Behind closed doors in the state of New Hampshire during the early days of 2008, a former First Lady named Hillary is in a desperate bid to save her troubled campaign for President of the United States. Her husband, Bill, sees things one way; her campaign manager, Mark, sees things another. If any of this sounds familiar, don't be fooled; in a universe of infinite possibilities, anything that can happen, will.
In Hillary and Clinton, Lucas Hnath examines the politics of marriage, gender roles, and the limitations of experience and inevitability in this profoundly timely look at an American dynasty in crisis.
That's when it's clear: Hillary and Clinton, an intriguing, fulfilling sketch of a fantasy that opened tonight at the Golden Theatre, is not The West Wing, a counterfactual of a competent, kind, White House to comfort us amid its opposite. It is instead M*A*S*H, looking back at an earlier war, to help us understand our current quagmire. The situation is real, or realish: the three characters arguing are Hillary, Bill, and Hillary's campaign strategist, Mark Penn, and Hillary really did barely eke out a win. But the interactions are imagined: It's the hard look we all wish we take at the Clintons' marriage behind closed doors.
It's not an epic political tale that Hnath outlines in 'Hillary and Clinton,' which had its official opening Thursday at Broadway's Golden Theatre. Rather, in 80 muscular minutes, Hnath, author of the trenchant 'A Doll's House, Part 2' - another marriage play - is providing a mere snapshot. But in that fleeting picture, he embeds a persuasive case for the codependency that rules them both, one that allows their partnership to survive, even in the aftermath of embarrassing, even humiliating, disclosures.
2019 | Broadway |
Original Broadway Production Broadway |
Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
---|---|---|---|
2019 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Actress in a Play | Laurie Metcalf |
2019 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Performance Award | Laurie Metcalf |
2019 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play | Laurie Metcalf |
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