Hedda Gabler Reviews

Chicago Tribune - Recommended

"...Hedda is a slippery, confounding protagonist, and Aurora Real de Asua takes on the role with quietly manic energy. Wound as tightly as a grandfather clock, she tends to stare hauntingly into the distance until her angst overflows in the form of caustic barbs and panicked gestures. Real de Asua's intonation as she delivers Ibsen's text (adapted by Christopher Shinn from the literal translation by Anne-Charlotte Hanes Harvey) sounds sharp and modern in contrast to the rest of the cast, who take a slightly more formal tone. Composer and sound designer Christopher Kriz's transitional music amplifies Hedda's restless internal state with electric guitar and drums backed by a relentless, clock-like beat."

Stage and Cinema - Highly Recommended

"...Director Marti Lyons stages the production with flair and a welcome sense of wit. Even the transitions have a kind of balletic precision, enhanced by Christopher Kriz's finely tuned score. The more one reflects on the production, the more its clever touches reveal themselves: the vivid red of the flowers later echoed in Hedda's scarf and Eilert's tie; staging choices that heighten the play's underlying sexual danger (Hedda's seduction of Eilert visible to her husband and the Judge, but unheard); and an overall pacing that gives the piece the momentum of a psychological thriller."

Around The Town Chicago - Highly Recommended

"...Henrik Ibsen's Hedda Gabler has always been a psychological powder keg, and in this lean, modern adaptation by Christopher Shinn-briskly directed by Remy Bumppo Artistic Director Marti Lyons-it detonates with unnerving precision. What was once a four-act classic is now a tightly wound 90-minute experience with no intermission, and not a second is wasted."

Chicago Theatre Review - Recommended

"...Artistic Director Marti Lyons has taken up the challenge of staging this new version of HEDDA GABLER in a production that’s both understandable and engaging. In this she’s succeeded in her mission, and Ms. Lyons’ production is definitely provocative and certainly entertaining. But for the Ibsen purist, this just isn’t the same play. HEDDA GABLER is heralded as a masterpiece of literary realism, 19th century theatre and world drama in general. Thankfully the production at Remy Bumppo is shorter and understandable, but Christopher Shinn’s adaptation simply comes off as glib and a little urbane."

Buzz Center Stage - Recommended

"...An Ibsen play on a cold winter's evening just feels right. Marti Lyons delivers a stylish (and concise) production of "Hedda Gabler" at Remy Bumppo. With an impressive cast of Remy Bumppo ensemble and new faces, this 100-minute version gets right to the point."

Third Coast Review - Recommended

"...Hedda Gabler is an "untidy narrative," as Lyons comments in her program note. Lyons is interested in complexity and how we can live with the discomfort of that untidy narrative. With her artful direction, the cast of seven brings the play to us as a complex narrative played out in a brisk 90 minutes."

Chicago On Stage - Highly Recommended

"...Hedda Gabler is the dramatic portrait of a woman fighting for agency and acting in defiance of her patriarchal confines and their suffocating social mores. Written by Henrik Ibsen (the “father of theatrical realism”), the titular Hedda was a complex and shocking portrayal of women’s domestic agency for nineteenth-century audiences. Remy Bumppo, on the other hand, doesn’t really give care what you think about her—making for an excitingly fresh take on the play and its central figure."

PicksInSix - Recommended

"...An interesting take on the great Henrik Ibsen play "Hedda Gabler" is the latest offering from Remy Bumppo Theatre Company at the Theater Wit now through March 8. It was adapted for Roundabout Theater Company in NYC by American playwright Christopher Shinn some years back, and it (along with Remy Bumppo Artistic Director Marti Lyons) aspires to make the play fresh and even a bit modern. It all takes place in the newly purchased home of Jorgen and Hedda Tesman, a spacious and sterile drawing room from scenic designer Joe Schermoly."

Werner's Theatre Reviews - Recommended

"...Remy Bumppo Theatre Company concludes its 30th Anniversary Season with the production of Hedda Gabler, opening February 9, 2026. Premiering in 1891 at the Residenztheater in Munich, Germany, Henrik Ibsen’s drama remains one of the defining works of modern theatre, with its title character often cited as one of the most complex female roles ever written. In this shortened adaptation by Christopher Shinn, based on the literal translation by Anne-Charlotte Hanes Harvey, Remy Bumppo presents a thoughtful interpretation that makes Ibsen’s text feel accessible."