Washington, D.C.'s Shakespeare Theatre Company has revealed casting for its upcoming production of Henrik Ibsen’s The Wild Duck, produced in association with Theatre for a New Audience.
Directed by STC Artistic Director Simon Godwin, from a new adaptation by David Eldridge, the production will first play New York's TFANA September 2-28, before playing STC’s Klein Theatre October 18-November 16.
As previously reported, Nick Westrate (Frankenstein) will take on the role of Hjalmar Ekdal opposite Melanie Field as Gina Ekdal, Hjalmar’s wife and partner who is caught up in the betrayals. They will be joined by the newly announced Alex Hurt as Gregers Werle, David Patrick Kelly (Once Upon a Mattress) as Old Ekdal, Katie Broad (An Enemy of the People) as Pettersen, Maaike Laanstra-Corn as Hedvig, Mahira Kakkar (Life of Pi) as Mrs. Sørby, Bobby Plasencia (Maria Full of Grace) as Mr. Flor, and Alexander Sovronsky (Cyrano de Bergerac) as Jensen. STC favorites Matthew Saldivar and Robert Stanton will appear as Relling and Captain Balle, and Håkon Werle, respectively.
In Ibsen's classic, Gregers Werle, the idealistic and dogmatic son of a wealthy businessman, wreaks havoc when he embarks on a crusade to unveil the false foundations of the life of his friend, Hjalmar Ekdal. Ignorant of the adults’ machinations, Hedvig, a young girl, tries to shield the fragile eponymous duck from the injuries of the world.
Said adapter Eldridge in a statement, “There’s a timelessness to the tension the play explores that sits in all of us; simultaneously a need for the truth of our lives to be told and the need to maintain delusions about ourselves and our loved ones that makes coping with living possible. That enduring relevance means that I’m drawn to presenting a lucid version of the play, faithful to Ibsen’s original, but that is immediate, alive, and can exist in the thrilling present tense of an act of theatre.”
The creative team includes scenic designer Andrew Boyce, costume designer Heather Freedman, lighting designer Stacey Derosier, sound designer Darron West, movement and fight director Jacob Grigolia-Rosenbaum, voice director Andrew Wade, hair and wig designer Satellite Wigs, properties supervisor Jonno Knust, and production dramaturg Jonathan Kalb.
Shane Schnetzler is production stage manager for New York, and Laura Smith is the production stage manager for D.C., with assistant stage manager Dayne Sundman.
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