Flemish director Ivo van Hove stages the Christopher Hampton translation of the work which kicks off the downtown Manhattan company's season. The opening night is slated for Sept. 21 for a run through Oct. 24.

Marvel (An American Daughter and recent "The District") — who has played in NYTW stagings of Alice in Bed, A Streetcar Named Desire and Lydie Breeze, Parts I & II will tackle the title role in the Henrik Ibsen classic.

Recent Nine star Mary Beth Peil (Frame 312, "Dawson's Creek") performs as Aunt Julia and Sight Unseen actress Ana Reeder (Humble Boy, The Time of the Cuckcoo) as Mrs. Elvsted are featured in a cast that also includes Elzbieta Czyzewska (Vienna: Lusthaus (revisited)) as Berte, Jason Butler Harner (Observe the Sons of Ulster...) as George Tesman and John Douglas Thompson (Marlowe's Eyes) as Judge Brack.

van Hove serves as the artistic director of The Netherlands' repertory company, Toneelgroep Amsterdam. The director is known in Europe for his innovative theatrical stagings. New York audiences may remember his previous NYTW productions of More Stately Mansions, A Streetcar Named Desire and Alice in Bed.

The remainder of the NYTW season will see a return of playwright Caryl Churchill's work with James MacDonald's staging of A Number starring Sam Shepard (starting Nov. 16) and Mildred Ruiz and Steven Sapp's Eyewitness Blues directed by Talvin Wilks (from March 1, 2005). Other productions under consideration include Will Power's adaptation of Aeschylus' Seven Against Thebes, called The Seven directed by Jo Bonney and a Martha Clarke adaptation of Pirandello. Subject to change. Tickets to Hedda Gabler at NYTW, 79 East Fourth Street, call (212) 239-6200. For more information, visit www.nytw.org.