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Austin360 blogs > Austin Arts: Seeing Things > Archives > 2011 > October > 04 > Entry
Review: ‘The Further Adventures of Hedda Gabler’
Old soldiers might fade away, and elephants have their graveyards, but what happens to fictional characters after the curtains close?
According to the Tony-award winning playwright, Jeff Whitty (who wrote the book for hit Broadway musical “Avenue Q”) the timeless figures of the stage live on, doomed to repeat their dramas in a (gratifyingly amusing) purgatorial world of fictional malaise.
St. Edward’s University brings that world to life in the vibrantly comical “Further Adventures of Hedda Gabler,” playing through Oct. 9 at St. Edward University’s Mary Moody Northen Theatre.
As you might anticipate from the title, the show (ostensibly) tracks Ibsen’s ill-fated heroine as she attempts to break out of her endless cycle of suicide. Jill Blackwood plays the petulant drama queen well as she desperately tries to find her way back to the creative furnace that spawned her misery.
Yet what emerges out of Whitty’s characteristically comic approach to more serious issues is a discussion of history’s relationship to fiction and the baby-steps necessary for ending oppression.
The real story, then, is that of “Gone With the Wind’s” Mammy — played with sincerity by Jarrett King. King’s rendition of the character’s struggle to change, to leave behind the shameful shackles of history, is the most moving performance in the play.
So although there is a lot of silliness in “Further Adventures,” there are also moments of real solemnity. Such as the scene in which Johnny Joe Trillayes, as the flamboyant 1970s gay stereotype (Patrick), pleads with Mammy to recognize that their stereotyped (and now offensive) representations were the foothold for times to come.
The production itself is top-notch, with the entire team coming together to create a truly delightful purgatory. Leilah Stewart’s playful scene design meshes well with Kathryn Eader’s inventive lighting display, and Buzz Moran’s exceptional sound design really sets the tone for the scenes. St. Edward’s senior, Austin Rausch, contributes costumes that are elegant, playful, and seemingly innumerable.
The student actors deserve just as much praise as the equity guests. Sophia Franzella is utterly charming regardless of whether she skips her way onto the stage as Dorothy or crawls in as Cassandra. Lindsley Howard has undeniable stage presence, particularly as the woman in pink - a commanding and poetic Cleopatra of the 1970s.
As the cliched characters drop dead around them, the enduring figures in “Further Adventures” remind us that it’s not the imaginations of authors that keep them alive, but the empathy of their audiences.
“The Further Adventures of Hedda Gabler” continues 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday through Oct. 9. Tickets $18. Mary Moody Northen Theatre, St. Edward’s University 3001 S. Congress Ave.
Cate Blouke is an American-Statesman freelance arts critic.
Photo by Bret Brookshire.
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