Peer Gynt birthplace, where Ibsen claims he found inspiration for the character "Peer Gynt", and is regarded by many as the most authentic version. The play is performed by professional actors from the national theater institutions, and nearly 80 local amateur actors. The music to the play is inspired by the original theatre music by Edvard Grieg - the "Peer Gynt suite". The play is one of the most popular theater productions in Norway, attracting more than 12,000 people every summer. The festival also holds the Peer Gynt Prize, which is a national Norwegian honor prize given to a person or institution
Peer Gynt US production of "Peer Gynt" opened at the Chicago Grand Opera House on October 24, 1906, and starred the noted actor Richard Mansfield, in one of his very last roles before his untimely death. In 1923, Joseph Schildkraut played the role on Broadway, in a Theatre Guild production, featuring Selena Royle, Helen Westley, Dudley Digges, and, before he entered films, Edward G. Robinson. In 1944, at the Old Vic, Ralph Richardson played the role, surrounded by some of the greatest British actors of the time in supporting or bit roles, among them Sybil Thorndike as Åse, and Laurence Olivier as