Hir @ Playwrights Horizons

Has anyone seen HIR yet? I know it hasn't opened yet but I would love to hear your thoughts and comments!

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Updated On: 10/27/15 at 03:32 PM

I wouldn't say I flat-out enjoyed it or that it's the best play I've ever seen, but it's an incredibly thought-provoking piece and well-worth seeing. Yes, there is a lot about gender issues in the piece, but it's not a "trans play", so to speak. It felt like a companion piece to something like The Humans, actually- an American family play that felt of a certain tradition but very much about contemporary issues. The first act is quite funny throughout, but for me the second act was what brought the whole thing together- it becomes certainly very dark by the end, but it felt earned and necessary. If this play is about trans issues, it is in the larger sense that there is a new type of conciousness that I think is beginning to appear in regards to issues of gender (which can also be extended to race, sexuality, etc), and obviously these changes are necessary and wonderful, but what happens in the shift from a white/hetero/cisgender male dominated world to one where those types no longer are automatically in charge? I'm still turning over the final moments of the play myself, but even if I can't quite figure out what I think it's trying to say yet, it's a bold, daring play, and I'm happy Playwrights is producing it.

Of course, the cast is tremendous. Kristine Nielsen, as usual, is hysterical and commits more to her character's eccentricities than I think any other actor could. But everyone worked so well together- as disparate as these people are, they felt like an actual family and I completely bought them as one. I'm not sure how people will like this play, but I encourage others to see it- it's worth the visit.

cjmclaughlin10 said: "I will be curious to see what posotive spin they can come up with to sell this mediocre play. Sad because if anyone should be able to write about gender issues, it should be Mac..."

Hmm, I didn't even think the show was about gender issues, though, but a family drama where every character had a different interesting backstory. It wasn't just about the transgender son. When I saw it with the talkback, nearly the whole crowd stayed and had a lot of interesting back and forth with Mac. So, while this play does turn some people off, it's certainly not across the board...

^ annnnnnd you ended up missing all the emotional weight the play had as all the payoff is in the second act.

Seeing only act one is pretty much all set up and no punchline...

Kad, that was what I loved most about Nielsen's performance. As loopy as she was, the flickers of rage made so much depth to her character- I also was so taken by her pretty cold response to Max about his testosterone in the second act. I actually got to talk to her for about 15 minutes after the performance, and while we mostly talked about the play, I wish I'd asked her more about the character- I'd love to know what she came up with as a backstory for this woman. Plus, Nielsen is just lovely in general.

If you want tickets, they just added two weeks...

"Production extends two additional weeks through Sunday, December 20

Due to critical acclaim and popular demand, Playwrights Horizons (Tim Sanford, Artistic Director; Leslie Marcus, Managing Director) has announced a second extension of their New York premiere production of HIR, a new play by Obie Award-winning theater artist Taylor Mac (A 24-Decade History of Popular Music, The Lily’s Revenge, The Walk Across America for Mother Earth, The Be(a)st of Taylor Mac, The Young Ladies Of). Directed by theater director and performance artist Niegel Smith (Artistic Director of The Flea), HIR is the second production of the theater company’s 2015/2016 Season.

Originally announced to extend its limited engagement through Sunday, December 6, HIR has now extended two additional weeks to Sunday, December 20 at Playwrights Horizons’ Peter Jay Sharp Theater (416 West 42nd Street). The production began previews Friday, October 16 and had its official opening last night, Sunday, November 8.

Charles Isherwood of The New York Times named HIR a Critics’ Pick, praising it as, “A sensational play. An audacious and uproarious black comedy in a crackling production directed by Niegel Smith with a daring combination of realism and madcap absurdity. A ferocious performance by Kristine Nielsen, taking her bravura comic persona to savage new extremes.” Hilton Als in The New Yorker praised the trinity of “Nielsen’s pained and profound performance, Mac’s brilliant script and Smith’s sensitive direction.” Adam Feldman of Time Out New York also named it a Critic Pick and gave it FOUR STARS, calling it a “Dizzying, theatrical tilt-a-whirl.” In New York Magazine, Jesse Green called it, “A smart new play. No one in the contemporary theater has better gender-queer bona fides, or a better sense of humor about it all.” And David Gordon for TheaterMania raved, “One of the most dangerous and ambitious works presented by a mainstream nonprofit in quite some time. A remarkable examination of gender and identity in contemporary America, HIR is an audacious, important work that won't be easily forgotten.”"

You will from me. I called for tickets last week, seeing it this Sunday the pair was $$160. $75 a ticket plus ticket central extra charges. Reviews were outstanding . Let you know.

No link yet, but the PH website has added dates thru Jan 3.