Janet Dacal

Janet Dacal (pronounced də-CAWL) is an American actress, singer, and musical theatre performer born in Los Angeles, California. Her parents are originally from the La Vibora neighborhood of Havana, Cuba. Dacal attended a performing arts middle school and high school in Los Angeles before relocating to Miami at age 17. She graduated from Coral Park High School and went on to study at Florida International University, where she initially pursued a theater degree before switching to communications. During her college years, she worked in the recording studios of Emilio and Gloria Estefan and other Latin pop artists. Her commitment to musical theatre solidified after she performed in the Miami production of Four Guys Named Jose…and Una Mujer Named Maria.

Dacal made her Broadway debut in 2004 as a member of the original cast of Good Vibrations. She subsequently originated the role of Carla, a beauty salon worker, in the 2007 off-Broadway production of In the Heights, earning a Drama Desk Award for that performance. When the show transferred to Broadway in 2008, Dacal reprised the role of Carla while also understudying Karen Olivo as Vanessa and Mandy Gonzalez as Nina, going on for both roles during the run. In July 2009, she performed with the In the Heights cast at the Broadway in Bryant Park festival. On February 19, 2010, she returned to the production as Nina Rosario, continuing in that role through August 2010.

Dacal starred as Alice in the Broadway production of Wonderland at the Marquis Theatre, which began performances in March 2011 after she appeared in several out-of-town tryouts of the musical. The production closed on May 15, 2011. From July to November 2017, she was a leading performer in the limited-run musical Prince of Broadway. Beginning January 3, 2020, Dacal played Dina in the national tour of The Band's Visit, continuing in the role until the March 2020 coronavirus shutdown. She resumed playing Dina when the tour restarted in autumn 2021.

Beyond her Broadway work, Dacal appeared in the off-Broadway production of Byzantium and in a Musicals Tonight! concert in New York City. Regionally, she performed in a South Florida production of Five Course Love, for which she received a Carbonell Award nomination. On January 1, 2011, she sang the national anthem at the Outback Bowl in Tampa, Florida, and on March 7, 2011, she participated in the Young People's Chorus fundraising gala, titled Dreamer, at Frederick P. Rose Hall in Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.

Dacal provided background vocals for Chayanne's 2007 album Mi tiempo and appears on the cast recordings of In the Heights (2008), Wonderland (2011), and Prince of Broadway (2018). She has expressed interest in collaborating on a solo album with Wonderland composer Frank Wildhorn, though no official plan has been announced.