Lucas Hnath’s play “The Thin Place” deals with a so-called thin place of between being here on earth and a twilight zone with communication beyond. But the real thin space is what is happening on stage in the play, a compendium of gibberish.
The character whom we first meet is Hilda, effectively played by Emily Cass McDonnell, who rambles on about her grandmother’s insistence that she could instill thoughts in Hilda’s mind, a relationship that loomed importantly in Hilda’s psyche. Grandma also presumed that after her death there could still be communication.
McDonnell is good at bringing to life the playwright’s discourse but unless you believe in the world beyond, you may grow impatient with it all.
The most concrete element is the role of Linda (Randy Danson), a British immigrant to America who has found a way of making money by exploiting people subject to pondering instilled ideas about a thin place between here and the hereafter. Having rich clients and posing as a psychic, she presumes to help them, and finds ways to exploit the revelations that she gets from them.
The other two characters in the play are Jerry, played by Triney Sandoval, Linda’s cousin, and Sylvia, acted by Kelly McAndrew, who looks at Linda with suspicion.
The play has been directed by Les Waters, who provides a haunted mood and the intimacy involved in trying to spin a tall tale and make us take the occult seriously.
Perhaps you will be swept into its orbit. As you gather, I was not, despite the expertise applied by the cast and director. At the Peter Jay Sharp Theater at Playwrights Horizons, 416 West 42nd Street. Phone: 212-279-4200. Reviewed December 13, 2019.