See it if you want to be captivated & mesmerized by an actress who speaks the words of another, lip-syncing an actual interview w/lucas hnath's mother
Don't see it if you don't want to hear a horrifically nightmarish account of the five-month-long kidnapping saga of hnath's mother. Read more
See it if You enjoy dark or intense stories. I was riveting start to finish. O'Connell is incredible.
Don't see it if You prefer something light or fluffy.
See it if you're a fan of O'Connell or Hnath, curious about a true-life kidnapping & the lip-sync method of telling story, enjoy riveting stories
Don't see it if don't like 1-person, 1-act plays, actor lip-syncing to actual narration confuses you, upset by kidnapping, rape stories, strobes, loud noise Read more
See it if you want to see powerful theater at its best. A harrowing tale uniquely told. Searing and memorable.
Don't see it if you will not like a haunting tragic tale no matter how beautifully and honestly told.
See it if You want to see Deirdre O'Connell in a tour de four performance (lip syncing to taped interviews with Hnath's mother).
Don't see it if You're fragile and can't handle stories about kidnapping and abuse. Read more
See it if this was probably one of my favorite shows I saw right before the pandemic. Intense but remarkable story.
Don't see it if you're uncomfortable with upsetting real life stories being portrayed on stage.
See it if you enjoy true dialogue spoken by the person who lived it. Harrowing/spell-binding/riveting. O'Connell becomes Dana even by lip-syncing.
Don't see it if if lip-syncing would bother you-though you don't realize she is doing it-she's that good. Or, one-person plays are not of interest.
See it if you want to see an amazing piece of theatrical skill. Dana's story is fascinating and Dierdre O'Connell fully inhabits the role.
Don't see it if you need stage action. Seated, she is telling a story -- and what a story it is! Not usually a fan of one-person shows, I was captivated.
"O'Connell's work deserves some sort of special award, as she flawlessly manages to not only precisely repeat Higginbotham's words but replicate every inflection...all while constantly gesturing, looking down at a manuscript, and essentially physically becoming this still-troubled woman."
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"With her haunting eyes, flowing hair and magnetic countenance, O'Connell vividly channels Higginbotham's presence. Her lip-synching, gestures and facial expressions are all flawless. The presentation's conceit is realized by O'Connell's supreme artistry."
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Best Bet. "An incredible real-life story of abuse and terror meets an equally incredible performance...a theatrical experience that's more-way more-than the sum of its parts. Based on taped interviews with Dana Higginbotham, Hnath's mother, 'Dana H.' is a moving and disturbing experience."
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"I have pretty much liked everything I have seen Deirdre O'Connell do. Let us add Dana H. to the list. As a matter of fact you can put it at the top. This is a play that has been urged into being by Lucas Hnath. Dana Higginbotham is his mother, and she was held..."
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"Deirdre O'Connell, who has been with the production through its Los Angeles and Chicago productions, is nothing short of mesmerizing."
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"Who would have thought that an actress, sitting…in a…motel room…lip-syncing someone's…words…, could be so piercingly effective?…O'Connell's uncanny ability to incarnate her without so much as a peep from her own voice makes this one piece of theatre that is absolutely not to be missed."
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Hnath has a knack for plays that toy with powerful women. A Doll's House, Part 2 brought one of the theater’s earliest liberated housewives back through the door from which she famously exited, while Hillary and Clinton brought the woman who blew up First Lady expectations into an alternate political reality. Where else to turn next, than to his mom. As Edward Albee and Eugene O’Neill proved, the mother-son dynamic can be theatrical dynamite, especially when the mother’s life happens to be a powder keg.
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