Theater Online - New York Theater Reviews

Eliza Brown ©2025  John Keabler (as Elliot Lowell) and Billy Wheelan (as Henri Gabler)

Hedda Gabler is one of the most fascinating heroines in modern theatre. A strange contradiction – a strong, willful woman who is nonetheless powerless. She is mercurial and complex, but unlike most stage heroines, she reveals little of herself or her motivations. She is independent, but she is ultimately defined by the men in her life – daughter, wife, lover, victim. In the end, she makes one ultimate gesture of control, taking her own life rather than suffering public disgrace or private degradation.

Henri Gabler (Billy Wheelan), the subject of Alexander Burns’ adaptation of Ibsen’s play does not have much in common with Hedda. He is slick and smooth-talking, the owner of a political blog that gets more hits than The Huffington Post. He and his husband are the poster boys of the gay marriage movement. His friends are famous, and so is he; his late father was President of the United States. When Barbara and Whoopi need someone to dazzle on "The View," Henri gets the call.

Henri is an interesting character, but Ibsen’s story fits him like Goodwill clothing, instead of the Prada he would no doubt prefer. Burns’ attempt to stay true to Ibsen’s story leads only to unanswered questions. Hedda married boring, stable George because he could provide for her, in a way that the exciting, but alcoholic Løvborg could not. Henri’s search for security doesn’t make sense. He is a media darling who needs no taking care of. His place in society is secure. His livelihood is secure (despite Burns’ clumsy attempt to indicate that Henri is such a spendthrift that he is now in debt to the tune of $10 million to Judge Brack). As we know from Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan and many, many others, bad behavior is a bankable commodity today. This Gabler would have thrived out on the town with Elliot Lowell (John Keabler playing this play’s Ejlert Løvborg); unlike Hedda his reputation would have survived. Why would he marry an earnest scholar who is studying Central American ceramics“ Love? Perhaps, but then why risk throwing it all away for a night with Lowell?

More importantly, why would this Henri kill himself at the end of the play? For Hedda, it was an opportunity to take control of a situation that threatened to overwhelm her. But for Henri, the idea that he would kill himself due to losing Lowell and being blackmailed by Judge Brack (William Otterson) seems absurdly out of character.

Eliza Brown ©2025  Billy Wheelan (as Henri Gabler) and Vince Nappo (as George Truman)

Despite the problems with the script, there is a lot to like about this play. Burns’ script is full of humor and interesting insights into relationships, gay and straight, love, the economy, addiction – a host of fascinating topics. In addition to writing the adaptation, Burns serves as director and proves very adept. Henri Gabler is a tight, well-done production that makes good use of its excellent cast, and Eliza Brown’s inventive set. Billy Wheelan is a charming Henri, and does well with the character’s various mood swings. Vince Nappo excels as the long-suffering George Truman, who is so clearly besotted by Henri that he lets him get away with nearly anything. His acting, and by extension his character, ring most true out of everyone in the play. William Otterson’s Judge Brack, although less developed than in the original Hedda Gabler, here becomes a sort of dapper Larry Craig. Otterson looks the part and is wonderfully creepy in the last few minutes of the play, although hints of this creepy turn could have come earlier in the play. A fun addition to Henri Gabler is the character of Mademoiselle Diana, a drag queen played with plenty of attitude by James Jackson, Jr. Rounding out the cast are Elizabeth Ingram Maurer as the woefully underwritten Thea Enfield, and Chris Yonan who plays various incidental characters.

Although Burns’ may have been better served by making Henri Gabler an even looser adaptation of Ibsen’s original, he has attempted to bring new life to an old classic, and is to be commended for his efforts.