Teatro Paraguas Presents DAPHNE'S DIVE

Teatro Paraguas is pleased to present Daphne's Dive, a play by Quiara Alegría Hudes which premiered in New York at the Signature Theatre in April 2016, for eleven performances beginning April 5, 2018.

In a tucked-away corner of north Philadelphia, six regulars gather at a quiet neighborhood watering hole. Over twenty years, they turn their collective memories into a vivacious mythology. The tales they would rather forget, however, keep sneaking up on them and tapping them hard on the collective shoulder. At Daphne's Dive, an aloe plant, a girl's sneaker, a stiff drink, and mounds of trash become talismanic treasures to a group of outsiders trying to be "in" together. Their camaraderie provides a fragile bulwark against the issues of child neglect, addiction, social protest, and sexual abuse which prowl all around outside the bar.

Directed by Sheryl Bailey, the cast includes Julia Gay, James Chavez, Alix Hudson, Argos MacCallum, Stephen Jules Rubin, Roxanne Tapia, and Cristina Vigil. Juliet Salazar is co-director.

Quiara Alegría Hudes (born 1977 in Philadelphia to a Jewish father and Puerto Rican mother) is a playwright and composer. She wrote the book for the musical In the Heights. Her play Elliot, a Soldier's Fugue was a finalist for the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. She won the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for her play Water by the Spoonful. Her other plays include Yemaya's Belly (2005), 26 Miles (2009), The Happiest Song Plays Last(2013), Lulu's Golden Shoes (2015), and Miss You Like Hell (2016).

Teatro Paraguas produced Water By The Spoonful in 2014, and Yemaya's Belly in 2015.

Sheryl Bailey has worked as Staff Producer at the Mark Taper Forum (MTF), Associate Managing Artistic Director at the Western Stage Theater Company (CA), Directing/writing for Santa Fe Stages (NM) and many independent artistic projects, including Clouds of Joy by Chris Calloway/Sheryl Bailey, and Time Enough by Robert Benjamin. She has many successful productions as the former Producing Coordinator for MTF's New Works Festival, and Producer of MTF's Other Voices Chautauqua.

Performances are Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 7:30 pm and Sunday at 2 pm beginning April 5 through April 22. Tickets are $20 general admission and $12 limited income. Thursday April 5 is pay-what-you-wish. Tickets may be purchased online at DaphnesDive.BrownPaperTickets.com, or reserved by calling 505-424-1601.

This project is made possible in part by New Mexico Arts, a division of the Dept. of Cultural Affairs, Santa Fe Arts Commission and the 1% Lodgers' Tax, McCune Foundation, and the Tyson Revocable Trust.