All-in-all, “Hedda Gabler” was a memorable experience that left the audience to ponder their own lives and their own definitions of freedom and courage
