by The Old Globe Theatre announced on Tuesday that actress Katie Holmes will play the lead in a new production of Henrik Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler, helping the theater launch its 2026 season.
The Globe’s Conrad Prebys Theatre Center in Balboa Park is home to the Donald and Darlene Shiley Stage, where Hedda Gabler will perform. From February 7 to March 8, 2026, performances will take place.
Erin Cressida Wilson wrote the Globe’s rendition of the play. This new, emotionally intense adaptation of the Ibsen classic will be directed by Barry Edelstein, artistic director of The Old Globe, who directed Holmes in the 2023 off-Broadway production of The Wanderers, according to a statement.
According to Edelstein, “Hedda Gabler is one of the classic pieces of world drama, and I’m really excited to bring a bracing new take on it to the Globe.”
This play, like all of Ibsen’s, is preoccupied with the ways that the decisions we make in the past influence our present. I get to see two artists I’ve worked with extensively over the years, which is why it’s so much fun.
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Wilson, a playwright and screenwriter, comes first. Holmes, whose credits include Logan Lucky, Batman Begins, and Dawson’s Creek, is the other.
Like Hamlet, Hedda rises or falls together with the title character. According to Edelstein, Holmes is everything: a victim, a tyrant, a femme fatale; humorous, cruel, and tragic.
Hedda Gabler can only be played by an actor with a great deal of inventiveness and charisma, so Globe viewers will be treated to something unique and exceptional in Katie’s bright and impactful performance.
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We are fortunate to have her in San Diego as she is an artist at the pinnacle of her abilities. I’m excited to share what will undoubtedly be a great event at The Old Globe.
Now in its 90th year, the Tony Award-winning Old Globe is a professional nonprofit regional theater. On its three stages in Balboa Park, it presents 16 productions of new, modern, and classic works throughout the year.
The entire 2026 season will be revealed later by the Old Globe.
Right now, tickets may only be purchased by subscription at TheOldGlobe.org, over the phone at (619) 234-5623, or in person at the Globe’s Balboa Park box office.
