Hnath grew up in Orlando, Florida. He moved to New York City in 1997 to study pre-med,[3] and then changed to dramatic writing at the Tisch School of the Arts, at New York University, earning a BFA in 2001, and an MFA in 2002.[4] He teaches at New York University.
Red Speedo premiered Off-Broadway at the New York Theatre Workshop from February 17, 2016 to March 27, 2016. The play, directed by Lileana Blain-Cruz, won the Obie Award, Playwriting and Performance for Lucas Caleb Rooney. The play involves Ray, a competitive swimmer at the start of the trials for the Olympic team.[6] Jesse Green, in his review for Vulture, wrote: "Hnath is never interested solely in the material repercussions of character... In Red Speedo, the underlying subject seems to be the cost of morality, which is generally too high for people like Ray... Hnath lightly suggests — he's too subtle to use the big hammer — that the immoral imbalance of our current economy is stripping us down to our animal skins. All we're good for is competition."[7] The play opened at the Studio Theatre, Washington, DC, in 2013. The director of the production, Lila Neugebauer, explained: "...doping is just the arena for a conversation about what constitutes fairness, and the myth of equal opportunity."[8]
Dana H. premiered at the Kirk Douglas Theatre (Los Angeles) on May 26, 2019 in previews, officially on June 2, presented by the Center Theatre Group. The play relates a real-life incident in the life of his mother, Dana Higginbotham. The play is directed by Les Waters and stars Deirdre O'Connell. The play was commissioned by The Civilians (New York) and the Goodman Theatre (Chicago), played at the Goodman later in 2019, and premiered on Broadway in 2021.[15]
The Christians
His play The Christians concerns influence and faith in a megachurch,[16] with much of the cast being a church "spirit-raising choir".[17] The plot concerns a pastor who discards traditional fundamentalist Christianity in favor of a more inclusive and universalist Christianity, which affirms the goodness in other religions, and the impact this has on his congregation.
The play was nominated for two 2016 Drama Desk Awards: Outstanding Play and Outstanding Actor in a Play, Andrew Garman.[24] The play was nominated for the 2016 Lortel Awards for Outstanding Play and Outstanding Lead Actor in a Play (Garman).[25] The play won the 2016 Outer Critics Circle Award, Outstanding New Off-Broadway Play.[26]
Works
Death Tax,[27] 2012, Humana Festival of New American Plays; Royal Court Theatre
^ ab"Lucas Hnath's American Strangeness". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2015-09-19. For all its control on the page, "The Christians" is about the uncontrollable, which is to say, how we imagine what life will look like once we enter the everlasting.
^Keane, Erin (March 8, 2014). "Theological Bombshells Land in Lucas Hnath's Humana Festival Play 'The Christians'". 89.3 WFPL. Retrieved 2015-09-19. On the way out of the Pamela Brown on Friday night, I overheard patrons debating the theological points the play raises with an interest and urgency that affirmed both Hnath's approach to telling this particular story and the power, in general, of storytelling on stage.
