WILLIAMSPORT, PA: What happens when you combine an empty marriage, an obsession with firearms, extra-marital affairs and the ultimate tragic ending? Not a soap opera, but the first production of the Lycoming College theatre season, running from October 7 to 11 at 8 pm in the Mary L. Welch Theatre.

Henrik Ibsen, known as the father of modern drama, created his most famous female character in the person of Hedda Gabler. She has intrigued audiences and critics for over a century since the play's first production in 1890. Opinions still rage regarding Hedda's tempestuous personality and the forces that drive her to outrageous acts. Hedda has married a complacent professor to save herself from spinsterhood, but her heart longs for a more passionate life. In her rash desire to control a human destiny, she brings disaster to herself and others. The play affirms that "to be a woman with ambition in this world is to die a slow death," according to Ibsen.

Director N. J. Stanley, a member of the Lycoming College Theatre Department faculty, describes Hedda Gabler as "a riveting study in ambiguity. Hedda is as enigmatic as Hamlet, one of the greatest female characters ever written."

Kait Laret, a junior and theatre major from Hollidaysburg, Pa., stars as Hedda. David C. Monti, a theatre major from Lodi, N.J., plays Hedda’s intellectual husband, George. George’s Aunt Julia is portrayed by Christen Miner, a freshman from Montoursville, Pa. Wesley Speary, a theatre major from Nauvoo, Pa., stars as Eilert Lovborg, a close friend of George’s and former flame of Hedda’s. Judge Brack, another friend of both George and Hedda, is performed by Williamsport native Dustin V. Crouse. Mrs. Thea Elvsted, Hedda’s rival, is performed by Kelyn Amanda Cassidy, and Sarah Painter plays Berta, the Tesmans’ maid.
 

Jerry D. Allen, Associate Professor of Theatre at Lycoming, designed the scenery and costumes, and the lighting and sound were designed by Robert Graham, Instructor of Theatre at Lycoming.

For ticket information, contact the college box office at 570-321-4048. For more information about the 2003-2004 theatre season, visit the box office website, www.lycoming.edu/boxoffice.

--Emily Hammer