Cast and Creative Team Announced for DAPHNE'S DIVE at Signature Theatre

Signature Theatre has announced the cast and creative team for Daphne's Dive, a play by Quiara Alegría Hudes, which will reopen Signature's ARK Theater for live performances from February 1 - March 20, 2022. Directed by Paige Hernandez (Associate Artistic Director of Everyman Theatre, Arsht Center's Havana Hop, Round House Theatre's We're Gonna Die), Daphne's Dive stars Rayanne Gonzales (Signature's Passion, Broadway's The Phantom of the Opera) as Daphne, Yesenia Iglesias (Signature's Masterpieces, Shakespeare Theatre's Hamlet) as Inez, James Whalen (Arena Stage's The Heiress, HBO's VEEP) as Acosta, Jonathan Atkinson (Signature's Chess, Ford's Theatre's Ragtime) as Pablo, Jefferson A. Russell (Everyman Theatre Resident Company Member, HBO's The Wire) as Rey, Quynh-My Luu (Signature's A Little Night Music, Ford's Theatre's Into the Woods) as Jenn and Jyline Carranza (Round House Theatre's Quixote Nuevo, Olney Theatre Center's Miss You Like Hell) as Ruby. Understudies are Dylan Arredondo, Deidre Staples and Elizabeth Ung. Tickets and information are available at SigTheatre.org.

"This play's themes of community, culture and family intertwine beautifully with evocative storytelling," said Daphne's Dive Director Paige Hernandez. "We have assembled an exceptional team of cast and designers who are inspired by their real-life connections to the content and characters of this play. I'm thrilled to make my Signature debut with such a powerful piece and it's meaningful collaboration."

In Daphne's Dive, colorful characters create a makeshift ménage at the neighborhood watering hole in a vivid and vibrant play by the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright of Water by the Spoonful and In the Heights, Quiara Alegría Hudes. Run by the warm and enterprising Daphne, a north Philadelphia bar becomes home for a disparate band of society's outsiders; among them an offbeat artist, an eccentric activist, an ambitious businessman, a retired biker, an abandoned teenager and Daphne's vivacious sister. Over the course of nearly twenty years, they drink, dance, rejoice, and grieve together in a captivating weave of interconnection. Both poignant and joyful, this tribute to found family serves hospitality with a twist of heart in every pour.

"We are thrilled to reopen the Ark Theater after almost two years with Quiara Alegría Hudes' vibrant and joyous story that raises a glass to community and found families," said Signature's Artistic Director Matthew Gardiner. "Set in a Philly dive bar over many years, there is something wonderfully familiar and yet wildly unique about Daphne's local hangout, as we watch children grow and relationships flourish and then decay. I'm thrilled for the remarkable Paige Hernandez to make her Signature Theatre debut directing this production with a brilliant creative team and company of actors. We can't wait to welcome you in from the cold to the inviting Daphne's Dive this winter."

In addition to director Paige Hernandez, the creative team for Daphne's Dive includes Scenic Design by Meghan Raham, Costume Design by Moyenda Kulemeka, Lighting Design by John D. Alexander, Sound Design by Kenny Neal, Chelsea Pace is Signature's Resident Intimacy Choreographer & Consultant. Casting is by Kelly Crandall D'Amboise and Jorge Acevedo. Madison Bahr is the Production Stage Manager, Lance Lewis is the Associate Lighting Designer, Raja Benz is the Assistant Intimacy Choreographer, Bebe LaMonica is the Assistant Costume Designer, and Sydney Morrison is the Production Assistant.

TICKETS ON SALE NOW AT SIGTHEATRE.ORG