Ever since I saw The Christians in 2015, I have made sure to see every Lucas Hnath play since then. The variety of subject matter and structural surprises never disappoint. They are both thoughtful and thought-provoking. He is pushing plays into new territories and challenging his audiences to sit back, listen, think and engage. Directed by his long-time collaborator Les Waters, Dana H. is something new, bold, curiously calm and unforgettably harrowing.
When Mr. Hnath was attending New York University in 1998, his mother was kidnapped. He learned about this trauma years later. His mother apparently believed her ordeal might make for good subject matter. He brought Steve Cosson into the idea. Mr. Cosson is the Artistic Director of The Civilians, a troupe that specializes in investigative theater and the utilization of field research.
Dana H. is adapted from a series of taped interviews between Mr. Cosson and Dana, his mother. Rather than develop a traditional multi-character (and potentially unwatchable) drama, Mr. Hnath brought his mother’s voice to the stage. The entire play is largely Deidre O’Connell sitting in a chair and lip syncing to the taped interviews. Riveting is an understatement. You could hear a pin drop in the house.
The play is organized in three parts: A Patient Named Jim, The Next Five Months and The Bridge. Dana had a career as a chaplain in a hospice. She saw the moment of death in her patients three to four times per week. For twenty years. She meets a patient named Jim who is recovering from a horrific suicide attempt.
Jim is a member of the Aryan Brotherhood and has the tattoos to prove it. Dana wryly remarks that she understood his attraction to satanism. “When I was young, I played around with that.” Right from the beginning, details are mysterious. Is she being witty? Is she embellishing the story? The words are from one person’s memory of a hugely traumatic event. Is she a reliable narrator? That’s for the listener to determine.
Mr. Hnath takes these interview tapes and rearranges them into snippets which suit his dramatic intentions. The tape edits are the entire narrative. We hear the beeps when storytelling is spliced together. The interviewer is heard but not a character in the play. Dana sits alone and takes us through her ordeal.
Her recollection is filled with mental and physical abuse. Police are unhelpful, either scared of the Brotherhood or chummy with it. Are those comments real or are they are product of her mental state during an extensive incarceration with a madman. When the two go to a gun pawnshop, Jim admits that he is a felon and cannot buy the gun. Instead he says, “she’ll buy it.” Mr. Hnath’s incisive details frequently comment on larger societal themes without preaching.
Ms. O’Connell’s mind-blowing performance is not to be missed by anyone who relishes perfection in character acting. The lip syncing is technically phenomenal. Even recorded sounds are captured in her physical movements. The performance is essentially a solo pantomime. All eyes are on Dana. The depth of her emotions expressively register on her face. We are pulled inside her brain. The tale is frightening which makes her inevitable survival a relief.
The biggest mystery not explored in this play concerns Lucas the son. Where was he as all of this activity happened over a very extended period of time? I assume he knew of his parent’s separation. That enabled Jim to weave his way in Dana’s life before tormenting her in classic sociopath fashion. Mr. Hnath does not attempt to wrap up that question. Nor does he even suggest whether he believes the details are completely accurate or influenced by PTSD. In letting Dana speak for herself, his absorption in his mother’s memories become ours as well.
Performances of Dana H. have been extended at the Vineyard Theatre until April 11, 2020.
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