Cast during the final scene of Daryo’s All-American Diner
Welps, that’s a wrap! Daryo’s All-American Diner closed on May 20, 2023, at the Ebenezer Lutheran Church’s Auditorium in Chicago. The biggest takeaway I could think of from the experience was just being so grateful that someone believed in me and my work enough to produce it, much less commission me to write a play based on what I’ve written in the past. Thank you CIRCA Pintig, CDE, and the cast and crew for bringing this world I’ve been creating for a year to life!
The following thoughts are strictly from my point of view as the author and I give myself permission to be critical of my work! The list below is NOT a reflection of the casts’ performances, which I thought were amazing!
- I’d want to add more examples of Michael to be more charming. I want to bring out more of the kid that the Daryo family loved.
- Really happy with April’s arc and glad that came across.
- Hopeful for more opportunities to have May smile. True, she’s the main “stress point” of the play, but seeing the points where she lights up would be a great contrast.
- Maybe have a reference from Alberta’s conversations about Michael. Like about how we was and some of the shifts that she’s seen in him.
Below are some of what the audience has been saying about the play:
Panganiban has an ear for believable dialogue but his play is too conventional and, at times, predictable. Every question raised at the beginning of the play (Should we sell the diner? What will we do with our lives if we do? Why did someone crash their car into the outdoor cafe?) is dutifully answered by the end.
Jack Helbig, Chicago Reader, May 11, 2023
The current production, under the direction of Louie Pascasio, has a sweet, rough energy to it. The ensemble works well together, and it is hard not to care about everyone in the show by the end. According to the CIRCA website, Pintig is a Filipino term for “heartbeat” or “pulse.” There is certainly a lot of heart here.
The above can be viewed in its entirety here: https://chicagoreader.com/arts-culture/theater-review/abstraction-and-realism/
“Daryo’s All-American Diner immersed us in the poignant struggle of family legacy, the search for self, compassion, and forgiveness. Doing the right things can, in fact, lead to our collective liberation. The words, the actors, the history and timeliness – everything about this performance left me feeling grounded and uplifted.”
N.S.
Just saw the wonderful play, Daryo’s All-American Diner, which is being performed in the second floor theater of Ebeneezer Lutheran Church: 1650 W. Foster. (I was part of the Zoom staged reading. So it was amazing to see the production come to fruition.) The talented cast starred my friend Ginger Leopoldo. Each actor gave strong and very moving performances in this important play about an Asian family trying to hold onto their diner during the uncertainty of the Pandemic and sadly being victims of Asian hate. It closes tomorrow. Check it out!
A.C-D
Daryo’s All American Diner was soooo good. Poignant, funny, timely, and historical. Ginger Leopoldo lit up the stage and the cast had great chemistry. The play runs through May 20th.
M.G.B.
Entertaining and powerful!
J.R.
Had a feast at Daryo’s All-American Diner! Be sure to check out the last four shows, May 12, 13, 19 and 20, all at 7:30 p.m. at the Ebenezer Lutheran Church, 1650 W. Foster Ave.
The play is double-billed with Chicago Danztheater Ensemble’s remount of their movement play to T.S. Eliot’s famous poem “The Waste Land,” with the first line instantly recognizable, “April is the cruellest month.” A steamroll of a performance, Eliot’s iconic lines mixed with riveting choreography brings the century-old poem to life for all ages.
The Diner is always open with CIRCA Pintig’s newest commission, “Daryo’s All-American Diner,” with the name “all-American” being challenged once again.
As the title implies, a Filipino-American family run a local, well-liked established diner. Like most businesses, they struggle during the pandemic, and their longtime, successful efforts to blend in are threatened when anti-Asian violence is indulged by people close to the family. The emotional core of this story is delightfully delivered with careful enunciation by the cast, but the matriarch played by Ginger Leopoldo delivers the most punch — for this writer, anyway. Maybe because Conrad Panganiban’s expert script doles out history in tasty, manageable bites? Maybe because we recognize in each cast our favorite brothers, responsible Ate or older sisters, our parents’ best Aunties and their children we consider siblings more than friends, and the lost loves that somehow make their way back into our lives to take on pivotal roles?
Definitely an evening to savor. Four shows left! See you at the diner!
