Hillary and Clinton
Closed 1h 30m
Hillary and Clinton
80

Hillary and Clinton NYC Reviews and Tickets

80%
(491 Ratings)
Positive
87%
Mixed
10%
Negative
3%
Members say
Great acting, Clever, Intelligent, Relevant, Entertaining

About the Show

Lucas Hnath's ("A Doll's House, Part 2") new work examines the politics of marriage, gender roles, and the limitations of experience and inevitability. Starring two-time Tony winners Laurie Metcalf and John Lithgow.

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Show-Score Member Reviews (491)

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57 Reviews | 14 Followers
100
Great acting, Absorbing, Clever

See it if It's a chance to see arguably our greatest actors lift up a somewhat faulty play to make a truly great piece off theater.

Don't see it if The play has its boring moments, and James gives a cliched performance Read more

141 Reviews | 28 Followers
100
Thought-provoking, Great staging, Great acting, Entertaining, Clever

See it if you like interesting takes on persons of historic nature...you are curious about relationships and the strain political life have on it.

Don't see it if you don't want to see anything about the Clintons...are looking for a traditional drama...are offended by politics. Read more

271 Reviews | 35 Followers
95
Thought-provoking, Great writing, Great acting, Absorbing

See it if You want an exceptional theater experience; Masterful writing and acting. Intelligent and entertaining.

Don't see it if You have no interest in Hillary as a human being.

570 Reviews | 87 Followers
95
Relevant, Great writing, Funny, Great acting, Laurie metcalf

See it if you possibly can.Laurie Metcalf is unbelievable.She is one of our very best actresses.Watching her is a class in acting.She nails it.

Don't see it if you want a frothy musical.Just watching Metcalf react to and listen to John Lithgow is worth the price of admission.

254 Reviews | 86 Followers
93
Filling billary

See it if Love the actors. Enjoy politics.

Don't see it if Love set design; there isn't any. Hate the politician couple and 44. Read more

314 Reviews | 52 Followers
93
Funny, Absorbing, Delightful, Intelligent, Great acting

See it if you want to see a well written play with snappy dialogue about Hillary and Bill's relationship with each other and politics.

Don't see it if you hate plays about politics and you need to have lavish sets with lots of actors on stage. There are only 4 characters.

63 Reviews | 18 Followers
93
Relevant, Curious, Quick, Clever

See it if ...you enjoy plays about marriage. ...you love Metcalf & Lithgow; great chemistry.

Don't see it if ...you're not willing to suspend your disbelief. ...you're expecting a politics-heavy piece.

162 Reviews | 8 Followers
93
Clever, Funny, Absorbing

See it if You have enjoyed the playwright’s previous work or are a fan of the cast.

Don't see it if You want a docudrama about the Clintons. Read more

Critic Reviews (51)

The New York Times
April 18th, 2019

"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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Time Out New York
April 18th, 2019

"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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New York Theatre Guide
April 18th, 2019

"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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New York Magazine / Vulture
April 18th, 2019

"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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The Wall Street Journal
April 18th, 2019

"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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Deadline
April 18th, 2019

"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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Variety
April 18th, 2019

"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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The Hollywood Reporter
April 18th, 2019

"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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