(Photo by Rudy Torres)
Reviewed by Martίn Hernández
CASA 0101
Through November 1
RECOMMENDED
Gilbert Reynoso and Martin Morales (Photo by Rudy Torres)
As police choppers hover overhead, the denizens of Vee’s Bar in L.A.’s Boyle Heights district hunker down and try to decipher just what is up. Despite an unknown danger outside, a dapper stranger casually walks into the Eastside watering hole looking for a bar employee. As he waits for the worker’s arrival, news trickles in about a tragedy unfolding nearby, with staff and customers starting to suspect the mysterious outsider is involved. But is he really the cause of the calamity or is he something more troubling?
Inspired by Rod Serling’s TV classic The Twilight Zone, playwright Chris Banda’s absorbing dramedy begins as a thriller but morphs into an affecting meditation on how dreams can be dashed by stifling one’s life. While predictable in spots, Banda’s comic banter and dramatic encounters, rich character portrayals by the talented ensemble, and director Miguel Angel Delgado’s mostly effective staging combine to offer a thought-provoking piece of theatre.
A year has passed since bar owner Charlie’s (Martin Morales) beloved wife Vee was killed in a car accident. Inveterate gambler and bar habitué Goose (Gilbert Reynoso) has planned a remembrance for Vee at the venue bearing her name, but many invitees have called in to cancel due to the police presence outside. Willie (Oscar T. Basulto), who’s afraid of just about everything, now has the ghetto birds and the bullying bigmouth Goose to increase his angst.
Enter the mysterious gentleman (Vance Valencia), whose presence piques everyone else’s interest. The stranger, dubbed Mr. Smith by busybody Goose, seems oddly familiar to late-arriving waitress Sam (Arezu Tavakoli). When the others get more unsettling news of the outside calamity, Goose badgers Mr. Smith on why he is there. His reluctant revelation sparks impassioned confessions from the others in an existential quest for relief from losses and regrets.
Valencia’s Mr. Smith is a calming force despite his mysterious presence, while Reynoso’s Goose is, like many a blowhard, mostly talk concealing fear. Basulto offers a sympathetic turn as “shrinking violet” Willie, desperately in need of courage. As Charlie, Morales effectively embodies a man left grief-stricken by the unexpected loss of the love of his life. Tavakoli shines as the poignant Sam, whose neglect of a rare talent after her own devastating loss keeps her life on perennial hold.
César Holguin’s set realistically harkens to many an Eastside tavern and Alex Parra’s lighting plot sets a suitable mood that ranges from cheerful to menacing as the need arises and notably when a helicopter spotlight intrudes onstage. While most of Delgado’s staging is robust and effective, having his actors deliver their heartfelt monologues directly to the audience injects a forced theatricality.
Otherwise, Banda’s poetic text is bolstered by the performers’ earnest renderings . His ”inside” Eastside jokes drew chuckles and his telenovela pathos brought hushed oohs, aahs, and empathetic comments from some audience members. Overall, Dive Bar should resonate with anyone whose life has careened off the road and is in desperate need of a push to get them out of the ditch.
CASA 0101 2102 East First Street, Boyle Heights.; Fri.-Sat., 8 pm, Sun., 3 pm; thru Nov. 1. ww.casa0101.org Runtime: two hours, including a 15 minute intermission.
