See it if For the performance by the lead actress… outstanding job by Diedre OConell. I was left speechless
Don't see it if Just see it if you ever can
See it if you want to see an incredible performance, and be chilled to the bone knowing that everything you are hearing really happened.
Don't see it if you would be triggered by descriptions of extreme violence and sexual abuse. Read more
See it if You love: virtuosic performances, experiment theater, documentary/verbatim theater, short plays, challenging subject matter.
Don't see it if you only like musicals, you are looking for something funny and light, don’t enjoy documentary/verbatim theater, are triggered by violence Read more
See it if An astounding look into a frightening attack on a real woman's life perfectly acted by deirdre o'connell. excellent set/lighting
Don't see it if truly a very clever production, liked it much more than at the vineyard, no reason not to see it unless the content is triggering to you!
See it if You’re willing to give it a shot. It’s such a strange, small, intimate show, but it is staggering, riveting theater.
Don't see it if You won’t be able to give yourself over to 80 minutes of lip synced performance. But try. It’s so moving, so thoughtful & deeply surprising.
See it if You’re a Deirdre O’Connell fan. This is a master class!
Don't see it if Disturbing, totally true, matter is troublesome. Not a story for the faint of heart.
See it if You like experimental pieces that challenge the theatrical norm.
Don't see it if You only like traditional plot driven plays.
See it if you like gripping, well-told stories that will keep you on the edge of your seat.
Don't see it if no-frills solo shows don't interest you, even short ones...and you believe theatre should be entertaining, not disturbing. Read more
"NYTimes Critic's Pick!...“Dana H.” is not just the story of a woman brutalized by a psychopath; it is also the story of a mother abandoned by a son. What else would a playwright do to make reparations but write a play about just that, in the process returning to her what the world had stolen: her voice."
Read more
"Five stars!...O’Connell is nothing less than astonishing...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."
Read more
"I recently reviewed a show and declared that talk business does not belong onstage. Dana H. has forced me to eat my words and to accept that there are no absolutes in theatre, particularly when the story is horrifically affecting and spectacularly executed as this show is. Dana H. should be required viewing for legal scholars, law enforcement officers, and aspirants across the country, if only to remind them that depravity reigns when they fail to do the right thing."
Read more
"Mr. Waters has staged it with the utmost simplicity, trusting in the force of the tale. I have never watched a more powerful piece of documentary theater: Once seen, it will stay with you for a long time to come."
Read more
"A mesmerizing act of electronic ventriloquism...It’s hard to say which is more absorbing: Dana’s story or O’Connell’s uncanny portrayal, requiring her to reproduce in perfect alignment with the audiotape every cough, pause, giggle and slap of the chair in which she sits for much of the 75 minutes of the piece."
Read more
"Given the lip-synching and lack of movement on the part of O’Connell, one may wonder why “Dana H.” needs to be a live piece of theater rather than a true crime podcast or a raw testimonial video on YouTube. But at its best, the production (directed by Les Waters, who has also staged other plays by Hnath) is compelling, terrifying, and multilayered, especially with regard to the nature of reality."
Read more
"Not only is it the wildest true story on any stage in New York City, but it features a performance that must be seen to be believed."
Read more
"A theatre piece that unmistakably demands considerable thought and even more unmistakably boasts Deirdre O’Connell’s unbounded talents."
Read more