Tony nominee Daphne Rubin-Vega will once again return to the role of Dolores—the underground ex-prisoner she depicted in Aaron Mark's acclaimed Off-Broadway solo show Empanada Loca —in the new podcast series The Horror of Dolores Roach. The series, which Mark has adapted from the monologue play, will be released by Gimlet on October 17.
Joining Rubin-Vega in the new podcast series is Tony nominee Bobby Cannavale, soon to be seen on Broadway in The Lifespan of a Fact. In The Horror of Dolores Roach, Cannavale plays Luis, the owner of the local Empanada Loca, and Dolores' accomplice in a cannibalistic scheme a la Sweeney Todd (the play was inspired by the folk tale and Stephen Sondheim musical).
The Horror of Dolores Roach was spearheaded by Mimi O’Donnell, Gimlet's executive producer of scripted content. O’Donnell is also former artistic director at Labyrinth Theater Company, which produced the world premiere of Empanada Loca in 2015.
The horror series marks yet another development in the growing cross-pollination of theatre and audio content. As previously reported, Audible, which recently named the Minetta Lane Theatre its new creative home for live performance in New York, will record plays by Isaac Gomez, Chisa Hutchinson, and Aasif Mandvi and make them available as audio productions.
The audio book company has also commissioned 15 playwrights to pen new radio plays; Mark, Antoinette Nwandu (Pass Over), Leah Nanako Winkler (Kentucky), and James Anthony Tyler (Some Old Black Man) are among the commissioned playwrights.
An audio play version of Empanada Loca was released last year and is available for purchase on Audible and iTunes.
