Did Critics Think This Revival Has Hedda Steam?Yesterday, the latest Broadway revival of
Henrik Ibsen's
Hedda Gabler opened at the
American Airlines Theatre.
Ian Rickson helms
Christopher Shinn's new adaptation of the classic work. The production stars
Mary-Louise Parker in the title role, along with
Michael Cerveris,
Paul Sparks,
Peter Stormare,
Helen Carey,
Lois Markle and
Ana Reeder.
Critics' reviews were uniformly negative.
Asking rhetorically, "Who would do such a thing?"
Ben Brantley of
The New York Times compares this piece to '
Twilight' in his pan: "That affectless, amateurish acting I’d been seeing onstage, with its flat-line readings and saggy pauses, was all in the name of creating the illusion of people already dead.... That (Rickson) is now responsible for one of the worst revivals I have ever, ever seen has me flummoxed. Mr. Rickson’s
Seagull was a fluidly integrated production in which everyone seemed to exist in the same moment and in the same universe. With this
Hedda it’s not just that everyone is bad. It’s that they’re all bad in their own, different ways. At times you feel that because of some confusing detours in the back alleys of Broadway, actors who were meant to be in -- I dunno, anything from
Grease to
Equus -- showed up at the wrong place."
Lamenting that the revival "is an aggressively contemporary take on the play, but one whose insights seem more perverse than illuminating,"
Variety's
David Rooney front loads his review with a dire assessment: "Mary-Louise Parker's interpretation of
Hedda Gabler was probably always going to be a little wacky, but in the Roundabout revival she's the loopiest of a fairly off-kilter bunch. Using a disappointingly blunt new adaptation by Christopher Shinn, this is a production so doused in glum eccentricities that Ibsen's terminally bored neurotic has already reached the apex of her caged desperation before a line of dialogue has even been spoken. And while there's entertainment to be had from Parker's curt sarcasm and nutty double-takes, too many perplexing choices make the great play unaffecting and the irrational actions of its self-destructive antiheroine unsurprising."
Regretting that "two big hurdles blocked (Parker's) path this time: the adaptation and the direction," Bloomberg's
John Simon is outraged: "Why is it deemed necessary for minor American playwrights to adapt masterpieces whose status is owed precisely to their timelessness and universality? ... Ian Rickson, a British director who already did serious current damage to
The Seagull, now gets to wreak havoc on another masterwork. Rickson’s people do not behave like proper, staid, 19th-century Scandinavians, the source, in large part, of Hedda’s ennui. Rather, they carry on like hot-blooded Sicilians storming through '
Cavalleria Rusticana' minus the music.... There are moments when Parker’s charm and talent keep Hedda afloat, but all too often she drowns in misdirection."
Quipping that this revival "is too contemporary by half,"
Joe Dziemianowicz of New York's
Daily News only awards two out of five stars: "Nuance seems to have flown the coop.... But there's no sense of her psychology. Hopeless? Helpless? Repressed? Bored? ... Parker... is an unpredictable actress, and that's what makes her so exciting. But in this outing, she's got two switches: seethe and boil over."
Concluding that "Ibsen deserves better. So do we,"
New York Post's
Barbara Hoffman piles on in her two-out-of-four star review: "(Parker's) sultry star turn in Ibsen's 1890 shocker is the only reason, really, to see the uneven revival that opened last night at the Roundabout. The fault lies not in its stars -- well, partly ... -- but in Christopher Shinn's tin-eared adaptation.... (The) playwright has given Hedda some terrifically bitchy zingers (this is the rare Ibsen production that keeps 'em laughing), (but) he's lost much of the music along the way. His is a clunkier, more contemporary
Gabler."
Noting "wow, is it ever weird. Unfortunately, it is also not interesting-and really not good at all,"
Newsday's
Linda Winer blasts the production: "Parker, a thoroughly modern theater creature before she became the world's favorite pot-selling mom in '
Weeds,' has many fascinating qualities. What we learn from the
Roundabout Theatre Company's revival, alas, is that period versatility is not one of them. At least as disappointing, and perhaps more surprising, is the awkward staging by Ian Rickson.... Except for a couple of erotic flourishes -- including a nonsensical opening shot of Parker's bare butt and breast -- this is a stodgy and straightforward version of the Ibsen's pioneering mad-housewife classic."
This is one case in which I fully agreed with the consensus. While I profess to be a longtime fan of Ms. Parker's and have thoroughly enjoyed some of her previous stage work, her portrayal of
Hedda Gabler left me cold. You may find my
SOB Review by clicking
here.
Roundabout Theatre Company's mounting of
Hedda Gabler is currently slated to run through March 29.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: Broadway, Christopher Shinn, Critics' Capsule, Hedda Gabler, Henrik Ibsen, Ian Rickson, Mary-Louise Parker, Michael Cerveris, Play, Revival
Hedda Gabler (The SOB Review) - Roundabout Theatre Company, American Airlines Theatre, New York, New York** (out of ****)You want to know the craziest thing about the latest revival of
Henrik Ibsen's
Hedda Gabler as directed by
Ian Rickson?
