Hedda Gabler gets a comedic edge with Remy Bumppo

Christopher Shinn's compact new adaptation of Henrik Ibsen's classic accentuates the black humor in the story.

Published on Feb. 26, 2026

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Remy Bumppo's production of Hedda Gabler, directed by Marti Lyons, draws a sharp comedic edge out of Ibsen's story of power and dissolution. Christopher Shinn's adaptation is brutal and swift, whittling Ibsen's drama down to 90 minutes. The production features a hyperreactive Hedda, played by Aurora Real de Asua, who deploys her wit as a defense mechanism, and a hapless husband Tesman, played by Eduardo Curley, who is blissfully unaware of his wife's torment.

Why it matters

Most people don't expect a production of Hedda Gabler to be a laugh riot, but Remy Bumppo's take on the classic accentuates the black humor in Ibsen's story, providing a fresh perspective on the classic work.

The details

The production features a modern unease represented through music, from the preshow playlist featuring Tori Amos and Aimee Mann to sound designer Christopher Kriz's grinding incidental music. The ambiguous nature of Hedda and Lovborg's relationship, and later the much older Brack's overtures to Hedda, gestures at the seediness of the men in Hedda's milieu.

  • The production runs from February 19 to March 8, 2026.
  • There are performances on Thursdays through Saturdays at 7:30 PM and Sundays at 2:30 PM.
  • There are also matinee performances on Thursday, February 26 and Saturdays, February 21 and March 7 at 2:30 PM.
  • Open captions are available on Saturday, February 21 at 2:30 PM.

The players

Marti Lyons

The artistic director of Remy Bumppo who directed the production.

Christopher Shinn

The playwright who adapted Henrik Ibsen's classic play Hedda Gabler for this production.

Aurora Real de Asua

The actress who plays the title role of Hedda Gabler in the Remy Bumppo production.

Eduardo Curley

The actor who plays Hedda's hapless husband Tesman in the production.

Felipe Carrasco

The actor who plays the libertine Ejlert Lovborg in the production.

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What they’re saying

“If the audience jumps at the closing of a play that famously ends with a shot, then that production is a success.”

— Rob Silverman Ascher, Reviewer (chicagoreader.com)

“This production is not afraid of the fact that Hedda is kind of an asshole.”

— Rob Silverman Ascher, Reviewer (chicagoreader.com)

What’s next

The production of Hedda Gabler at Remy Bumppo will continue its run through March 8, 2026.

The takeaway

Remy Bumppo's production of Hedda Gabler offers a fresh and comedic take on the classic Ibsen drama, providing a modern perspective on the story through its use of music and the cast's delivery of the material.