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Cole Chinn croons to the audience in a scene from Blindspot Collective\u2019s new jukebox musical \u201cDive Bar Time Machine\u201d at The Loft at UC San Diego in La Jolla. (Joe Kao)<\/p>\nIf it ain\u2019t broke, don\u2019t fix it. That\u2019s become a proven formula for San Diego\u2019s Blindspot Collective, which has just premiered its third immersive jukebox musical set inside a bar.<\/p>\n
In 2023, Blindspot created the Ben Folds songbook-inspired \u201cUnderground.\u201d In 2025, it was the karaoke-bar-inspired \u201cKaraoke Dreams.\u201d And this year, it\u2019s \u201cDive Bar Time Machine,\u201d an all-singing, all-dancing show featuring 75 songs, from the Andrews Sisters of the 1940s to Shaboozey of 2026. It opened Saturday in La Jolla.<\/p>\n
Like \u201cKaraoke Dreams,\u201d \u201cDive Bar\u201d\u00a0 is being presented at The Loft, a 120-seat bar\/performance space in UC Sa Diego\u2019s Price Center. The 12 performers sing and dance their way in and around the audience, who are seated at four-top tables and banquettes.<\/p>\n
Cole Chinn croons to the audience in a scene from Blindspot Collective\u2019s new jukebox musical \u201cDive Bar Time Machine\u201d at The Loft at UC San Diego in La Jolla. (Joe Kao)<\/p>\n
\u201cDive Bar Time Machine\u201d was co-created by Blindspot\u2019s co-leaders Shellina Hefner and Blake McCarty, in partnership with UC San Diego\u2019s arts development project The Depot. McCarty also directed this production.<\/p>\n
Having seen all three of Blindspot\u2019s bar musicals, I think \u201cDive Bar Time Machine\u201d is the best. The dialogue, dark themes and mini-dramas written to frame the songs in the past two show have been eliminated, so now the songs and singers themselves are the focus of the show. Creating plot to fit existing songs usually feels forced or awkward. There\u2019s none of that in \u201cDive Bar Time Machine,\u201d just joy.<\/p>\n
The show begins when a group of friends gathered in a bar are swept away, both mentally and musically, by a spacey jukebox that drops them every 5 to 10 minutes in a different decade of music.<\/p>\n
One of the best-sung segments honors women singer-songwriters of the \u201970s, including Carly Simon, Helen Reddy and Dolly Parton. And the most fun era to watch is the dance-filled \u201990s segment with songs by Sylvester, Donna Summer, Chic and The Weather Girls. There\u2019s also a country-Western segment with Texas two-step dancing, a \u201940s Swing music era, a harmonica-filled \u201960s folk era, and early 2000s collections of both\u00a0 American and Spanish-language pop-rock.<\/p>\n
The vocal arrangements by Taylor Lehmkuhl are exceptional, particularly the harmonies on Fleetwood Mac\u2019s \u201cNever Break the Chain\u201d and Martha & the Vandellas\u2019 \u201cHeat Wave.\u201d Micah Parra designed the multi-genre choreography, Colby Freel designed the club-style lighting, Evan Eason designed sound and Sadie Rothenberg designed costumes.<\/p>\n
The 12 actors don\u2019t play named characters. Instead, they are matched to the songs best suited for their voices.<\/p>\n
The multitalented Tash Gomez is the show\u2019s most versatile singer, soloing on numbers by Cass Elliott, Pink, Rihanna and more. Blindspot veteran Aiden Meyndert also solos a lot, starting the show with \u201cBack in Time\u201d and singing Bob Dylan\u2019s \u201cBlowin\u2019 in the Wind,\u201d among others.<\/p>\n
Gravel-voiced Thomas Fisk heads up the country set with songs by Garth Brooks and Brooks & Dunn. \u201cKaraoke Dreams\u201d alum Michaela Nasello stands out for her smoky vocals on Billie Holiday\u2019s \u201cI\u2019ll Be Seeing You\u201d and Donna Summer\u2019s \u201cLast Dance.\u201d And fresh-voiced Sophie DeLange, who performs \u201cDaydream,\u201d \u201cHouse of the Rising Sun\u201d and \u201cTime Warp, is the cast\u2019s strongest dancer.<\/p>\n
\u201cKaraoke Dreams\u201d alum Cole Chinn and Rachel Dillon have the right old-school sounds for the \u201940s songs \u201cDon\u2019t Mean a Thing,\u201d \u201cCheek to Cheek\u201d and \u201cOn the Sunny Side.\u201d Big-voiced Tina Robin\u00a0 tears through anthems by Janis Joplin and Grace Slick. Versatile Hunter Brown ranges from the \u201940s song \u201cBlue Skies to the \u201970s ballad \u201cSpace Oddity\u201d to the \u201990s dance gem \u201cYou Make Me Feel.\u201d Fredy Gomez Cruz and Montse Cabrera soar in a high-energy Spanish pop-rock set. And creamy-voiced Sophia Kahn shines in Linda Ronstadt\u2019s \u201cWhen Will I Be Loved\u201d and Charli XCX\u2019s \u201cSS26.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Loft sells food, pastries, coffee, beer, wine and soft drinks, but arrive early to order and get seated before the 85-minute intermissionless show. The closest paid parking can be found in UCSD\u2019s Gilman parking structure. Follow the A-frame signs Blindspot has set up along Russell and Lyman lanes to reach the Price Center.<\/p>\n
\u2018Dive Bar Time Machine\u2019<\/p>\n
When: 7 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays; 2 p.m. Sundays. Through Aug 9 (no performance Aug. 6)<\/p>\n
Where:\u00a0The Loft, Price Center, 3151 Matthews Lane, UCSD campus, La Jolla<\/p>\n
Tickets:\u00a0$35<\/p>\n