Hedda
Adapted by Lucy Kirkwood from the play by Henrik Ibsen
Directed by Stuart Fail
May 10 – Jun. 2, 2019
Tickets: $29.50
Preview Performances: May. 8 – 9 | Tickets: $18
Shimberg Playhouse, Straz Center for the Performing Arts
BroadwayWorld
- Best Performances of the Decade – Emily Belvo
- Best Lead Performance in a Play – Emily Belvo
Theatre Tampa Bay Award
- Outstanding Lighting Design (under $500k) – Jo Averill-Snell
Theatre Tampa Bay Nominated
- Outstanding Production of a Play
- Outstanding Performance by a Lead Actress in a Play – Emily Belvo
- Outstanding Costume Design (under $500k) – Katrina Stevenson
- Outstanding Lighting Design (under $500k) – Jo Averill-Snell
What It’s About
Hedda, still mourning the father she adored, returns from her honeymoon with a husband she doesn’t love, to a flat they can’t afford and a pregnancy she doesn’t want. Trapped by her past and terrified by her future, bored by her life but too cowardly to walk away from it, she finds herself caught between three men. Ultimately, something has to give.
Why It’s For You
You’ve binge-watched every single BBC drama available and still can’t get enough. Maybe you’ve always been interested in Ibsen’s iconic anti-heroine (the play in all incarnations has always been a critique of marriage and traditional conceptions of femininity) but simply can’t get past the idea of having to watch a bunch of people in 1800s costumes acting stiff and mannerly sitting on big furniture. This is not only a new telling of a classic story, the central character is presented through the writing of a modern, young woman playwright. You want to see the work of whom the British press calls “Britain’s brightest young stage writer” before she becomes a household name. As our modern Othello offers in terms of race, this Hedda allows us to possibly think about how women’s roles have changed (or not) over the past 150 or so years.
Why We Chose It
It’s still hard (though getting less so, thankfully) to find shows that showcase strong women, independent women, modern women.. This one not only passes the Bechdel test but manages to add many interesting twists and clever updates to a story every theater student or connoisseur should know by heart. We’re also thrilled for the opportunity to offer the work of such an up-and-coming playwright to our regional audiences. In terms of the 20th anniversary season specifically this script made perfect sense – we’ve always loved to tell known stories in all-new ways.
Media
2018-19 TTB Award nominees!
We’re so happy to see that our season closer, Nick Payne’s Constellations, racked up 6 Theatre Tampa Bay Award nominations! Outstanding Director of a Play: Summer Bohnenkamp
Hedda on WFTS Morning Blend
Check out Christopher Marshall and Emily Belvo discuss Hedda on WFTS Morning Blend.
Hedda on WMNF Art In Your Ear
Listen to cast members Christopher Marshall and Katie Miesner with director Stuart Fail discuss Hedda at the WMNF studio for Art In Your Ear May 17, 2019.
Hedda update from director Stuart Fail
More words from the playwright: I asked Ms. Kirkwood about a line in the play spoken by Hedda that comes from Alice in Wonderland. Here’s
Hedda Interview Reel
An interview reel with some of the creative minds behind Henrik Ibsen’s Hedda, adapted by Lucy Kirkwood, at the Straz Center for the Performing Arts May 8 – Jun. 2.
Guest blog: Hedda director Stuart Fail with an update on the process
Hedda is rife with moments of humor, of piercing drama, of painful exploration. Any levity brings a respite from the emotionally challenging aspects of this
Cast & Crew
- Director – Stuart Fail
- Eric Haak – Technical Director
- Stage Manager – Matthew Ray
Cast
- Emily Belvo – Hedda
- Christopher Marshall – George
- Joseph Michael-Kenneth – Eli
- Katie Miesner – Thea
- Katrina Stevenson – Julia
- Jon VanMiddlesworth – Toby
Crew
- Jo Averill-Snell – Lighting Design
- Jen Casler – Assistant Director/Understudy
- Scott Cooper – Scenic Designer
- Jeremy Douglass – Composer
- Katrina Stevenson – Costume Designer
Patron Reviews
- Great show. Really, really good, with strong performances all around ... Emily was outstanding in this role, giving a performance that really moved my wife and me. Nothing we had seen her in before predicted her strength as Hedda ... We loved the show and we loved her performance. – Ben Graffam
- Great show! - Lisa Roland Faust
- Wonderful performances - I thoroughly enjoyed spending my Mother's Day seeing this. – Jeannine Freeborn
- Go. See. Hedda. The work that this crew and these actors are putting on is phenomenal. Honest, witty, and memorable performances. – Max Janeda
- Saw Hedda last night. It is phenomenal, just chock-a-block full of outstanding talent. The show moves along at such a pace you really do feel as if you’ve been on a roller coaster. – @bigbrassybroad
- Y'all... go see this over at @jobsitetheater. This is a wild fucking play. – @ryanarthurbern1
- The cast of the Jobsite Theater at the Straz Center for the Performing Arts did an amazing job in Lucy Kirkwood's HEDDA last night. Amazing actors and production. Emily Belvo delivered such a gripping performance! I have only read Ibsen's A Doll House. This play made think about all the playwrights I loved as a teenager, Beckett, Pirandello, Ibsen, Brecht. I loved the fact that this adaptation of Hedda Gabler was set in modern Notting Hill. Can't wait to be in London this summer! I think I need to check the program at the National Theatre. – Patrizia La Trecchia
- What a ride. Hedda was unbelievable in its modern incarnation. Outstanding performances, smart use of music and development and perpetuation of growing unease. A must see! - Tana Gundry
- The review is spot on...The performance, captivating and an excellent rendition of this classic piece. The cast exceptional, Belvo- the best. Don't miss this folks. Bravo Jobsite! – Brenda Delgado Ordetx
- Amazing performance! Superb acting! – Lori Alonso Pask
- Y’all go see #Hedda @jobsitetheater it’s a good production & cuz I /need/ “I am eating your child!” to become a meme. – @ryancmarsh
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