DANA H. tells the harrowing true story of a woman held captive in a series of Florida motels for five months. Told in Dana's own words and reconstructed for the stage by her son, playwright Lucas Hnath, this groundbreaking work shatters the boundaries of the art form and challenges our understanding of good and evil.
Hnath has expertly crafted a piece of theater that is both raw and authentic yet at the same time one of artifice, and it is in this in-between plane that the audience lives. There is no hiding the fact that this is a lip-synced piece based on the recordings of many days of interviews by dramaturg Steve Cosson. At the show's start, O'Connell is clearly outfitted on stage with an ear-piece and given a quick sound check. There are electronic beeps throughout, as a reminder that this is an edited, recorded work. Supertitles add information and separate the three acts of the narration.
O'Connell's performance was unlike anything I've ever seen on the stage. After the initial novelty of the lipsycing wears off, it becomes impossible to believe that O'Connell is not the one speaking these lines. Her performance is nuanced and never passive. Director Les Waters' staging is simple-Dana tells the story sitting in a comfy chair against the backdrop of a classic Floridan motel room (scenic design Andrew Boyce).
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