Berkeley Repertory Theatre to Present DANA H.

Berkeley Repertory Theatre today announced the critically acclaimed play Dana H. written by Lucas Hnath and directed by Les Waters will run Friday, June 3-Sunday, July 10, 2022.

Winner of the Lucille Lortel Award for Best Solo Show, Dana H. arrives at Berkeley Rep following a triumphant Broadway run last fall. This riveting, cutting-edge drama follows the powerful true story of Dana Higginbotham, a counselor in a psychiatric ward who was kidnapped by one of the patients and held captive in a series of Florida motel rooms for five months. Told in Dana's own courageous words and reconstructed for the stage by her son Lucas Hnath (A Doll's House, Part 2; The Christians), and expertly directed by Les Waters, Dana H. shatters conventions of the art form and delivers a highly theatrical, deeply intimate exploration of good, evil, and - ultimately - of grace.

"It's thrilling to be able to bring Les Waters' lauded production of Lucas Hnath's groundbreaking Dana H. to Berkeley Rep," said Artistic Director Johanna Pfaelzer. "Lucas and Les have together crafted a rather extraordinary feat of theatricality. As we welcome audiences back to Berkeley Rep, it is a great privilege to be in the presence of work like this that challenges us all to imagine the kind of storytelling that can only take place in the theatre!"

"There are certain theatres on my bucket list and Berkeley Rep has always been at the top of the list," said Jordan Baker, who will portray Dana H. "My entire family lives in the Bay Area, so in some ways it's a homecoming. It's a unique experience to be on stage with Dana's voice and tell the story together. It is like a piece of music that begins to play and we come together in voice and body. I remember how the Broadway houses were so silent, not a breath could be heard. Les Waters' direction of the play holds you in this hypnotic embrace. Lucas Hnath has given us a completely unique and personal experience that will keep you talking about his play long after the performance has ended. I have never seen anything like it in the theatre."

Tickets for Dana H. are now on sale to the general public at berkeleyrep.org or by calling 510-647-2949.

Dana H. by Lucas Hnath is adapted from interviews with Dana Higginbotham conducted by Steve Cosson.

Produced in association with Broadway producers Matt Ross, Sally Horchow, and Dori Berinstein.

The world premiere of Dana H. was produced in 2019 by Center Theatre Group, Los Angeles, California and first presented in New York in 2020 by Vineyard Theatre.

Lucas Hnath (Playwright)

Lucas' plays include A Doll's House, Part 2 (eight Tony Award® nominations, including Best Play); Hillary and Clinton; Red Speedo; The Christians; A Public Reading of an Unproduced Screenplay About the Death of Walt Disney; Isaac's Eye; and Death Tax. He has been produced on Broadway at the John Golden Theatre and off Broadway at New York Theatre Workshop, Playwrights Horizons, Soho Rep., and Ensemble Studio Theatre. His plays have been produced nationally and internationally with premieres at the Humana Festival of New American Plays, Victory Gardens, and South Coast Rep. He has been a resident playwright at New Dramatists since 2011. Lucas has received the Kesselring Prize, Guggenheim Fellowship, Whiting Award, two Steinberg/ATCA New Play Award Citations, Outer Critics Circle Award for Best New Play, an Obie, and the Windham-Campbell Literary Prize.

Les Waters (Director)

Les Waters is an Obie Award-winning director and was associate artistic director at Berkeley Rep from 2003-11. At Berkeley Rep, his productions included Wintertime; Big Love; Fêtes de la Nuit; Eurydice; In the Next Room (or The Vibrator Play); Yellowman; A Doll's House, Part 2; The Lieutenant of Inishmore; Red; Concerning Strange Devices from the Distant West; Girlfriend; and The Pillowman. His productions have been seen on Broadway - In the Next Room (or The Vibrator Play) (2009) and Dana H. (2021) - off Broadway, and many regional theatres. From 2012-18, he was artistic director of Actors Theatre of Louisville. From 1995-2003, he led the MFA directing program at University of California, San Diego. In the last 10 years, his productions have ranked amongst the year's best in The New Yorker, The New York Times, Time Out New York, Time Magazine, USA Today, and The Guardian. His book, The Theatre of Les Waters, edited by Scott T. Cummings, will be published by Routledge early 2022.

Jordan Baker (Dana)

Jordan is making her Berkeley Rep debut in Dana H., but this is her second performance in the Bay Area, having performed at ACT in the Tony Award-winning production of The Normal Heart directed by George C. Wolfe. Jordan received a Theatre World Award for Best Broadway Debut in Tennessee Williams' Suddenly, Last Summer at Circle in Square opposite Elizabeth Ashley directed by Harold Scott. She created the role of "C" in the original New York Pulitzer Prize-winning production of Edward Albee's Three Tall Women. Other notable works: Branden Jacob Jenkins' Appropriate at ATL's Humana Festival directed by Gary Griffin and Rebecca Gilman's Luna Gale at The Goodman Theatre directed by Robert Falls. Most recently, Fran Price in Things I Know To Be True by Andrew Bovell at Milwaukee Rep directed by Mark Clements, The Niceties at Geva Theatre Center directed by Nicole A. Watson, and Native Gardens at the Denver Center directed by Lisa Portes. Film: The Post, Land of Steady Habits, Another Earth (Alfred P. Sloan Award, Sundance Film Festival), The David Dance, 5 Doctors, 5-Flights Up, City Hall, Paparazzi, Out of Towners, Escape from L.A., Love Potion #9, and Childless. Television: The Americans, Blue Bloods, New Amsterdam, Law & Order: SVU, New Adventures of Old Christine, FBI: Most Wanted, The Good Wife, Madam Secretary, Deception, Person of Interest, and Bull. Jordan is a graduate of Smith College and Rutgers University: Mason Gross School of the Arts. (she/her/hers) @jordanbakerkilner (instagram); Jordan Baker (FB); @jordankilner (twitter).

ABOUT BERKELEY REP

Berkeley Repertory Theatre has grown from a storefront stage to an international leader in innovative theatre. Known for its ambition, relevance, and excellence, as well as its adventurous audience, the nonprofit has provided a welcoming home for emerging and established artists since 1968. Over 5.5 million people have enjoyed nearly 500 shows at Berkeley Rep, which have gone on to win six Tony Awards, seven Obie Awards, nine Drama Desk Awards, one Grammy Award, one Pulitzer Prize, and many other honors. Berkeley Rep received the Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre in 1997. To formalize, enhance, and expand the processes by which Berkeley Rep makes theatre, The Ground Floor: Berkeley Rep's Center for the Creation and Development of New Work was launched in 2012. The Berkeley Rep School of Theatre engages and educates some 20,000 people a year and helps build the audiences of tomorrow with its nationally recognized teen programs. Berkeley Rep's bustling facilities - which also include the 400-seat Peet's Theatre, the 600-seat Roda Theatre, and a spacious campus in West Berkeley - are helping revitalize a renowned city. Learn more at berkeleyrep.org

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