Blanchett: Theatrical

New York, March 3 (AP): In the Sydney Theatre Company’s jangling, tension-filled production of Henrik Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler, Cate Blanchett doesn’t just walk. She strides ? fiercely.

Pacing and prowling the confines of Hedda’s stifling bourgeois home with the energy of an elegant, yet caged animal. It’s her glam ferocity that propels this revival of the Ibsen classic, which the Australian troupe has brought to the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s Harvey Theatre for a four-week run.

The actress is eminently watchable. Blanchett, known for such films as Elizabeth and her Oscar-winning role in The Aviator, is more than a movie star. She has a strong, robust stage voice and the savvy to know how to use it.