"A warm-spirited if loose-jointed new play…Hudes has a supple feel for characterization and a wide-ranging sympathy for life’s waifs and strays…Not all that takes place in 'Daphne’s Dive' strikes me as entirely credible…The play’s episodic structure can make it seem like a series of television episodes plucked from different seasons. But with hosannas being sung over the vaunted brilliance of television these days, to describe a play in such terms isn’t derogatory. It’s more like high praise."
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"A slow-burning, vibrantly sketched portrait of a scruffy North Philly booze joint run by love-scarred Daphne. Most bartenders listen to others’ problems, but Daphne’s cheerful reticence about her own demons makes us lean forward. Sweetly centered yet able to project panic and terror in a heartbeat, Aspillaga anchors Hudes’s episodic narrative, which spans 1994 to 2011 and is as much a portrait of a gentrifying community as a splintering group of friends."
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"Hudes has a fine grasp of the friction created by the social tectonic plates that shift according to the waves of gentrification and governance. Each of these characters is good company — there’s a distant echo here of 'Rent,' and not just because of Rubin-Vega’s welcome presence. It’s all beautifully calibrated under the direction of Thomas Kail...The performances are all of a piece but Wiley is outstanding...She’s an actress you cannot take your eyes off of; she shines."
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"Quiara Alegria Hudes' new drama begins in 1994 and takes place in a North Philly watering hole run by the guarded Daphne. Seventeen years bring dramatic and traumatic changes for the bar owner and her intimates...Working with go-to director Thomas Kail, Hudes serves a group portrait that packs compassion but lacks cohesion."
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“Hudes writes juicy dialogue for these colorful characters...and Rubin-Vega delivers her explosive lines with gusto. Wiley’s wide-eyed Ruby is also a joy to watch as she matures in grace and intelligence. But without a plot or something of consequence at stake, the play slips into the conventional vein of those static ensemble pieces set in diners, barbershops, hair salons, and bars. Not even director Thomas Kail manages to pump some life into that static genre format."
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"Hudes displays a strong feel for her well-drawn characters and their hermetically sealed milieu. But that doesn't prevent the play from feeling both overstuffed and undernourished, its melodramatic plot developments rushing by as if the playwright was checking off a list. And while there are some poignant, well-observed moments, too much of the dialogue feels forced and rambling. The piece has been evocatively staged by Thomas Kail and the performances feel fully lived-in."
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“Samira Wiley is first seen as a scrawny 11-year-old and is 29 by the end of the play. It’s to Wiley’s unassuming skill that she’s equally convincing as both...Warmly staged by ‘Hamilton’ director Thomas Kail, the show suggests a real sense of community, with people with whom you’d actually want to hang out...Daphne Rubin-Vega gives her best performance in years. Admittedly her character has many of the best lines but Rubin-Vega has a ball with them.”
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"You’ll rarely hear a theater critic say a show should be longer...But 'Daphne’s Dive' could use a little more length and a lot more exposition...Hudes and director Thomas Kail tackle a big chunk of time in 100 intermissionless minutes. But there are stories that beg to be told, and details that demand to be filled in...Hudes has created a group of characters that most anyone would want to share a drink with. One round just isn’t enough."
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