Dana H.
Dana H. - 2021 Broadway History , Info & More
DANA H. tells the harrowing true story of a woman held captive in a series of Florida motels for five months. Told in Dana's own words and reconstructed for the stage by her son, playwright Lucas Hnath, this groundbreaking work shatters the boundaries of the art form and challenges our understanding of good and evil.
Dana H. - 2021 - Broadway Cast
PREVIEW Dana H. - 2021 - Broadway
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FEATURED REVIEWS FOR Dana H.
Lucas Hnath’s Dana H. Is the Real Thing
9 / 10
Despite its well-honed beauty (Paul Toben sends a perfect sunset through those curtains), it's hard to measure Dana H. as a theatrical object. You can say O'Connell's performance is piercing, since it's dazzling on an artistic level, but there's also a quality of witness in what she's doing, which moves it beyond evaluation. The 'story' too has suspense, motion, revelation, exposition-all the components that critics like to tick off with their little pencils-though I came away staggered, finding that mode of critique very thin. Yet the truth isn't the whole story here either: This is not just a podcast or a dressed-up episode of This American Life. Waters, Hnath and O'Connell have made something intensely theatrical that reaches devastating emotional heights. All their distancing strategies have the paradoxical effect of drawing us close. We see the mask, but it makes us even more aware that somewhere, reality is crying out beneath it.
Dana H.
10 / 10
Watching Dana H. is like listening to a fascinating true-crime podcast, and part of the interest is in the mysteries that adhere to Dana's account, which may be distorted by trauma and time. There are things she can't explain about what happened to her, and at times you wonder what she is leaving out or, perhaps, what Hnath has chosen not to include; wrestling with your response to Dana as a narrator is part of what makes the play so resonant. This is a woman of resilient Christian faith but also a woman with a dark side-she casually mentions having dabbled in Satanism-and a complicated history. (She was 'pretty well prepped' for the physical abuse she suffered at Jim's hands, she says, by the beatings she received as a child.) And she's a survivor, but not completely. By the end of Dana H., you understand why she now works in hospice care, providing final comfort to people on the edge of death. Having been through hell, she carries demons with her still. She's self-possessed.
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by Team BWW - October 24, 2021
Dana H., by Obie Award winner Lucas Hnath and directed by Obie Award winner Les Waters, opened earlier this week on October 17, at Broadway's Lyceum Theatre, playing on a rotating schedule with Is This a Room. Deirdre O'Connell reprises her Obie Award-winning performance.
by Jennifer Broski - October 18, 2021
Dana H., by Obie Award winner Lucas Hnath and directed by Obie Award winner Les Waters, just opened last night, October 17, at Broadway's Lyceum Theatre, playing on a rotating schedule with Is This a Room. BroadwayWorld was on hand for the big night and we're taking you inside the curtain call!
by Stephi Wild - October 17, 2021
Dana H. officially opens on October 17, on Broadway at the Lyceum Theatre. Meet the cast and learn more about who is starring in this new play!
by Nicole Rosky - October 17, 2021
Dana H., by Obie Award winner Lucas Hnath and directed by Obie Award winner Les Waters, opens tonight, October 17, at Broadway's Lyceum Theatre, playing on a rotating schedule with Is This a Room.
by Stephi Wild - August 21, 2021
Previews for Is This A Room begin September 24, 2021, with an opening night scheduled for October 11, 2021. Previews for Dana H. begin October 1, 2021, with an opening night scheduled for October 17, 2021. The two productions will play alternating performances for a 17-week engagement through January 16, 2022.
Dana H. History
Other Productions of Dana H.
| 2020 | Off-Broadway |
Vineyard Off-Broadway Premiere Off-Broadway |
| 2021 | Broadway |
Original Broadway Production Broadway |
Dana H. - 2021 Broadway Awards and Nominations
| Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Performance Awards | Deirdre O'Connell |
| 2022 | Drama League Awards | Outstanding Production of a Play | Dana H. |
| 2022 | Tony Awards | Best Direction of a Play | Les Waters |
| 2022 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play | Deirdre O'Connell |
| 2022 | Tony Awards | Best Sound Design of a Play | Mikhail Fiksel |
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