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
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’ Review: A Riveting Act of Theatrical Shamanism
9 / 10
Hnath has expertly crafted a piece of theater that is both raw and authentic yet at the same time one of artifice, and it is in this in-between plane that the audience lives. There is no hiding the fact that this is a lip-synced piece based on the recordings of many days of interviews by dramaturg Steve Cosson. At the show's start, O'Connell is clearly outfitted on stage with an ear-piece and given a quick sound check. There are electronic beeps throughout, as a reminder that this is an edited, recorded work. Supertitles add information and separate the three acts of the narration.
Category
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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