Surpringly, it’s not the wide, glassy-eyed deer in the headlights portrayal of the eponymous character by
Mary-Louise Parker, which, by the way, seems more like an extremely strung out page taken from her long-running Showtime hit “Weeds.” In fact, because
Hildegard Bechtler's lackluster set design includes a sparsely-appointed room, Parker continually appears desperately in search of more scenery to chew.
Nor is it that sad irony of this most vain mistress of seduction appearing to be more of a vanity project for the gifted Parker, especially given the sheer number of New York revivals of
Hedda Gabler staged over the past 15 years.
No, the craziest thing about this
Hedda Gabler is that the only fate worse than a serious misfire of squandered talent and classic script on the stage is Rickson’s tragically self-inflicted shot that comes close to fatally undermining this great work. While
Christopher Shinn’s new adaptation must bear some of the responsibility, it’s the director who can’t quite dodge his own bullet.
Indeed, it is Rickson’s
second Broadway outing in a row in which a leading character is done in by acute miscalculations on the part of both director and actor alike. Just as his revival of
The Seagull was thrown seriously off kilter by the egregiously miscast
Peter Sarsgaard as Trigorin -- a role fundamentally demanding a halfway decent striking man with at least some modicum of charm-- so, too, is this
Hedda Gabler so certifiably imbalanced that you can’t understand why any man would find her attractive.
There’s no pretense of nuance in Parker’s possessed performance. Because of that, not even the usually dependable
Michael Cerveris as her husband, a mousy Jorgen Tesman, can salvage this production. While the rest of the ensemble is capable, only
Ana Reeder as Thea Elvsted completely acquits herself.
If you're waiting for the right time to see
Hedda Gabler, you'll have to wait a little longer.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: Ana Reeder, Broadway, Hedda Gabler, Henrik Ibsen, Ian Rickson, Mary-Louise Parker, Michael Cerveris, Play, Revival, The SOB Review
Latest Gabler Gamble Opens On BroadwayPerhaps it's because the title character provides such an amazing opportunity for actresses to show their moxie that
Henrik Ibsen's
Hedda Gabler is opening on Broadway -- this evening -- for an astounding
19th time.
Coming just eight relatively short years after
Kate Burton's celebrated, Tony-nominated turn as Hedda -- and just three after
Cate Blanchett famously packed a pistol across the East River in
Brooklyn -- now
Mary-Louise Parker is sinking her teeth into the role of Sweden's coveted temptress.
Directed by
Ian Rickson,
Roundabout Theatre Company is presenting this latest incarnation with fresh adaptation from
Christopher Shinn. The ensemble includes
Michael Cerveris as Jorgen Tesman,
Paul Sparks as Ejlert Lovborg,
Peter Stormare as Judge Brack,
Helen Carey as Miss Juliane Tesman,
Lois Markle as Berte, and
Ana Reeder as Thea Elvsted.
Will critics hail this latest revival? Find out tomorrow as I not only provide my critics' capsule, but my own SOB Review.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: Ana Reeder, Broadway, Cate Blanchett, Hedda Gabler, Henrik Ibsen, Ian Rickson, Mary-Louise Parker, Michael Cerveris, Opening Night, Paul Sparks, Peter Stormare, Play, Revival
Did Seagull Revival Soar With Critics?Last evening, the seventh Broadway revival of
Anton Chekhov's
The Seagull, with fresh translation from the reigning king of adaptations
Christopher Hampton, opened at Broadway's
Walter Kerr Theatre.
The 14-week limited engagement stars
Kristin Scott Thomas and
Peter Sarsgaard in their Broadway debuts, alongside
Mackenzie Crook,
Zoe Kazan and
Carey Mulligan under the direction of
Ian Rickson. Most critics gave high marks to the production, even if a number of them took issue with the performance of Sarsgaard.
Heralding this as a "magnificent production,"
The New York Times'
Ben Brantley rhapsodically hurls superlatives: "The careful cultivation of such transparency, to the point that we feel instinctively tuned into the minds of every individual onstage, helps to make this
Seagull the finest and most fully involving production of Chekhov that I have ever known.... It is, to make honest use of the language of hucksters, a limited, once-in-a-lifetime offer... [T]his
Seagull has only ripened and deepened.... And Ms. Scott Thomas, who was excellent as the aging actress Arkadina in London, here delivers a magnified, intensified performance that more than ever is the keystone to understanding this play."
Nearly equal in his praise is
New York Post's
Clive Barnes, who offers up a rare four out of four star review: "Scott Thomas is an actor who doesn't act. Rather, she moves into a character, breathing the same air as a human reality. It's a style heaven-sent for the plays and people of Anton Chekhov, as she's now demonstrating as Arkadina, the overbloomed actress who sweeps her way through
The Seagull in the wonderfully subtle production that opened last night.... [H]ere it's staged with natural fluency by Ian Rickson, with an elegant new adaptation by Christopher Hampton that sounds as though it were written the day before yesterday."
