Dana H. NYC Reviews and Tickets

88%
(88 Ratings)
Positive
97%
Mixed
2%
Negative
1%
Members say
Great acting, Absorbing, Intense, Riveting, Thought-provoking

About the Show

In this harrowing true story, Dana, a chaplain of a psych ward, is held captive with her life in a patient's hands for five months. Told in Dana's own words and reconstructed for the stage by her son, Lucas Hnath.

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Show-Score Member Reviews (88)

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66 Reviews | 23 Followers
92
A crazy, bizarre, brilliant, unique concept. an astonishing & moving performance that takes the art of lip-syncing to a new level. clever, ambitious, absorbing, intense, masterful, riveting!!!

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

986 Reviews | 1052 Followers
92
Riveting, Intense, Edgy, Great acting, Absorbing

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.

761 Reviews | 166 Followers
92
Great acting, Thought-provoking, Riveting, Ambitious, Absorbing

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

184 Reviews | 30 Followers
91
Masterful, Must see, Great acting, Great staging, Absorbing

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.

86 Reviews | 24 Followers
91
Harrowing, brilliant acting, unbelievable true story

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

311 Reviews | 494 Followers
90
Profound, Intense, Great acting, Absorbing

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.

142 Reviews | 14 Followers
90
Must see, Intense, Great acting, Absorbing

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.

381 Reviews | 138 Followers
90
Intense, Riveting, Masterful, Edgy, Absorbing

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.

Critic Reviews (15)

Theater News Online
February 25th, 2020

"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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TheaterScene.net
February 26th, 2020

"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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Theatre is Easy
March 2nd, 2020

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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Front Row Center
February 28th, 2020

"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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Broadway Blog
March 1st, 2020

"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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Theatre's Leiter Side
February 25th, 2020

"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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NY Theatre Guide
February 26th, 2020

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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