"It is our very good fortune that Hillary is portrayed by Laurie Metcalf, an actress who does being thwarted better than anyone...Mr. Hnath’s play doesn’t presume to be an authoritative view of the woman behind the mask, or even of the mask itself. Instead — and this is what makes this play something more than a receptacle for recycled observations about its famous subjects — 'Hillary and Clinton' strips its protagonist down to her most ordinary self."
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"Directed firmly and dryly by Joe Mantello, 'Hillary and Clinton' is cogent, snappy and perceptive about political and emotional realities. Much of the ground it covers might seem old to those who follow the news, but the play has now, as it could not have had in 2016, a looming sense of tragedy. Its final line, a shiv to the gut, sends you out hurting into the universe, outside the theater, where we somehow find ourselves now."
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"This is a bold theatrical speculation and uncovering...The performers don't actively imitate the real Clintons...So we're not invited to look at them through familiar eyes, but as theatrical characters who happen to be them...This gives the play a playful metatheatrical framing...But the play soon breaks free of those gestures to become a fiercely contested insider speculation about a modern marriage...The play is by turns provocative and poignant, smart and funny."
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"A not particularly meaty exploration of the emotional life and logic behind a couple of particularly public figures...As the big names of the play’s title, Metcalf and John Lithgow are the very watchable wind beneath its wings — but those wings are pretty rickety...'Hillary and Clinton' isn’t really much of a comedy. It’s not much of a drama either. It’s four good actors giving bodies to a series of ideas that are, even if valid, pretty well chewed-over."
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"No matter how you feel about the Clintons you’ll likely find it a once-over-lightly disappointment...As promising as this sounds on paper, it doesn’t work in the theater, in part because John Lithgow is playing Bill Clinton...Ms. Metcalf’s performance, by contrast, is nothing like an imitation, but it’s still believable in its own chilly, hard-surfaced way. What is at no time believable is the dialogue."
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"Lucas Hnath’s 'Hillary and Clinton' boasts the gladdening sight of Laurie Metcalf, her every bit the equal John Lithgow and director Joe Mantello’s unfailing grace, but for all of that, no small part of the satisfaction this play delivers is recognition of an entirely different sort...The play isn’t without flaws – story-wise, it can feel a bit on the thin side...The cast, needless to say, couldn’t be better."
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"If anyone could play Hillary Clinton, it’s Laurie Metcalf – and here she is giving a performance that feels painfully honest and true...The only thing wrong in this fictionalized visit to the 2008 primary is that playwright Hnath has brought nothing of substance to the table...Besides pulling off terrific political pep talks, Hnath also gets the intimate cadences of a close couple’s domestic rhythms, and lets Metcalf and Lithgow have their fun. But what about us? Where’s our fun?"
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"There's no shortage of scintillating elements in 'Hillary and Clinton'...Despite all those considerable pluses, however, Hnath's play is so slight that once its densely packed, yet nonetheless skeletal, 80 minutes are over you barely give it another thought...Sure, it's entertaining; Hnath is too smart a writer, and Metcalf and Lithgow too gifted as actors, not to keep us engaged. But not only does 'Hillary and Clinton' lack illuminating fresh perspective, it lacks drama."
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