Labeling
The Seagull "powerful theater," is
Variety's
David Rooney, who is largely effusive "despite one casting choice that doesn't quite measure up": "Rarely is the writer's signature balance of humor, pathos and tragedy so exquisitely rendered or the modulation between them orchestrated so affectingly.... It's the anchoring naturalism brought even to this diva in chronic performance mode that makes Scott Thomas so transfixing.... [W]hile he does slowly reveal the opportunistic worm beneath the self-possessed surface, Sarsgaard appears to be struggling to get a read on his role for much of the play."
Noting how this "serene, soaring
Seagull makes a 113-year-old story feel as fresh as a cool breeze," New York's
Daily News critic
Joe Dziemianowicz offers four out of five stars: "Scott Thomas is sly-eyed, sharp-tongued and sure-footed (a little sprightly scampering proves her vigor) and holds you rapt while just standing motionless. In short, she's heaven in her Broadway debut. Less well-known, but no less phenomenal, is Carey Mulligan, who plays Nina and instantly captures your heart with her teary-eyed, exquisitely emotional portrayal. Mackenzie Crook seems to draw from a deep well of sadness as Konstantin, the experimental playwright hopelessly in love with her.... (Sarsgaard) is too lackadaisical, almost borderline lazy, to set off bright sparks."
Calling the revival "visually stark, emotionally luscious,"
Newsday's
Linda Winer production offers a mostly positive review: "Most of the men are not as effective as the women, and not just because Chekhov wrote such wonderfully complicated women. Peter Sarsgaard ... plays Trigoran ... as puzzlingly effeminate and more than a little dull.
Seagull may be the hardest of Chekhov's late plays to get right.... But Rickson and Scott Thomas find the exquisite balance between being idealistic about the arts and satirizing that idealism."
Concluding that "its uneven casting makes for a frustrating experience,"
USA Today's
Elysa Gardner zeroes in on Sarsgaard in her two-and-a-half-star review: "If you're a fan of Chekhov's writing and Peter Sarsgaard's acting, you face a serious dilemma this fall.... Sadly, though, Sarsgaard doesn't rise to the challenges confronting him any more than his complex and crucial character does. It might be an overstatement to say that his curiously awkward, lackluster performance fatally wounds this
Seagull ... but only a slight one.... That's a shame, because the other legs in Trigorin's romantic triangle could hardly be sturdier. Leading lady Kristin Scott Thomas ... is a witty, poignant Arkadina, revealing a nervous fragility in the fading thespian who lives with and clings to Trigorin. As the doomed ingénue Nina, who suffers even more for her lover's callousness, fellow West End import Carey Mulligan is equally lovely and moving, at once a fresh-faced foil and a worthy rival to the elegant but vulnerable Arkadina."
My own personal view comes closest to that expressed by Gardner. You can review my own abbreviated SOB Review by clicking
here.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: Anton Chekov, Broadway, Christopher Hampton, Critics' Capsule, Ian Rickson, Kristin Scott Thomas, Mackenzie Crook, Peter Sarsgaard, Play, Revival, The Seagull, Zoe Kazan
The Seagull (The SOB Review) - Walter Kerr Theatre
**1/2 (out of ****)In what is sure to be the snob-appeal revival of the season,
Ian Rickson's imported British revival of
Anton Chekhov's
The Seagull starts out with a flash, quite literally.
But then, the drama descends into a moribund morass of unrequited love all around.
Christopher Hampton's adaptation of
The Seagull is devoid of nearly any humor Chekhov's works typically employed to make the Russian working classes laugh at the expense of the privileged -- the exception here is
Kristin Scott Thomas' wickedly funny take as the put-upon, scheming woman-of-privilege-wannabe Madame Arkadina.
As Trigorin,
Peter Sarsgaard is woefully miscast, essentially sucking the life out of the entire production, and he rarely connects, as he should, to ignite any flames of passion with the wonderfully incandescent
Carey Mulligan as Nina. It's actually a relief when after this long slog that
Mackenzie Crook's Konstantin Treplev finally shoots himself, because had the production gone on any longer, I would have been tempted to do the same.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: Anton Chekov, Broadway, Carey Mulligan, Ian Rickson, Kristin Scott Thomas, Mackenzie Crook, Peter Sarsgaard, Play, Revival, The Seagull, The SOB Review
London Seagull Flies Into Broadway Opening Night
London Seagull Flies Into Broadway Opening NightThis evening,
Ian Rickson's Olivier Award-winning revival of
Anton Chekhov's
The Seagull opens at Broadway's
Walter Kerr Theatre. The 14-week limited run stars
Kristin Scott Thomas opposite
Peter Sarsgaard, along with
Mackenzie Crook and
Zoe Kazan as Masha.
This seventh Great White Way revival of
The Seagull comes 92 years after its very
first Main Stem mounting.
Will Broadway critics be cheering? Well, as a sneak preview, I can divulge that
The New York Times' Ben Brantley was seated within my sightlines of the stage last Friday evening, and he was applauding enthusiastically. But then again, Big Ben already provided the initial London incarnation with praise.
Nevertheless, I'll be providing my critics' capsule tomorrow.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: Anton Chekov, Ian Rickson, Kristin Scott Thomas, Mackenzie Crook, Opening Night, Peter Sarsgaard, Play, Revival, The Seagull, Zoe Kazan
