North Coast Repertory Theatre's HEDDA GABLER Begins Today

Arguably one of the most complex and intriguing female characters ever written, HEDDA GABLER weaves a mesmerizing tale of a woman trapped in a loveless marriage who is driven by a need for power and freedom. Working from a freshly translated script by Anne-Charlotte Harvey that removes stilted language while staying true to Ibsen's voice, the actors have put their personal touches on their characters to create a piece that speaks to contemporary audiences. Lovers of classic theatre will not want to miss this gripping world premiere translation.

David Ellenstein directs Cristina Soria*, Rhona Gold, Bruce Turk*, Mhari Sandoval*, Mel House*, Ray Chambers*, and Richard Baird*. The design team includes Marty Burnett (Scenic Design), Matthew Novotny (Lighting), Melanie Chen (Sound), Eliza Benzoni (Costumes), Andrea Gutierrez (Props) and Peter Herman (Wig & Hair). Aaron Rumley* is the Stage Manager.

HEDDA GABLER previews begin today, Wednesday, June 1. Opening Night on Saturday, June 4, at 8pm includes a post-show reception. There will be a special talkback on Friday, June 10, with the cast and artistic director. It will play Wednesdays at 7pm, Thursdays through Saturdays at 8pm, Saturday and Sunday matinees at 2pm with Sundays at 7pm, through June 26, 2016 (See Schedule below.) North Coast Repertory Theatre is located at 987 Lomas Santa Fe Drive, Solana Beach, CA 92075. Tickets: Previews- $39; Week Nights - $46; Sat. Eve. & Sun. Mat.- $50; Sat. Mat. & Sun. Night - $43. Seniors, Students, Military - $3 off admission. Call 858-481-1055 or visit www.northcoastrep.org to purchase tickets.

HENRIK IBSEN (Playwright) was born on March 20, 1828, in the little coastal town of Skien in Southern Norway into a solidly middle-class family. When Henrik was 7, his father's bankruptcy forced the family to move. At 15, Ibsen had to learn a trade and was apprenticed to an apothecary. After writing poetry and drama in his spare time, he went to Christiania (now Oslo) to pursue a literary and theatrical career. In 1864, after years as a struggling playwright and stage manager in Bergen and Christiania, he moved abroad with his wife and son and spent the next 27 years in Rome, Dresden, and Munich.

Recognition came with the two epic-scaled verse dramas Brand (1866) and Peer Gynt (1867), but it was his cycle of twelve prose plays, beginning in 1877 with Pillars of Society, which earned him international notoriety, fame, money and the epithet "father of modern drama." A Doll's House (1879) caused a sensation and Ghosts (1881) created a scandal. Enemy of the People (1882) stirred debate and was followed, with clockwork regularity, by a new play every other year, among them The Wild Duck (1884) and Hedda Gabler (1890). With tightly constructed plots set in contemporary Norway and carefully observed characters, these plays use subtle symbolism to deal with explosive issues and explore the inner lives of his characters. One of the most memorable and intriguing is General Gabler's daughter Hedda, hemmed in by convention, fear of scandal and a thoroughly bourgeois marriage.

In 1891, Ibsen returned to Norway an acclaimed writer of international fame, capping his career with four more plays including his last, When We Dead Awaken. He suffered the first in a series of strokes in 1900 and died in Christiania on May 23, 1906.

Today, Ibsen is the second most produced playwright in the world, after Shakespeare.

DAVID ELLENSTEIN (Director) Born into a theatrical family, David has worked in theatres across the country. Before joining North Coast Rep in 2003 he served as Artistic Director for the Los Angeles Repertory Company and the Arizona Jewish Theatre Company (AJTC). A veteran of over 250 theatrical productions, directorial favorites include: North Coast Rep - Way Downriver: William Faulkner's 'Old Man', Sherlock Holmes and the Adventure of the Great Nome Gold Rush (World Premiere), Freud's Last Session, Side by Side By Sondheim, Words By Ira Gershwin, Faded Glory (World Premiere), Mandate Memories (World Premiere), Becoming Cuba (World Premiere), Time Stands Still, Words by: Ira Gershwin and the Great American Songbook (World Premiere), Two by Pinter: The Lover and The Dumb Waiter, HENRY IV Part 1, Heroes, My Name is Asher Lev, The Drawer Boy, Becky's New Car, Ghosts, The Tempest, Talley's Folly, Over the Tavern, Old Wicked Songs, The Dresser, Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris, Madagascar, A Shayna Maidel, The Honky Tonk Angels, Rashomon, A Moon for the Misbegotten; Tuesdays With Morrie; Collected Stories; Halpern and Johnson; Romeo and Juliet; Amy's View; Einstein Comes Through (also co-author); The Chosen; A Life in the Theatre; Story Theatre and Charley's Aunt. Other theatres: Coconut Grove Playhouse, Papermill Playhouse, Portland Stage. Renaissance Theatre, Actor's Theatre of Phoenix, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Laguna Playhouse, Southwest Shakespeare Company, AJTC, Meadow Brook Theatre, Portland Rep and Gaslamp Quarter Theatre .

