Water by the Spoonful by Quiara Alegría Hudes

Drama

March 16 – April 23, 2022

Tickets: $30 – $100

Est. run time: 2 hours including one intermission

Closed April 23, 2022
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Call 415.677.9596 to buy tickets by phone.

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Water by the Spoonful

By Quiara Alegría Hudes

Directed by Denise Blasor

“The play won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2012, and it’s easy to see why. ” – Talkin’ Broadway

“Such a breath of fresh air … Beautifully performed by the entire cast. ” – KPFA

PLAY DETAILS

Somewhere in Philadelphia, Elliot has returned from Iraq and is working at Subway while trying to jump-start his acting career. Scattered throughout the world in chat rooms, recovering addicts keep each other alive, hour by hour, day by day. In this surging drama by Quiara Alegría Hudes (In the Heights), the boundaries of family and community are stretched across continents and cyberspace as birth families splinter and online families collide. Winner of the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, Water by the Spoonful is a heartfelt meditation on lives on the brink of redemption.

THE CAST

Xander DeAngeles*
Elliot Ortiz
Ben Euphrat*
Fountainhead
Dorian Lockett*
Chutes&Ladders
Lara Maria*
Yazmin Ortiz
Lisa Ramirez*
Odessa Ortiz
Salim Razawi
Ghost, Professor Aman, Policeman
Sango Tajima
Orangutan
Caleb Cabrera
Understudy: Elliot Ortiz
Zoe Chien
Understudy: Orangutan
Elena Estér
Understudy: Yazmin Ortiz, Odessa Ortiz
Norman Gee*
Understudy: Chutes&Ladders
Adam KuveNiemann
Understudy: Fountainhead

PHOTOS

Professor Aman (Salim Razawi) discusses a job opportunity with Elliot Ortiz (Xander DeAngeles*) in 'Water by the Spoonful' at San Francisco Playhouse.

Odessa Ortiz (Lisa Ramirez*) connects with an online community recovering from addiction in 'Water by the Spoonful' at San Francisco Playhouse.

Chutes&Ladders (Dorian Lockett*, right) connects across cyberspace with Orangutan (Sango Tajima) in 'Water by the Spoonful' at San Francisco Playhouse.

Elliot Ortiz (Xander DeAngeles*), back from Iraq, works at Subway while trying to jump-start his acting career in 'Water by the Spoonful' at San Francisco Playhouse.

Fountainhead (Ben Euphrat*) turns to an online community to help him recover from addiction in 'Water by the Spoonful' at San Francisco Playhouse.

Cousins Yazmin Ortiz (Lara Maria*) and Elliot Ortiz (Xander DeAngeles*) discuss arrangements for a memorial in 'Water by the Spoonful' at San Francisco Playhouse.

Yazmin Ortiz (Lara Maria*), an adjunct professor of music, thinks about the future of her family.

Fountainhead (Ben Euphrat*, right) logs on for an online conversation with Odessa Ortiz (Lisa Ramirez*) in 'Water by the Spoonful' at San Francisco Playhouse.

Odessa Ortiz (Lisa Ramirez*) and Fountainhead (Ben Euphrat*) meet in real life. Fountainhead (Ben Euphrat*) turns to an online community to help him recover from addiction in 'Water by the Spoonful' at San Francisco Playhouse.

Elliot Ortiz (Xander DeAngeles*) arrives at a meeting between his mother Odessa Ortiz (Lisa Ramirez*) and Fountainhead (Ben Euphrat*) as Yazmin Ortiz (Lara Maria*) looks on.

Yazmin Ortiz (Lara Maria*) and Elliot Ortiz (Xander DeAngeles*) discover Odessa's online community in 'Water by the Spoonful' at San Francisco Playhouse.

Yazmin Ortiz (Lara Maria*) pleads with her cousin Elliot Ortiz (Xander DeAngeles*) as he is held back by a ghost from his past (Salim Razawi) in 'Water by the Spoonful' at San Francisco Playhouse.

Orangutan (Sango Tajima, right) tries to break through to Chutes&Ladders (Dorian Lockett*) in an online chat in 'Water by the Spoonful' at San Francisco Playhouse.

Odessa Ortiz (Lisa Ramirez*) experiences a low moment in 'Water by the Spoonful' at San Francisco Playhouse.

Odessa Ortiz (Lisa Ramirez*) gets help from Fountainhead (Ben Euphrat*) in 'Water by the Spoonful' at San Francisco Playhouse.

The cast of 'Water by the Spoonful' at San Francisco Playhouse (L-R: Xander DeAngeles, Dorian Lockett, Sango Tajima, Salim Razawi, Lisa Ramirez, Lara Maria, Ben Euphrat).

The cast and crew of 'Water by the Spoonful' at San Francisco Playhouse.

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*Member of Actors’ Equity Association. Production photos by Jessica Palopoli.

THE CREATIVE TEAM

Quiara Alegría Hudes
PLAYWRIGHT
Denise Blasor
DIRECTOR
Catalina Niño
SCENIC DESIGNER
Marisely Cortés Fonseca
COSTUME DESIGNER
Stephanie Anne Johnson
LIGHTING DESIGNER
Teddy Hulsker
SOUND DESIGNER, PROJECTIONS DESIGNER
Stephanie Dittbern
PROPERTIES DESIGNER
Xander DeAngeles*
FIGHT CHOREOGRAPHER
Louel Señores
STAGE MANAGER
Kamaria Atiba
PRODUCTION ASSISTANT
Nicole Brown
PRODUCTION ASSISTANT

ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT

QUIARA ALEGRÍA HUDES is the author of a trilogy of plays including Elliot, A Soldier’s Fugue (2006), Water by the Spoonful (2011), and The Happiest Song Plays Last (2012). Elliot, A Soldier’s Fugue premiered Off-Off Broadway by Page 73 Productions and was a finalist for the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Water by the Spoonful premiered at Hartford Stage Company and won the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The Happiest Song Plays Last will premiere at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago in April, 2013. Hudes wrote the book for the Broadway musical In the Heights, which received the 2008 Tony Award for Best Musical, a Tony nomination for Best Book of a Musical, and was a 2009 Pulitzer Prize finalist. Other works include the plays 26 Miles and Yemaya’s Belly and the children’s musical Barrio Grrrl! Hudes grew up in West Philadelphia where she studied music with Don Rappaport, Dolly Kranzapolski, and Linda Hudes. She was later mentored by playwright Paula Vogel at Brown University. Hudes is an alumna of New Dramatists and sits on the board of Philadelphia Young Playwrights, which produced her first play in the tenth grade. She now lives in New York with her husband and daughter. quiara.com

San Francisco Playhouse | 450 Post St. Floor 2M, San Francisco CA 94102 | (415) 677-9596