UB Department of Theatre and Dance to present Hedda Gabler Oct. 26-30

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The University at Buffalo Department of Theatre and Dance will present Henrik Ibsen's masterpiece Hedda Gabler from Wednesday, Oct. 26 through Sunday, Oct. 30. Performance times are Wednesday through Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. in the Black Box Theatre in the UB Center for the Arts, North Campus.

Hedda Gabler is the tragedy of a modern woman struggling for free will and equality in a restrictive, male-dominated society. As Hedda spins a web to shape the men in her life into ideal companions, her power plays and misjudgments ultimately isolate her within the very society she most loathes. Trapped, blackmailed and seeking redemption, she ultimately expresses her free will in the least likely and most disturbing manner imaginable. Henrik Ibsen is the second-most produced playwright in the world, after William Shakespeare. His plays, which include Enemy of the People, The Wild Duck, Ghosts, Peer Gynt and A Doll's House, still challenge contemporary audiences to think and feel deeply about situations that remain relevant to this day.

UB's production features a cast of UB BFA and BA students, including Sarah Lazar in the title role of Hedda, Edward McCole, Emily Croft, Nick Sitarski, Joseph Ferraro, Lauren Stricos and Jennifer Johnson.

The production is the first to be supported by a generous gift from UB Theatre and Dance alumna Abbe Raven '74. The CEO and president of the Arts and Entertainment Television Network, and her husband, Martin Tackel, established the Abbe Raven and Martin Tackel Student Theatre Project, which is intended to fund student-directed, student-acted and student produced projects. Director Kevin Leary is currently completing a graduate degree in the Interdisciplinary Studies Program at UB. Following a career as an actor that included four national tours, Leary came to UB to shift his focus to directing and theater research. The support of this generous gift has allowed him to train on UB's stages with full design and production support.

Tickets for Hedda Gabler are $20 general admission and $10 for students and seniors. Tickets are available at the Center for the Arts Box Office (Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.) and all Ticketmaster locations, including ticketmaster.com. To charge tickets, call 1-800-745-3000; in Canada, call 416-870-8000. For more information, call 716-645-2787.