Interview: Steve Cuiffo on Creating the Lip-Synch Magic of Dana H.

Cuiffo helped train leading lady Deirdre O’Connell for the task in Lucas Hnath’s acclaimed drama.

Lip-synched performances and Broadway rarely mix.

Theater typically prides itself on being live. Aside from a few prerecorded moments in mega-musicals such as The Phantom of the Opera, every word that comes out of a performer's mouth is unique to that moment. The industry-wide pride in temporality has even been name-checked in Tony Award telecasts. Enter the boundary dissolving Dana H., at the Lyceum Theatre through Thanksgiving weekend.

Dana H. is an entirely lip-synched play, crafted from interviews with playwright Lucas Hnath's mother. Deirdre O'Connell plays Dana without ever uttering a word, instead delivering a remarkably layered lip-synch performance as Dana shares her story in her own words.