THE HANGOVER REPORT – Quiara Alegría Hudes’ DAPHNE’S DIVE at the Signature compels through its ensemble

16DAPHNE-master768Last night at the Signature Theater, I caught Daphne’s Dive, the latest play by Quiara Alegría Hudes (a 2012 Pulitzer Prize winner for Water by the Spoonful). Set in a divy Philadelphia bar, the play chronicles nearly two decades in the lives of a colorful, tight-knit Puerto Rican American family and its close friends. The play’s episodic dramatic trajectory is set in motion when Daphne, the bar’s resilient proprietress, adopts the troubled daughter of her upstairs neighbors.

Daphne’s Dive is a more sentimental, less fanciful, and altogether more accessible effort than Ms. Hudes’ ambitious, tough-minded “Elliot Trilogy”. If anything, her work here calls to mind her contributions to Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Tony-winning In the Heights, for which she wrote the book. Both works take a lively and romantic – some would argue somewhat simplistic – view of family and community.

The decision, therefore, to have Thomas Kail (who’s currently on a high from helming that sensation, Hamilton) direct the piece is inspired. Mr. Kail is at his best when directing for an ensemble, as in his Hamilton and In the Heights. His work here is pungent and urgent throughout, even when the dialogue veers towards heavy-handedness. Kudos to Donyale Werle (one of the most inspired and creative set designers currently working), as well, for her beautifully detailed, lived-in set; the looming bar itself seems to be a character in this production.

The acting in this Signature Theater staging is superlative across the board. As the titular Daphne, Vanessa Aspillaga is ideal, convincingly real and perfectly at home with the character’s straightforward, no-nonsense plainness. The rest of the cast – which includes Carlos Gomez, K.K. Moggie, Daphne Rubin-Vega, Matt Saldivar, Gordon Joseph Weiss, and Samira Wiley – are all giving carefully considered, richly detailed performances. Together, they create a compelling tapestry that’s greater than the sum of its parts because each of the cast members really listens to each other.

RECOMMENDED

 

DAPHNE’S DIVE
Off-Broadway, Play
Signature Theater
1 hour, 40 minutes (without an intermission)
Through June 12

Categories: Off-Broadway, Theater

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