DANA H. Previews

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 9/30/21 at 12:03am

The new play Dana H. begins previews tomorrow at the Lyceum Theatre, prior to an October 17 opening night. Performed in repertory with Tina Satter’s Is This a Room, Dana H. is a one-person show led by Deirdre O’Connell. The play is written by Tony nominee Lucas Hnath and directed by Obie winner Les Waters. The limited engagement is currently set to run through January 15.

“Dana H. tells the harrowing true story of a woman who was held captive for five months in a series of Florida motels. Now, her own words have been reconstructed for the stage by her son, Tony-nominated playwright Lucas Hnath.”

Who’s going?

[kwoc91]

Posted: 9/30/21 at 9:29am

They're doing a $35 rush, same as IS THIS A ROOM.

I'll go if the rush seats are good - this sounds like something where you really need to be close to the stage to appreciate it fully. Face value orchestra and mezz seats are $99+, and I'm surely not going to sit in the Lyceum balcony for a show that's performed entirely in lip sync!

[52889j]

Posted: 9/30/21 at 10:56am

kwoc91 said: "They're doing a $35 rush, same as IS THIS A ROOM.

I'll go if the rush seats are good - this sounds like something where you really need to be close to the stage to appreciate it fully. Face value orchestra and mezz seats are $99+, and I'm surely not going to sit in the Lyceum balcony for a show that's performed entirely in lip sync!"

I'm very curious to hear reports for this reason. I saw Dana H. at Vineyard and it was absolutely astonishing, but I can't imagine it having the same effect from the Lyceum balcony. I almost wonder if they'd project Deirdre's face onto a big screen a la Ivo van Hove. I feel like that could work but not sure if the creative team wanted to go that route.

[broadway86]

Posted: 9/30/21 at 11:01am

Going on Sunday. Got my ticket through TDF, so we'll see how that turns out.

[ImAProphet]

Posted: 9/30/21 at 12:50pm

broadway86 said: "Going on Sunday. Got my ticket through TDF, so we'll see how that turns out."

I saw Is This A Room via TDF (I'd assume they allocate similar seats for Dana H.) and got row D mezzanine, dead center. I was a little disappointed since TDF usually gets me orchestra but it wasn't a bad seat and I could still see faces pretty well.

[broadway86]

Posted: 9/30/21 at 1:39pm

ImAProphet said: "broadway86 said: "Going on Sunday. Got my ticket through TDF, so we'll see how that turns out."

I saw Is This A Room via TDF (I'd assume they allocate similar seats for Dana H.) and got row D mezzanine, dead center. I was a little disappointed since TDF usually gets me orchestra but it wasn't a bad seat and I could still see faces pretty well."

Thank you for the heads-up! I'll report back this weekend :) 

 

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 10/1/21 at 9:32am

52889j said: "kwoc91 said: "They're doing a $35 rush, same as IS THIS A ROOM.

I'll go if the rush seats are good - this sounds like something where you really need to be close to the stage to appreciate it fully. Face value orchestra and mezz seats are $99+, and I'm surely not going to sit in the Lyceum balcony for a show that's performed entirely in lip sync!"

I'm very curious to hear reports for this reason. I saw Dana H. at Vineyard and it was absolutely astonishing, but I can't imagine it having the same effect from the Lyceum balcony. I almost wonder if they'd project Deirdre's face onto a big screen a la Ivo van Hove. I feel like that could work but not sure if the creative team wanted to go that route."

i don't think projecting a close up of her face is a good idea. It's lip sync but it's also illusion. She's not always letter perfect. A blown up projection would kill the show. 

 

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 10/1/21 at 10:05pm

Just getting home from the first preview. I….liked it…? I guess? If we’re comparing the two Lyceum plays (which I think is fair since they’re billed together), then I much preferred the other one to this. I was never bored with it, I was never not interested in the story, but I still felt completely detached from what was being presented. As I was walking home I realized that I had the same feeling watching this that I did watching “A Steady Rain”. An interesting story that was just talked about, when I would’ve preferred it being shown to me.

The lip-synching was excellent and O’Connell is giving a damn fine performance very worthy of the standing ovation she received at the end. But I still couldn’t shake the feeling that I paid a lot of money to watch someone lipsync an audio book.

I think I’m going to be in the minority on this one and that’s ok, I hope people love it as much as the Pre-Broadway raves led me to believe I would.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 10/1/21 at 10:14pm

I'm interested in the story and why this women was kept in these motels, but if it's just lip-syncing, I'd rather save my money and just read the play. I can see good lip-syncing down the street with a cheaper cocktail. 

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 10/1/21 at 10:29pm

Yes it’s entirely lip-synched. And to answer the question above - there were no projections. Just her in a chair center stage.

I also noticed the theater was about half of what it was last Friday for “Is This a Room”, so I hope for everyone there that they’re able to build an audience.

Updated On: 10/1/21 at 10:29 PM

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 10/1/21 at 11:05pm

I don’t get it. I adore her work, but why do I want to see her mimick and lip sync? What’s the thing that makes it worth Broadway prices?

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 10/1/21 at 11:13pm

I’ve been staring at your post for a few minutes and I honestly don’t know how to answer that. I mean, I paid more for this than I did for “Six” and that seems ridiculous to me.

[KJisgroovy]

Posted: 10/1/21 at 11:45pm

The lip synching is part of the play. It's the concept and thematically significant. And her performance, at least in Chicago, is ABSOLUTELY EXTRAORDINARY. Very shortly after the play started I completely forgot she wasn't speaking. I cherish this as one of my favorite, cathartic theater going experiences. I also think it pairs really interestingly and intelligently with Is This A Room. Both are extremely bold experiments in verbatim theater. 

