IS THIS A ROOM and DANA H will play Broadway in Rep

https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Tina-Satters-IS-THIS-A-ROOM-and-Lucas-Hnaths-DANA-H-Will-Play-in-Repertory-on-Broadway-This-Fall-20210714

HOLLLYYY SH*T!!!!!

This news will mean nothing to some people, but my heart leapt out of my chest when I woke up to this news. "Is This a Room" was my favorite piece of theatre in the 2019-2020 season. I F*cking loved it. It's an absolutely stunning, brilliant piece of theatre.

And I loved Dana H too!!! Holy crap!

Not only that, theses 2 pieces go really well together. I totally understand why they're being done in rep. They played at Vineyard in the same season, and made for great companion pieces.

Normally I'm very much in the camp of like "not every great Off-Broadway show needs a Broadway transfer to be valid! Let off-Broadway be enough!" and i do believe that. But I still can't help but feel exhilarated when pieces I loved get this kind of visibility and recognition.

@Sauja

Now I wonder if a double bill would've been better for them, since they are both pretty short. But 2h40m is a long evening for 2 unknown plays and both pieces together might be kind of exhausting

I agree about Broadway prices, but that’s where we are right now. You can say that about so many of the shows playing this fall, but I guess the mentality is that they will bring in a local audience. I don’t doubt that there will be heavily discounted tickets though. I guess we’ll find out, but either way, I’m excited that these shows are getting a future life with more visibility.

Plus, they are both incredibly cheap to run, and will have very low capitalizations.

Updated On: 7/14/21 at 09:49 AM

This is obviously out of the box but it may well succeed where much else will fail. Why? (1) These are definitely shows directed at local rather than tourist audiences. (2) They are cheap to produce, especially this way, and will not need to sell at full price to survive. (3) The demand requirement is cut in half without wasting the space for half the time because the supply is cut in half. (Cf. shows like Chicago that are reopening to <8/wk. (4) Matt Ross understands markets better than many/most producers.

@Hogan - good point about the supply/demand. I hadn't even thought of that angle.



I hope full original cast of Is This a Room transfer. They were all fantastic, and it's such a tightly-knit ensemble - they have to work together totally seamlessly for the play to work. And Becca Blackwell is such a delight - I would love to see them make their Broadway debut.

Plus it might make history? Has there ever been a Broadway play with 2 transgender actors playing roles that have nothing to do with being trans?

Such great news! IS THIS A ROOM was the best show I saw in 2019. Thrilled additional audiences will be able to catch this fantastic piece.

Grateful for a second chance to see DANA H. Always willing to give a Lucas Hnath a chance and I've heard nothing but positive reviews for this show!

Excited to see how this model will play out. Kudos to the Vineyard and this team of producers for giving it a shot!

Another thought that occurs to me:

Now that we are starting to get verbatim theatre performed on Broadway, it just provides further evidence that the "Best Play" Tony should be split up between script and production. In my ideal world, "Is This a Room" would win "Best Production of a Play," but it would be a shame if Tina Satter won for a verbatim script (even though I'm so impressed by what she did with it) when there are so many original play scripts on Broadway next season that were born from actual playwriting.

Again, this is not a slight to Satter in the least (obviously, because I adored this piece). It's just the nature of verbatim theatre. There's nothing wrong with it, but it shouldn't win any awards for writing.

Since I'm on the topic, I still think it's a little bit annoying that Dana H is credited as "By Lucas Hnath," when he didn't write a single word of it. It should be "conceived by" and/or "created by." Again, I'm not saying he didn't put work into it, just questioning how that work should be indicated.

gibsons2 said: "Those of you who saw both plays, which one was your favorite and which one would you recommend over the other? Thanks."

Dana H. Hands down.

Whenever we've wondered why more shows don't run in rep on Broadway to share costs, we were always told that it was due to unions and their costs would make it cost prohibitive. Wonder what changed (apart from obviously vacant houses due to a pandemic)?

Sauja, just wait to buy tickets. There is no world in which these productions will sell out, and they will likely be discounting heavily (not unlike Pass Over) for Orch/Mezz seats.

gibsons2 said: "Sauja said: "I hope no one will mind if I ask for some seating recommendations. I tend to always pick the cheapest tickets and have probably seen shows from the last row of almost every Broadway theater. So the $39 tickets for the balcony for each of these are hard for me to say no to. That said, from the relatively little I know, they both seem like they might be plays that are especially intimate and that there might be quite a lot lost further from the stage.



As I waffle over my own cheapness, I'm torn between going with my usual M.O. and grabbing balcony seats, deciding to upgrade to a $79 rear mezz seat, or even (gasp) paying full price for orchestra seats? As I'm having trouble deciding, I would love ANY feedback from folks who have seen either show. I think I'm especially worried about how well Dana H. will translate to a bigger space.



In any case, any feedback is super appreciated!"

Just like you, being a NYC local, I tend to buy low cost/last minutetickets for the shows. But my experience has been ruined a few times when I had to watch intimate plays from rear mezzanine because I went for the cheapest ticket. Although the Vineyard presale is still active ($85-95 for prime orchestra), I'm also agonizing between booking amazing seats or waiting for TDF/further discounts. Especially now that I've been convinced that I must see both plays based on the recommendations..."

I'm also waiting until Dana H starts to buy tickets. I'd like to hear how they are staging it and the height of the stage. I got very close tickets for two shows at the Lyceum and I craned my neck and had an awful view. The stage was so high.

the balcony at the Lyceum is awful, I would highly discourage anyone from buying seats way up there