ANNE-CHARLOTTE HANES HARVEY (Translator, Dramaturg, Playwright), Professor Emerita of Theatre at San Diego State University. As a Swedish-born translator/dramaturg, Anne-Charlotte specializes in the plays of Ibsen and Strindberg. Her unique platform translations have served a wide range of productions, from academic theatre to regional theatre to Broadway, including adaptations by Jon Robin Baitz, Christopher Shinn, Kirsten Brandt, and Mabou Mines. Ibsen productions in San Diego include Ghosts (Old Globe 1993), Hedda Gabler (SDSU 1998), Intimate Ibsen (ion 2008), Ghosts (North Coast Rep 2010), and A Doll's House (Old Globe 2013). Her own play Dinner With Marlene premiered at Lamb's Players in April 2016.

CAST IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE:

CRISTINA SORIA* (Aunt Julia) Delighted to return to North Coast Rep in Hedda Gabler. Cygnet Theatre: When the Rain Stops Falling by Andrew Bovell. 6th@Penn Theatre: The Lover and Ashes to Ashes by Harold Pinter ("Billie" Outstanding Leading Actress in a Comedy or Drama), Oedipus Tyrannus. South Coast Repertory: So Many Words. Blackfriars Theatre: La Ronde/Getting Around. San Diego Repertory: A Christmas Carol (2X) and Man of the Flesh. Old Globe Theatre/Cassius Carter: LaFiaca. North Coast Rep: Tiny Alice. Theatre in Old Town (produced by USIU): You Can't Take It With You. Carlsbad Theatre: The Lady Cries Murder. Member AEA, SAG-AFTRA.

RHONA GOLD (Berte) is delighted to return to the NORTH COAST REP stage after a very long absence. Most recently she appeared in The Vortex and Hay Fever, two Noel Coward plays which ran in repertory at The Cygnet Theatre and Old Jews Telling Jokes at the Lyceum Theatre. She appeared in Enchanted April, Steel Magnolias, The Music Man, Guys and Dolls and Fiddler On the Roof at Lambs Players Theatre. Other credits include The Crucible (an Intrepid and Moxie Theatre collaboration), Drink Me, Eurydice, Eleemosynary, and Skinless, all at Moxie. She lives in University Heights with husband actor J. Michael Ross.

BRUCE TURK* (Jörgen Tesman) North Coast Rep: Faded Glory, Freud's Last Session, Now You See It (dir.). Broadway: The Green Bird (title role), Juan Darien (Lincoln Center); Off Broadway: King John, Titus Andronicus, The Green Bird, Pericles (BAM); Regional: Fifteen productions at the Old Globe Theatre (Craig Noel Award, Best Actor). Hartford Stage (Resident Artist), The Shakespeare Theatre, McCarter Theatre, Seattle Repertory, Prince Music Theatre, La Jolla Playhouse, Shakespeare Santa Cruz, Denver Center, Geva, Cincinnati Playhouse, the Goodman Theatre, Pasadena Playhouse and many more. TV/Film: "Murder in the First," "NUMB3RS," "ER," "Third Watch," "Law & Order SVU". International: Tadashi Suzuki's Acting Company, Mito (Resident Member). Connecticut Critic's Circle and Audie Noms. TCG/Fox Fellowship for Distinguished Achievement. Graduate of Northwestern University.

MHARI SANDOVAL* (Hedda Gabler) This is Mhari's third appearance at North Coast Rep. And fourth time working under the direction of David Ellenstein. She's worked at theaters across the country, been part of five Shakespeare festivals, and has been a member of three repertory companies, including the Oregon Shakespeare Festival where she spent five seasons. Active in the voice-over industry, she's recorded scores of television and radio ads, animated shows, and recently finished narrating her fifth season of "Deadly Sins" on Investigation Discovery. Last year she recorded her first audiobook, "The Euthanist", a suspense-thriller by Alex Dolan. Mhari is a proud member of Actors Equity and SAG-AFTRA. This past year she was honored to be chosen to serve on the Commercials Negotiating Committee.

