Friday was the premiere of a new play by Chris Banda – DIVE BAR – at CASA 0101 Theatre in Boyle Heights. In this play. Directed by Miguel Angel Delgado, DIVE BAR is a fictional bar in Boyle Heights owned by Charlie (Martín Morales), which he considers to be “a rest stop for the soul.” Charlie bought the bar any years before with his now deceased wife Vee, whose death he considers an immense loss from which he has never recovered. As police helicopters circle outside on the street in Boyle Heights in search of man who has apparently just killed several people, Charlie is setting up “Vee’s Bar” for another evening of regulars. These are the argumentative Goose (Gilbert Reynoso) and the quiet “wall flower” Willie (Oscar T. Basulto). Their amusing chatter and teasing dominates the first act of the play.
But then a mysterious old man matching the description of “a person of interest” walks into the bar and orders a drink. This soon prompts intense speculation among the patrons inside. It is intensified as Sam (Arezu Tavakoli), the young barmaid arrives and seems to remember seeing this old man, Mr. Smith (Vance Valencia) from a visit to the bar a year ago. Since the television in the bar is broken, the others were not aware of what was going on outside with the frantic police activity, but Sam enlightens them via information on her mobile phone.
Goose is particularly concerned that the old man in a suit with a green bowtie might be the killer on the loose, so he waits until Mr. Smith gets up to use the bathroom and then searches his briefcase for clues. Finding a notebook filled with names and dates, he believes that this Mr. Smith might be the cause of the police helicopters circling over the neighborhood.
As the truth about the stranger unfolds, everyone in the bar is thrust into a fight for their lives. The second act shifts away from the comedy of the first act and reveals deeper secrets of the lives of the four people in the bar. Each has experienced a profound sense of loss that that left them without a way to move beyond that loss.
The tone of the play shifts into the darker sphere where the choice between continuing with life as it is or moving on with a sense of a future purpose. Goose is penniless and always hoping to win a bet after losing the house he once owned and having his wife divorce him. Willie is married but childless and wishes he could have children. Sam has always loved singing but when her mother died, she gave it up.
Given the possibility that they might come to a sad end in the bar, they are forced to deal with their past loses. Eventually we come to understand why the bar is “a rest stop for the soul,” as the characters are forced to grapple with the meaning of life and the way death sneaks up on us unprepared. We all make excuses for inaction, feeling unable to overcome our own personal demons. But one can embrace hope, we can find the light that has not gone out.
Chris Banda, the Playwright of DIVE BAR, said: “I’ve always wanted to write a Twilight Zone-style story, inspired by Rod Sterling’s signature twists. I channeled my own existential questions into these characters as they faced similar struggles. Basically, writing is cheaper than therapy.” Banda found his passion for playwriting while studying theater at Rio Hondo College. He has written and directed plays such as The Long Walk, Dawgs and Playing Clean, which was invited to the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival’s New Works program.
Before the play began, Josefina López, the founder and artistic director of CASA 0101 talked briefly about the production and the work of Chris Banda. As many of you may know, Josephina López wrote Real Women Have Curves, which has become a major play and a film. The Broadway Musical, Real Women Have Curves, inspired by Josefina López’s play and film, will be mounted as a production in the upcoming 2027 season at Pasadena Playhouse.
Emmanuel Deleage, Producer of DIVE BAR and Executive Director of CASA 0101 Theater, said: “Chris Banda has written a gem of a play in DIVE BAR. Multiple currents crisscross below apparently normal waters at Vee’s Bar in Boyle Heights. With this engaging work full of entangled storylines, CASA 0101 is very proud to present a strong and emergent.”
Performances run from Oct. 9 through Nov. 1, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m. Tickets are on sale now at casa0101.org or through the box office at (323) 263-7684. Tickets are $25 for general admission, $22 for students and seniors 60 and older, and $20 per person for Boyle Heights residents and groups of 10 or more. There is a Special Industry Performance on Thursday, October 29th at which all tickets are $15. There is no performance on Halloween, Saturday, October 31st. CASA 0101 Theater is located at 2102 East First Street, at St. Louis Street, Los Angeles, across the street from the police station.
