Following its acclaimed runs at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Melbourne’s Rising Festival, and London’s Soho Theatre, Heartbreak Hotel, created by the New Zealand company EBKM, comprised of director Eleanor Bishop and writer/performer Karin McCracken, is now making its US debut in NYC, playing a limited engagement at the DR2 Theatre. The two-hander, starring McCracken as the heartbroken woman and Simon Leary as the various other characters in her life, combines segments of direct address and enacted scenes interspersed with McCracken’s live vocals and synthesized music of classic pop-rock breakup songs from the second half of the 20th century to explore not just the emotional, but also the physical and psychological impact of heartbreak by employing science and technology to examine its full effect on the body and mind. Karin McCracken. Photo by Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade. Instead of the usual Playbill, the performance is accompanied by a hand-written and hand-illustrated program by McCracken, providing “a kind of bibliography” of her sources and inspirations for the play. Those include non-fiction, fiction, and scientific publications, memoirs, and poetry, music (specifically the four tracks she made central to the script, and two alternate selections), the theater artists who collaborated with her on the production, and the people who talked to her about the subject (her friend Ophelia, who allowed McCracken to recount her perspective on the heartbreak she discussed with her, and her mother Daire, who is heard on a voiceover reading the poem “Wild Geese” by Mary Oliver, encouraging self-acceptance, letting go of despair, and embracing the beauty of the world). It’s a format that is personal and engaging, as are the intimate interactions with the audience that occur throughout the show. McCracken opens by breaking the fourth wall, speaking directly to us, asking “is anyone here heartbroken, or grieving, or otherwise bereft,” and telling us not to respond out loud but to think about our answer, which she’ll be able to read in our eyes. She then makes direct eye contact with every individual in the audience, again setting a very close and familiar tone for her storytelling and musical numbers, which are expressive and affecting, despite her acknowledgment that she isn’t a trained singer, has little experience with a synth, and only knows six chords – “a very powerful six though.” She also asks if her suit is “too much” – a fringed and sequined lavender jacket and pants that recall the ‘70s style of Elvis Presley, after whose 1956 single the show is named. Leary, with whom McCracken has a palpable rapport, then joins her on stage, dancing and gyrating in jeans, a tee-shirt, and sneakers to her synth version of the titular song in the manner of Elvis, providing some humor along with the heartbreak of the lyrics. Karin McCracken and Simon Leary. Photo by Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade. Set on the DR2’s black box stage with a shag carpet, the synthesizer on a rolling metal stand, bottles of wine and glasses placed on a low upstage shelf, and three horizontal rows of LED panels on the back and side walls, with changing colors, running titles of the scenes, and digital imagery suggestive of the topics and locales (production design by Filament Eleven 11), the minimalist space allows for easy transitions from one segment to the next, enhanced by fog effects, the echoing synth songs and soundscapes of the dance clubs, bars, and other places where she spent her time (sound by Te Aihe Butler) over the years of her non-linear memories. Under Bishop’s direction, the actors move around the stage, exit, and enter, to signal the different times, situations, and array of his changing roles, from a laughably awkward first (and last!) Tinder Date, an appointment with her Doctor (who assures her she didn’t have a heart attack and suggests she should see a therapist, which she thinks she doesn’t need because she has the Headspace meditation app!!!), a night at a club and a trip to Berlin with her gay bestie Simon (who tells her she needs to let go already!), and her encounter with a Supermarket Guy while shopping for the food she and her Ex always ate, to making dinner with him at home, the last two confrontational days they had together before he left her, and continuing to spend (way too much) time with him long after their separation, and concluding with a seemingly unrelated meeting with her accountant that gives her unexpected good news and brings a smile to her face. Simon Leary and Karin McCracken. Photo by Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade. Because of the achronological order of the story and the absence of costume changes, it’s not always immediately clear when it takes place or if some of the men portrayed by Leary in the different scenes are the same one. But what is abundantly clear is her severe case of separation anxiety, even six years later, from her ex-partner of six years, as she takes us through the phases of navigating her grief (e.g., Protest, Resignation, Awe), the actual medical conditions triggered by the breakup, uncovered in her extensive research and meticulously delivered in her monologues, and her exasperating inability – or is it unwillingness? – to recognize the need to move on. And through it all, McCracken and Leary embrace the full range of emotions, both serious and risible, befitting the characters, their interactions, and relationships.   Indicative of its roots, Heartbreak Hotel is, to be sure, fringy and indie, but it’s also insightful and entertaining, funny and poignant, with a human theme that those who have suffered the pain of a failed love and a broken heart will find relatable and, hopefully, didactic. Running Time: Approximately 80 minutes, without intermission. Heartbreak Hotel plays through Sunday, April 19, 2026, at the DR2 Theatre, 103 East 15th Street, NYC. For tickets (priced at $29-56, including fees), go online, or find discount tickets at TodayTix. ...read more read less