Who's a better Hedda Gabler?

They're both brilliant, I'd love to see both of them, but I think Cate Blanchett. If she does it, Nicole Kidman will also do very well, but I think Blanchett has something that Kidman doesn't for the part.

Margo - I was thinking exactly the same thing. I saw Martha Plimpton in a horribly misconceived production at Steppenwolf and I think I would lean toward seeing Kidman with a more internalized quietly manipulative approach. I'm a huge Ibsen fan and if you pop the clutch too soon, then his plays are simply tedious. The slow, but steadily increasing intesity of Anthony Page's A Doll's House coupled with Janet McTeer's flawless performance was what made that a stellar production. I would love to see a Hedda Gabler treated with the same attention to detail, devoid of conceptual interference.

---

I'm confused as to why Kidman is eyeing this play. The West End just had (may still have for all I know, I'm a little out of the London loop these days) an insanely well received production of Gabler with Eve Best in the title role. Kidman's name being attached guarantees a sell out run, true, but I would rather see her do something else.

I would crawl over broken glass to see Blanchett in anything.

---

I, of course, agree with the Blanchett sentiment.

I blindly adore her. Luckily, those who see tend to agree as well.

The trick with Hedda, imho, is that she should be (in the words of a good director friend of mine) "kind of a geek". Not in the pocket-protector-wearing way, but in the subtler, simpler geek sort of way. When she gets humanized like that, the natural tendency to melodramatize the role gets diminished, and we are left with raw humanity.

I, too, LOVED Kate Burton's Hedda. I still imagine Cate's will be superior. She can do no wrong in my book.

---

Burton is the best Hedda I've ever seen.

That said, I hate the play. I end up wanting to shoot her after about five minutes.

Elizabeth Marvel

---

I've also heard that Eve Best is terrific (I was going to see her, but she was out the one night I could go so I saw something else instead). It seems like a somewhat odd choice for Kidman- she'll inevitably be compared, so she better be prepared to knock it out of the park in some way or another. Of course she'll sell tickets no matter the critical reception, but she strikes me as someone who wants to prove herself artistically as well, and she'll have an extra-tough time with this one.

I need to go see Cate Blanchett.

---

Updated On: 9/21/05 at 12:10 AM

i've seen cate perform in Hedda Gabler already.

she lead a brilliant cast through a completely sold out season recently for the Sydney Theater Company in Australia. her performance was remarkable, quite remarkable.

in fact, such was the demand for tickets that the STC re arranged the audience seating and incorporated a standing room only section all thanks to cate! they sold as quickly as posters of raul do...

i say her over nicole any day - she was stunning.

---