Rubin-Vega tops ‘Miss You’ cast
A multiple Tony Award nominee will rejoin a cast of seasoned Broadway and San Diego actors in La Jolla Playhouse’s world-premiere production of “Miss You Like Hell.”
The theater has announced that Daphne Rubin-Vega, who also appeared in the musical’s workshop presentation earlier this year, will top the cast of the Playhouse-commissioned piece by the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Quiara Alegría Hudes (“In the Heights,” “Water by the Spoonful”) and the rock singer-songwriter Erin McKeown.
The versatile Rubin-Vega originated the role of Mimi in the musical “Rent”; she was Tony-nominated for that performance as well as for her turn in the Broadway production of “Anna in the Tropics.”
“Miss You Like Hell” is directed by the much-admired Lear deBessonet, last in San Diego with the Old Globe’s “Odyssey.” The musical runs Oct. 25 to December 4 in the Playhouse’s Mandell Weiss Theatre. Tickets go on sale at 12 p.m. this Saturday (Aug. 27), at (858) 550-1010 or lajollaplayhouse.org.
Joining Rubin-Vega are Krystina Alabado (Broadway’s “American Psycho”) as Olivia, Cliff Bemis as Mo, Vanessa A. Jones as Legal Clerk/Waitress, David Patrick Kelly as Higgins, Julio Monge as Manuel, and Olivia Oguma as Mindy.
San Diego-based actors in the cast include Victor Chan as Castaway, Cashae Monya (Playhouse’s “Memphis”, 2013 WoW Festival’s “Counterweight”) as Pearl and Kürt Norby (Playhouse’s “Limelight: The Story of Charlie Chaplin”) as Officer.
“Since commissioning ‘Miss You Like Hell’ four years ago, I have watched Quiara, Erin and Lear throw their hearts and souls into the creation of this extraordinary piece,” said Playhouse artistic chief Christopher Ashley.
“This is exactly the right time for their powerful, moving new musical that embraces our ever-evolving identities as families and Americans.”
Here’s the Playhouse synopsis of the piece, partly based on Hudes’ own “26 Miles”:
“When a free-spirited mother convinces her whip-smart teenage daughter to join her on a drive across the country, neither can imagine where it will take them. Chance encounters with a motley crew of characters along the way brings them closer to understanding what sets them apart — and what connects them forever. A vibrant and affecting new American musical, ‘Miss You Like Hell’ exudes the joy, love and frustration of being a family in a changing country.”