MEL HOUSE* (Mrs. Elvsted) is delighted to make her debut at North Coast Rep in Hedda Gabler. Recent Off-Broadway and New York stage credits include Jan in Alan Ayckbourn's Bedroom Farce, Kristin in Strindberg's Miss Julie, MacDuff in MacBeth, the Wife in Peter Weiss' Night with Guests, and Kate in the world premiere of Cody Daigle's In the Bones (winning a 2015 NYIT Award for Outstanding Actress in a drama). Mel recently shot her first short documentary in Cape Town, South Africa, entitled "Break Like You" and is now collaborating with her son on a feature-length documentary: www.staircaseproductionz.com

RAY CHAMBERS* (Judge Brack) In 1985 Ray was in Alphabetical Order at North Coast Rep and since then has acted and directed across the country. Two decades as an Associate Artist with the Alabama Shakespeare Festival, and regional credits including Bill W. and Dr. Bob, The Count of Monte Cristo, Tartuffe, Cat On a Hot Tin Roof, Saint Joan. At the Old Globe: Life of Riley, Antony and Cleopatra, The Comedy of Errors, The School for Scandal, Coriolanus, Love's Labor's Lost, Hamlet and Macbeth. He is Head of Acting at the Old Globe/University of San Diego, Shiley Graduate Theatre.

RICHARD BAIRD* (Eilert Lovborg) Mr. Baird is the founding Artistic Director of New Fortune Theatre Company, where he played the title role of Henry V (San Diego Critics Circle Award) and McCann in The Birthday Party. Regional credits include: Disgraced and Romeo and Juliet (Arizona Theatre Company), A Doll's House (The Old Globe); Cyrano de Bergerac and The Madness of King George (Chicago Shakespeare Theater); Oregon Shakespeare Festival; Shakespeare Santa Cruz; A Midsummer Night's Dream (Portland Center Stage); Way Downriver; William Faulkner's 'Old Man', Sherlock Holmes and the Adventure of the Great Nome Gold Rush, Betrayal, The Dumb Waiter, This, The School for Lies, Arcadia and Ghosts (North Coast Repertory Theatre); Cyrano de Bergerac (AriZoni Best Actor), Iago in Othello (Southwest Shakespeare Company), and title role in Macbeth (Kingsmen Shakespeare) and (Poor Players).

AARON RUMLEY* (Stage Manager) North Coast Repertory Theatre: Sherlock Holmes and the Adventure of the Great Nome Gold Rush, The Fox on the Fairway, Betrayal, Unnecessary Farce, Gunmetal Blues, Fallen Angels, Who Am I This Time?, Broken Glass, Two by Pinter: The Lover and The Dumb Waiter, THIS, The Lion in Winter, Heroes, Lend Me a Tenor, My Name is Asher Lev, The Drawer Boy, Becky's New Car, Voice of the Prairie, Ghosts, Glorious!, Talley's Folly, Over the Tavern, Rabbit Hole, The Dresser, Don't Dress for Dinner, Madagascar, Mornings at Seven, String of Pearls, Dracula, Rashomon, Wit, A Moon for the Misbegotten, Leading Ladies, Collected Stories, Halpern & Johnson, Romeo and Juliet, The Bungler, The Chosen, A Life in the Theatre and The Rainmaker. North Carolina Theatre: Talley's Folly, Picnic, The Miser and On Golden Pond. Aaron received a B.A. in Theatre from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, and is the production manager at the North Coast Repertory Theatre. Aaron is a Member of Actors' Equity Association.

DESIGN TEAM:

MARTY BURNETT (Resident Scenic Designer) Marty is in his 23rd season as Resident Designer/Technical Director at North Coast Rep. He has designed the last 166 shows. Other venues include Laguna Playhouse, Portland Stage Company, Drury Lane (Chicago), Claridge Hotel (Atlantic City), Union Plaza, Sahara Hotel, Hacienda in Las Vegas, Coronado Playhouse, Scripps Ranch Theater, Harrah's Lake Tahoe. Marty is a proud alumni of Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska.

