Lucy Pollak Public Relations

Hedda Gabler – Press Release

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NEWS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Press Contact: Lucy Pollak
[email protected] (818) 887-1499 (for media only)

 

 

Antaeus bids farewell to NoHo
with partner-cast
Hedda Gabler

 

NORTH HOLLYWOOD, Calif. (REVISED May 13, 2016) — As it prepares to move to a newly renovated cultural arts complex in Glendale this fall, the Antaeus Theatre Company announces its final production in the North Hollywood space it has called home since 2007: A fully partner cast production of Hedda Gabler, Henrik Ibsen’s classic drama of passion and desperation, begins previews on May 26 with press openings (one for each cast) set for June 2 and June 3. Steven Robman directs.

One of literature’s most complex and compelling anti-heroines, the beautiful and intelligent Hedda yearns to escape her marriage to a man she finds numbingly dull. Suffocated by the expectations and limitations of bourgeois society, she tries to fulfill her aimless desires by manipulating the fates of those around her – no matter how dark the outcome. First produced in 1891, Ibsen’s masterpiece shocked European society; now, 125 years later, it continues to challenge audiences.

“I don’t think the problems dramatized in Hedda Gabler derive only from the conventions of the Victorian era,” says Robman. “To emphasize this, we’ve shifted the period forward some 30 years, from the early 1890s to the early 1920s – not a time frame most people would associate with restrictive or limited behavior. And that’s just my point. What keeps a person from being able to shape or control his or her life?  A good question – and the reason why I want to direct this play.”

Antaeus will present the play in a version by Australian playwright Andrew Upton because, according to Robman, “it has a very ‘un-Victorian’ feel. The dialogue could easily be contemporary.” Upton’s adaptation premiered in 2004 at the Sydney Theatre Company with his wife, Cate Blanchett, in the title role and was seen on Broadway in 2006.

In the Antaeus tradition known as “partner casting,” Nike Doukas and Jaimi Paige will share the title role, with JD Cullum and Adrian LaTourelle partnering as Hedda’s husband, Jørgen Tesman; Daniel Blinkoff and Ned Mochel as Tesman’s rival — and Hedda’s former lover — Ejlert Lövborg; Kwana Martinez and Ann Noble as Hedda’s former school friend, Thea; Tony Amendola and James Sutorius as Judge Brack; Lynn Milgrim and Amelia White as Aunt Julle; and Elizabeth Dennehy and Karianne Flaathen as Berte.

Scenic design for Hedda Gabler is by Se Hyun Oh; lighting design is by Leigh Allen; costume design is by Leah Piehl; sound design is by Cricket S. Myers; the assistant director is Ricka Fisher; and the production stage manager is Kristin Weber.

Antaeus is a cooperative theater ensemble founded to empower the actor and to bring classical theater to Southern California. The company exists to create a family of artists and audiences and is dedicated to exploring stories with enduring themes. Taking their company name from the Titan who gained strength by touching the Earth, Antaeus members — many of whom are familiar to film and television audiences — regain their creative strength by returning to the wellspring of their craft: live theater. Members of the company span a wide range of age, ethnicity and experience; they have performed on Broadway, at major regional theaters across the country, in film, television and on local stages, and are the recipients of numerous accolades and awards. Audiences, who never see an understudy due to Antaeus’ trademark “partner casting,” frequently return to see the same play in the hands of an equally excellent but very different set of actors.

Antaeus continues to raise funds to complete the conversion of a Glendale storefront into the cultural arts center that will house its theater productions and other programming beginning this fall. For more information and to make a donation, go to antaeus.org/support-us/play-on/.

Performances of Hedda Gabler take place June 2 through July 17 on Thursdays and Fridays at 8 pm; Saturdays at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.; and Sundays at 2 p.m. (no matinee performance on Saturday, June 4). Talkbacks are scheduled following select Thursday performances: call or visit the website for details. Six preview performances take place May 26 through June 1. Tickets are $30 on Thursdays and Fridays (except June 2 and June 3 which are $34 and include a post-performance reception), and $34 on Saturdays and Sundays. Preview tickets are priced at $15. The Antaeus Theatre Company is located at 5112 Lankershim Blvd in North Hollywood, CA 91601. Parking is available for $8 in the lot at 5125 Lankershim Blvd. (west side of the street), just south of Magnolia. The theater is air-conditioned and wheelchair accessible. For reservations and information, call 818-506-1983 or go to www.antaeus.org.
 

Details for Calendar Listings
Hedda Gabler

WHAT:
Hedda Gabler
— Henrik Ibsen created one of literature’s most compelling characters in this complex and enigmatic story about the newly married, beautiful and inscrutable wife of an academic trapped in a world she cannot bear. Longing to break free, Hedda jumps at the opportunity to destroy a former lover and rival of her husband, which ultimately leads to her own demise. Hedda Gabler marks the Antaeus Theatre Company’s final production in North Hollywood as the company prepares to move to a newly renovated cultural arts complex in Glendale this fall.

WHO:
• Written by Henrik Ibsen
• In a version by Andrew Upton
• Directed by Steven Robman
• Starring Tony Amendola, Daniel Blinkoff, JD Cullum, Elizabeth Dennehy, Nike Doukas, Karianne Flaathen, Adrian LaTourelle, Kwana Martinez, Lynn Milgrim, Ned Mochel, Ann Noble, Jaimi Paige, James Sutorius, Amelia White
• Presented by Antaeus Theatre Company

WHEN:
Previews: May 26-June 1
Performances: June 2-July 17
Tuesday at 8 p.m.: May 31 ONLY (preview)
Wednesday at 8 p.m.: June 1 ONLY (preview)
Thursdays at 8 p.m.: May 26 (preview); June 2 (opening), 9, 16, 23, 30; July 7, 14
Fridays at 8 p.m.: May 27 (preview); June 3 (opening), 10, 17, 24; July 1, 8, 15
Saturdays at 2 p.m.: June 11, 18, 25; July 2, 9, 16 (no 2 p.m. perf. on May 28 or June 4)
Saturdays at 8 p.m.: May 28 (preview); June 4, 11, 18, 25; July 2, 9, 16
Sundays at 2 p.m.: May 29 (preview); June 5, 12, 19, 26; July 3, 10, 17

WHERE:
The Antaeus Theatre Company
5112 Lankershim Blvd.
North Hollywood CA, 91601
(1½ bocks south of Magnolia)

PARKING:
$8 in the lot at 5125 Lankershim Blvd. (west side of the street), just south of Magnolia.

HOW:
(818) 506-1983 or www.Antaeus.org
• Join us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/AntaeusTheater
• Follow us on Twitter @AntaeusTheater

TICKET PRICES:
• Opening Night performances on June 2 & June 3: $34 (includes post-performance reception)
• Thursdays and Fridays: $30 (except June 2 & June 3)
• Saturdays and Sundays: $34
• Previews: $15
 

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