➤ THE THIN PLACE, from p.32
does is a trick. Rather than being
shocked, Hilda instead holds onto
her belief that she can communicate
with her grandmother, even if
it is a fraud. Two more characters
appear, Jerry and Sylvia, and suddenly
we’re celebrating that Linda
has gotten a visa to stay in the US.
Then there’s another story, some
scary phone calls, a total blackout,
a single red lightbulb, lights back
up, and we’re back to Hilda alone
in her chair. There’s also a mindreading
gimmick that’s a bit heavyhanded.
Then it’s all over.
The playwright seems to be going
for something about the nature
of reality, belief, and stories and
how they shape us or don’t. The
structure, though, is more random
than artful, and the effects are
self-conscious and labored. It is all
exposition and very little character
development, so it gets tiresome
very quickly. One shouldn’t have to
parse the play to try to find a point
to it all.
The saving graces of the production,
as far as they go, are the
performances by Emily Cass Mc-
Donnell as Hilda and Randy Danson
as Linda. McDonnell has an
ethereal innocence that makes one
lean forward and pay attention.
She draws you into her story even
if it is rambling. Danson affects a
lower-class British accent and has
a kind of gritty clarity that makes
a nice counterpoint to McDonnell.
But there’s not enough suspense
here for a thriller or scariness for
a ghost story. “The Thin Place” is
just a meandering tale that leaves
one disappointedly saying, “aww,
boo” — but not in that cool, ghost
story way.
LONDON ASSURANCE | Irish
Repertory Theatre, 132 W. 22nd St.
| Through Feb. 9: Wed., Fri.-Sat. at
8 p.m.; Thu. at 7 p.m.; Wed., Sat.-
Sun. at 3 p.m. | $50-$70 at irishrep.
org or 212-727-2737 | Two hrs., 20
mins., with intermission
THE THIN PLACE | Playwrights
Horizons, 416 W. 42nd St. | Through
Jan. 26: Tue.-Sat. at 7:30 p.m.; Sun.
at 7 p.m.; Sat.-Sun. at 2 p.m. | $59-
$99 and phnyc.org or 212-279-4200
| Ninety mins., with no intermission
JOAN MARCUS
2018 Impact Award winner Faisal Alam, founder of the Muslim Alliance for Sexual and Gender Diversity..
Gay City Impact Awards Slated March 26
Nominations open for annual event fêting queer, allied NYers
JOAN MARCUS
2018 Impact Award winner Faisal Alam, founder of the Muslim Alliance
for Sexual and Gender Diversity..
BY MATT TRACY
Gay City News will again recognize outstanding
achievements in New York’s
LGBTQ community at the newspaper’s
fifth annual Impact Awards gala
on March 26.
Honorees hail from different fields ranging
from public service to advocacy, media, business,
entertainment, the arts, and literature —
and all Impact Award recipients are dedicated
to uplifting the LGBTQ community in different
capacities.
Nominations are currently open and those who
wish to submit nominees for an Impact Award
can do so at gaycitynews.nyc/2020nomination.
Submissions should include the nominee’s bio
or résumé and there are a series of questions
to answer prior to submitting a nomination. All
are welcome to submit nominations.
The evening represents a special occasion
during which LGBTQ New Yorkers and allies
shed light on the important work — often carried
out behind the scenes — they engage in
to improve the lives of countless individuals in
diverse settings.
“We honor impact as the positive energy
members of our community and our allies
bring to the well-being and happiness of New
York’s LGBTQ community,” Gay City News editor
in-chief Paul Schindler said during the 2019
Impact Awards. “It can come through political
action and advocacy, or brilliant lawyering in
the courtroom. Some folks have immeasurable
impact by working on the inside; many others
are on the outside, often in the streets… In the
troubled times we find ourselves in today, all of
these ways of having an impact can be a way of
speaking truth to power.”
Past honorees have included late Edie Windsor,
who successfully challenged the Defense
of Marriage Act and helped usher in marriage
equality in the United States, Transgender Legal
Defense and Education Fund executive director
Andy Marra, New York Transgender Advocacy
Group co-founder Kiara St. James, writer and
activist Darnell L. Moore, Lee Soulja-Simmons
of Black Pride NYC, and former Governor David
Paterson, among many others.
Tickets for the event will soon be on sale and
readers will be notified when they become available.
A ticket includes a cocktail hour, dinner,
and entertainment throughout the evening as
honorees accept their awards on stage.
Those who wish to serve as a sponsor at the
event should contact Amanda@gaycitynews.
com or call 718-260-8340.
GayCityNews.com | January 16 - January 29, 2020 33
/phnyc.org
/GayCityNews.com
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