MATTHEW NOVOTNY (Light Design) is pleased to be designing another show for North Coast Rep, where he has designed close to 40 shows over the past seven years. Matthew is currently the Lighting Designer in Residence for San Diego Musical Theatre as well as North Coast Rep, and his work can be seen at a wide variety of Theatres across San Diego. Matthew holds a BA in Technical Theatre from San Diego State, and a Masters Degree in Lighting Design from Boston University. Matthew is married to his beautiful wife Amanda, with 3 gorgeous children: Ragan, Harper and Heston.

MELANIE CHEN (Sound Design) is thrilled to be working with North Coast Rep again! She is a freelance sound designer who has designed over 50 productions in San Diego, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. Past North Coast Rep credits include Way Downriver: William Faulkner's 'Old Man', Now You See It, Side by Side by Sondheim, Betrayal, Unnecessary Farce, Freud's Last Session, Romance/Romance, Faded Glory, Mandate Memories, and Becoming Cuba. Melanie holds an M.F.A. in Sound Design for Theatre & Dance from UC San Diego. For more info, visit her website at www.melaniesound.com

ELISA BENZONI (Costume Design) is thrilled to be working with North Coast Rep again. Previous work with North Coast Repertory Theatre includes: Sherlock Holmes and the Adventure of the Great Nome Gold Rush, Chapatti, The Fox on the Fairway for which she was nominated for a Craig Noel Award; Other select credits: Sex with Strangers (Geffen Playhouse), Constellations (Old Globe) Pericles, Prince of Tyre, Reckless, Much Ado About Nothing, Measure for Measure (Old Globe/USD); The Who and The What, Our Town, Tall Girls, Brahaman/I, Sam Bendrix at the Bon Soir (La Jolla Playhouse); Emilie, Sylvia, Much Ado About Nothing (New Village Arts), Snakeskin, Lifeblood Harmony, Chagall, A Man Found Wanting (Malashock Dance); The Storm, The Threepenny Opera, A Man, His Wife, and His Hat (UCSD). Assistant costume credits: Dialogues des Carmelites (Teatro Petruzzelli, Bari), Paradise Found (Menier Chocolate Factory, London), Milk Like Sugar (La Jolla Playhouse), As You Like It, A Midsummer Night's Dream (The Old Globe). Elisa holds a costume design MFA from UCSD. www.elisabenzoni.com

ANDREA GUTIERREZ (Prop Design) has been working at North Coast Rep since 2012, beginning as the Stage Manager and Prop Master for our theatre school. She worked as backstage crew for the 32nd and the beginning of the 33rd Season, before taking over as Supervising House Manager and Volunteer Coordinator. Her previous prop credits include Way Downriver; William Faulkner's 'Old Man', Now You See It, Sherlock Holmes and the Adventure of the Great Nome Gold Rush, Chapatti, and The Fox on the Fairway, as well as two seasons as properties assistant at Starlight Theatre. She received her B.A. in Theatrical Design and Production from UCLA's School of Theatre, Film & Television, and is currently pursuing her M.A. from Johns Hopkins University.

PETER HERMAN (Hair & Wig Design) has previously designed wigs for over 30 North Coast Rep productions including: Way Downriver; William Faulkner's 'Old Man', Now You See It, Sherlock Holmes and the Adventure of the Great Nome Gold Rush, Fallen Angels, Romance Romance, Faded Glory, Mandate Memories, The School For Lies, Honky Tonk Angels, Travesties, I Love You Because, Little Women, My Name is Asher Lev and Five Course Love. He has also designed costumes for past North Coast Rep productions of 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, The Big Bang, Madagascar, and Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris. Peter teaches wig and makeup design at San Diego State University. He is glad to be part of the creative team on this show.

North Coast Repertory Theatre is a professional Equity theatre founded in 1982 by Olive and Tom Blakistone. Currently celebrating its 34th season, North Coast Rep has received critical acclaim from media and audiences alike, and has evolved into one of the area's leading performing arts organizations. North Coast Rep prides itself on employing the majority of its actors from Actors' Equity Association for its high quality, award-winning productions, and staging works by established and emerging playwrights. Throughout its history, North Coast Rep has created a platform where artist and audience thrive through the intimacy of live theatre, recognizing the power of theatre to challenge complacency, revitalize the imagination, nurture the unexpected and embrace the variety and diversity in our lives.

*The actor or stage manager appears through the courtesy of Actors' Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers in the United States.

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