Hedda Gabler

In early 2017 Stray Dog Theatre mounted an excellent rendition of Henrik Ibsen's groundbreaking drama A Doll's House, aided in large part by an absolutely stellar cast. This year the company tackles Ibsen's Hedda Gabler, the same cast in place. The play is the story of a newlywed woman who got married for the wrong reasons and is already bored with her work-obsessed husband, Jørgen. Jørgen is up for a professorship, and his main challenger, Ejlert, is a brilliant writer who has mostly tamed his alcoholism thanks to the help of his wife Thea. Hedda hatches a cruel plot to take Ejlert out of the running, but the best-laid plans often fall apart along the way. Stray Dog Theatre presents Hedda Gabler at 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday (June 7 to 23) at the Tower Grove Abbey (2336 Tennessee Avenue; www.straydogtheatre.org). There is one matinee at 2 p.m. Sunday, June 17. Tickets are $25 to $30.