Hold on to Me Darling: Review

by Ally Abramson

On September 26th, I had the pleasure of attending an early preview of “Hold On To Me Darling” at the Lucille Lortel Theater. This was the second preview of the play, which will be running at the Lortel Theater until December. Since seeing this performance, I have not been able to stop talking about what an amazing show it is. 

When this play was announced over the summer, I immediately purchased tickets because of the stunt casting. As a fan of Star Wars, I jumped at the opportunity to see Adam Driver perform live. In all honesty, upon hearing the plot synopsis I had very low expectations for the play. I was pleasantly surprised to have thoroughly enjoyed the play and Driver’s performance. 

The play follows Adam Driver’s portrayal of a fictional country singer Strings McCrane as he ventures back to his hometown for his mother’s funeral. The audience watches Strings struggle with regret caused by leaving his home and family behind to pursue fame. Strings decides that he wants to give up his stardom to live a small town lifestyle and abandons Hollywood for Tennessee. Throughout the play, his efforts to escape fame clash with the agenda of his gold-digger girlfriend, Nancy, played by Heather Burns. 

The writers of this play blended dark and light comedy in a masterful way that keeps viewers engaged throughout the three-hour show. Although there are running jokes throughout the play, they are not beaten to death. Overall, I found the humor to be witty, and most of the comedy relies on subtext and physicality despite some moments where the writers picked the low-hanging fruit.

The play itself was hilarious, but it is the actors that stand out in this production over the writing. Adam Driver leads the cast spectacularly: he performs the entire three hours in a southern accent that never slips. There are a few scenes where he brings in the intensity he is known for in movies like Marriage Story, but for the most part, Strings is more docile than Driver’s past roles. This change in character offers viewers a chance to see a different side of Driver. A testament to  Heather Burns’ performance is the fact that I left the theater with a passionate hate for Nancy.Had her performance been less convincing I might have been able to sympathize with her character, but she makes Nancy so believable that it’s hard to not despise her. While the whole cast was memorable, the third character to linger with after seeing the show was Jimmy (Keith Nobbs). Jimmy is Strings’ assistant and brings a lot of the lighter comedy into the play. Whenever a scene felt like it was getting a little too existential, Jimmy would walk in to introduce something more lighthearted. 

Overall, I cannot recommend “Hold On To Me Darling” enough. I don’t typically gravitate towards—or recommend—plays, but this is truly the exception. Tickets are both expensive and hard to come by, so I highly recommend entering the TodayTix lottery for $40 tickets, or entering the same day cancellation line for $159 tickets if you are interested in seeing this wonderful work of theater.