Daphne's Dive NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (91)
See it if Interesting characters who are well-acted and brought to life; good design elements
Don't see it if Ultimately, the play unfolds slowly and doesn't break any new ground. Entertaining enough while you watch, but nothing memorable or lasting
See it if you like Quiara Hudes' work
Don't see it if you can't see them all
See it if You enjoy story telling, even if a bit disjointed.
Don't see it if You enjoy a well crafted play, well interpreted by a competent team that missed
See it if You like old fashioned plays
Don't see it if you want to be wowed
See it if Handsome set, earnest cast (Samira Wiley especially effective) but the play didn't coalesce for me. A series of vignettes & feels long.
Don't see it if If you can get a cheap seat between now and June 12 (run ends), go: support theater, young playwrights & Signature. Otherwise, don't.
See it if You seek a well meaning show about the ills of society which includes a depiction of an actual artist whose death the NYT finds contrived.
Don't see it if You would be disappointed if the rest of the show felt contrived, and the characters did not seem real enough to care about.
See it if you are a fan of the playwright and don't mind work that feels unfinished. I wanted to like this more, but didn't.
Don't see it if you're expecting another In the Heights.
See it if you want to see a fairly short show about eccentric characters with some pathos.
Don't see it if you want a plot that makes sense or character development that feels genuine. The people and their behavior feel contrived.
Critic Reviews (28)
"Well, they can't all be good. You can't fault the acting or Thomas Kail's direction of 'Daphne's Dive.' There's just not much of a play there, so little that one wonders why the Signature decided to produce this...One wonders how the saloon has survived for the nineteen years of the play's action. Over those nineteen years, the characters don't change except to drink more...The cast is so good that at some moments they almost convince the audience that there's a play there."
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“Heavy themes abound, yet in the 100-minute production, the episodic pace grows a bit wearisome, with a stagnant, though realistic looking set and a plot line with little intrigue. The cast of seven impresses, particularly Wiley...If you’re expecting a variation of ‘Cheers’, this is not the play for you. But, it does present a tender, evocative slice of life that is both humbling and empowering in terms of depicting the power of camaraderie and perseverance, no matter your roots.”
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"Mr. Kail’s direction is seamless and—no surprise— Quiara Alegría Hudes’ writing is wonderful. But much of her sly humor is lost here amidst domestic and political polemics, which makes some of the performances seem forced. Still there is fun to be had in Daphne Rubin-Vega’s sly turn as Inez...However, it’s Samira Wiley’s tender and passionate rendering of Ruby, who goes from 11 to 15 to 20 to 25 to 29—and back again!—that gives this play its heart and meaning."
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"You gotta love a show where you feel a part of the atmosphere, invited into the culture, all the while moved with the rhythm of the story. That, my friends, is the feeling you feel watching 'Daphne’s Dive'...Kail perfectly masters the pacing of the vignettes, keeping us on our toes...Samira Wiley is the heart, soul and liver of the bar and you simply cannot take your eyes off her...Go on and have a drink at 'Daphne’s Dive' and bring a friend--you’ll have a lot to discuss and reminisce about."
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