That said. It's a very weird choice for a Broadway-sized theater, at Broadway prices, with Broadway audiences. I wish the two shows had been paired together as an evening, or remained off-broadway. 

[JBroadway]

Posted: 10/1/21 at 11:46pm

I did enjoy Dana H, but as I’ve been saying for months, I do feel that Is This a Room is by far the superior piece of the 2.

I will say regarding Dana H:

I don’t totally understand the choice to have her lip-sync, and I’m not totally convinced it was the right call. But IMO it was really engrossing to watch, and it doesn’t at all diminished the quality of her performance, which is still a wonder to behold. Plus I do think the story is just so compelling. But for me, the clincher was that final act, where the technical production elements come into play more, and things take a turn for the surreal. That, for me, is really what elevated the piece.

But I also saw this off-Broadway for a very low price, and very little pressure on it. I do understand feeling a bit hesitant about it the baggage that comes with the Broadway setting.

Also - Jordan it’s interesting to read your comment about “audiobooks,” because that’s how I feel about narration-heavy shows 90% of the time. In order for me to enjoy a narration-heavy show, it has to do one or both of these 2 things: (1) tell a really compelling, plot-driven story and/or (2) put a lot of emphasis on the character’s process of telling the story. I think Dana H does both. If one were to read the play, they wouldn’t get a sense of her wry, casual mannerisms, which are so fascinating to clock as she tells this harrowing story.

[KJisgroovy]

Posted: 10/1/21 at 11:51pm

The fact she has headphones on also contributes to the notion of an audiobook.

I connected Dana H. much more than I did to Is This a Room but thought both were some of the best theater I'd seen in a long time.

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 10/2/21 at 8:12am

JBroadway said: "I did enjoy Dana H, but as I’ve been saying for months, I do feel that Is This a Room is by far the superior piece of the 2.

I will say regarding Dana H:

I don’t totally understand the choice to have her lip-sync, and I’m not totally convinced it was the right call. But IMO it was really engrossing to watch, and it doesn’t at all diminished the quality of her performance, which is still a wonder to behold. Plus I do think the story is just so compelling. But for me, the clincher was that final act, where the technical production elements come into play more, and things take a turn for the surreal. That, for me, is really what elevated the piece.

But I also saw this off-Broadway for a very low price, and very little pressure on it. I do understand feeling a bit hesitant about it the baggage that comes with the Broadway setting.

Also - Jordan it’s interesting to read your comment about “audiobooks,” because that’s how I feel about narration-heavy shows 90% of the time. In order for me to enjoy a narration-heavy show, it has to do one or both of these 2 things: (1) tell a really compelling, plot-driven story and/or (2) put a lot of emphasis on the character’s process of telling the story. I think Dana H does both. If one were to read the play, they wouldn’t get a sense of her wry, casual mannerisms, which are so fascinating to clock as she tells this harrowing story. "
 

I think the lip sync is also a metaphor for trauma and the recounting of it, as well as dissociation when recounting trauma (it wasn’t me it was happening to.) 

 

[broadway86]

Posted: 10/4/21 at 3:10pm

Bettyboy72 said: "I think the lip sync is also a metaphor for trauma and the recounting of it, as well as dissociation when recounting trauma (it wasn’t me it was happening to.)"

Just saw Dana H. last night, truly extraordinary. I hadn't thought about this interpretation, but it makes sense. For me, it was a such a profound concept that Deirdre embody Dana's words but not speak them herself. Dana is a woman who - from childhood to adulthood and into this horrifying ordeal - has had her voice demoralized, invalidated, and silenced. And having it lip-synced with empathy and technical precision from the actress is such a beautiful way to have Dana's voice not just heard, but amplified.

Updated On: 10/4/21 at 03:10 PM

[chrishuyen]

Posted: 10/4/21 at 11:02pm

Do we know yet if Lucas Hnath qualifies for a Tony nom as playwright if this gets nominated for best play? How would that work in this case?

[Miles2Go2]

Posted: 10/4/21 at 11:10pm

I think I understand why you are asking that, but according to IBDB, the show is written by Lucas Hnath so I’d assume he’d be eligible for consideration.

[KJisgroovy]

Posted: 10/4/21 at 11:12pm

He should qualify as he's the author of the play. Even though it's compiled and created from interviews, the show is very much the work of an author. Anna Deavere Smith was nominated for Twilight: Los Angeles 1992... and I think that's a work of a very similar sort. 

[SouthernCakes]

Posted: 10/4/21 at 11:30pm

What are the technical elements you speak about? Do the spoiler tag!

[JBroadway]

Posted: 10/5/21 at 12:05am

SouthernCakes said: "What are the technical elements you speak about? Do the spoiler tag!"

 

It won't sound that exciting to describe it. It's just utilized really well in context...

 

Click Here To Toggle Spoiler Content

There's a climactic sequence toward the end where the lights and sound ramp up in intensity, and it creates this really visceral, kind of surreal whirlwind of sensory overload. It's very effective. 

 

[n2nbaby]

Posted: 10/9/21 at 8:23pm

At the show this evening and the show has been paused for 15 minutes now due to technical difficulties.

[kennin]

Posted: 10/9/21 at 8:39pm

n2nbaby said: "At the show this evening and the show has been paused for 15 minutes now due to technical difficulties. "

Now at 8:40.  Still waiting.  

[n2nbaby]

Posted: 10/9/21 at 10:16pm

Show finally started at about 8:45. Once it started they still had issues that got solved within a couple of minutes.