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Director Adam Davis is living the dream. Starting Thursday, Main Street Productions (MSP) is staging Hedda Gabler at the new Playhouse, 220 N. Union St., Westfield, and Davis is at the helm, right where he has always wanted to be.
“I’ve wanted to put this show on stage for 15 years since I read it my freshman year in college,” Davis told The Reporter. “I had not done a lot of drama in high school or even through college, but there was something about this script that just stuck with me from the moment I read it. There is so much nuance in it.”
Hedda Gabler is set in 1890 and it is really about a woman who is forced to live in this man’s world and wants to take matters into her own hands. How is she going to do that? How can she turn the tables in her favor? What tools does she have available to her as a woman in 1890 in Norway?
The play was written by Henrik Ibsen, who Davis says is considered the father of modern drama.
“What Shakespeare is to classical theater, Ibsen is to the modern stage with the way he writes characters and the way he just doesn’t just tell a story – he puts people on stage and give you a glimpse of their lives in a way that is different from a lot of other writers,” Davis said.
According to Davis, Ibsen has challenged actors to not just go on stage and play your part, but to come up there and be somebody else and show what their life was like.
“This play in particular is complicated for that very reason,” Davis told The Reporter. “Every line can be read 30 different ways and you’d get 30 different shows based on how you do that. That is what drew me to it in the first place.”
According to Davis, this was an interesting show to cast and he is exceptionally pleased with the talent he has assembled for this production.
“Because of everything else going on in the world we chose not to do traditional auditions,” Davis said. “We did an online submission and that gave me the freedom to go out and talk to people and recruit people who might be interested in being in something of this magnitude. We have seven very talented actors who will be able to bring this show to life. I feel very fortunate to be able to work with them in this regard. Each one of them is perfectly suited to their roles and the amount of talent we have in this room at any one time – they all bring each other up.”
Hedda Gabler will stage four days each weekend, Thursday through Sunday, for two weeks only. Thursday, Friday and Saturday will be evening performances at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday shows will be matinees at 2:30 p.m.
Like many other theaters, Westfield Playhouse is choosing a livestream option for patrons unable or unwilling to attend an in-person event. MSP is limiting seating to 25 percent capacity each night and is strictly observing all local, state and national public safety guidelines. You can read the details of MSP’s COVID-19 policy online at westfieldplayhouse.org under the “Buy Tickets” link.
Photos provided by Rosie Allenson