Daphne's Dive NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (91)
See it if the continuing saga of Hispanics in Philly at all economic levels is of interest, but beware strong references to child sexual abuse
Don't see it if you don't care about who picks up the pieces in child abuse cases, or if you hated Water By The Spoonful
See it if diverse casting and ambitious plot excite you
Don't see it if they dont
See it if You like talented ensemble casts, intense subject matter, the forming of a family, characters through a span of 20 years, phenomenal sets.
Don't see it if Discussions of rape and abuse make you uncomfortable. Don't see it if you need a neat resolution, this is slice-of-life theater.
See it if /to watch Samira Wiley as adopted girl brilliantly develop over 18 yrs, lively portait Philly Hispanic community, resilience battered souls
Don't see it if /since play loses steam over 2 hours, 18 yr span demands more dramatic changes in other characters ; messages/conflicts too diffuse
See it if You like socially relevant issues addressed in a well written play given a fine production.
Don't see it if Lyrical writing and a little magical realism turn you off.
See it if if you have the patience to wait till the last scene which puts everything into its peoper place
Don't see it if you do not have the patience to see characters being build one trait at a time.
See it if Your background includes Philly. Lots of specific references. Family can mean lots of things.
Don't see it if You expect a fully developed story. The characters don't advance much as the years pass. Sisters who disappoint each other have best scene.
See it if struggling under class inner city life
Don't see it if overbaked, loud speechifying, self-important, strident,righteous
Critic Reviews (28)
"The play attempts to make a case for people to fight for their dreams, and how heroic it is merely to survive life’s daily crap, but its messages—if you can call them that—get muddled in characters whose behavior, replete with passionate explosions, appears forced for dramatic effect. Way before the tortuous, intermissionless hour and 40 minutes are up even teetotalers may begin thirsting for the bottles behind the bar in 'Daphne’s Dive.'"
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"'Daphne’s Dive' is at its best when it’s letting the characters have fun–and letting the audience have fun with them...The play itself–although well-acted and largely well-designed—is least successful when it piles on one too many sorrows...The staging was such that, in what felt like half the time, one performer or another was fully blocking my view of the actor speaking. Otherwise, Tommy Kail’s direction can not be faulted. He brings out the best in the actors."
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“The structure of ‘Daphne’s Dive’, as directed by 'Hamilton' hotshot Thomas Kail, is unhelpfully looser than in past plays...Here, the characterizations feel a little schematic. These are not stock figures certainly, but not as richly textured as they might be...But if the plotting and characterizations don’t quite prop up the bar, there’s an unassailable heart to Hudes’ work...'Daphne’s Dive' isn’t so much a melting pot as it is the rum punch...It’s worth downing.”
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“We follow the changes in these characters over the years. Unfortunately, most of their stories are not that compelling and Hudes does not take us very deeply into their motivation. If I didn’t already know that the playwright had won a Pulitzer Prize, I would not have guessed it from the present work. The actors are fine, the set is evocative, the costumes are appropriate, the direction is assured, but somehow, for me at least, the payoff was meager.”
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"The lively character assortment is well worth spending time with, and the acting does justice to the author’s take on them and her overall vision. We get to know everyone better as the play moves along...An undercurrent of social consciousness provides purpose as we note how characters wrestle with personal needs and demons. 'Daphne’s Dive' is clearly a talented work well worth a visit."
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"Characters get rich, run for political office, fall in love, get divorced, get hooked on drugs, and die. But almost all of that happens offstage...Which doesn't leave much for the audience to engage with…Under Kail's sympathetic direction, all the actors so fully embody their characters that it's easy to see how much these people care for one another even when they are fighting. The problem is that the play doesn't give us enough to understand how they got that way."
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“As is typical in Hudes’ plays, there’s a feeling of good will toward the characters...You can perceive she intended the play to be a mother-daughter story...But it’s a relationship that’s not particularly well developed...That sense of wanting something deeper is true of the evening as a whole. Director Thomas Kail keeps things in motion, but mostly they’re accounts of melodramatic events, which typically happen off-stage...The play began to feel like a 'Cheers' episode on steroids.”
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"What binds these characters together is a love of community, and a shared sense of compassion and responsibility for Ruby...Under the skilled direction of Thomas Kail, the spirited cast wins our hearts. Vanessa Aspillaga is an empathetic Daphne; Gomez and Rubin-Vega play their roles with style and flair. Wiley is especially touching as Ruby, struggling to define herself. 'Daphne’s Dive' pulsates with life, Philly flavor, and an authentic sense of community and caring."
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