‘Becky’s New Car’ worth a test drive
Superb farce is part of Bowie Community Theatre’s ‘Year of the Woman’
As the doors swing open to Bowie Community Theatre’s production of American playwright Steven Dietz’s farcical “Becky’s New Car,” audience members climb aboard a wild, metaphoric road trip.
A theater professor at the University of Texas, Dietz has written more than 30 plays produced in U.S. regional and off-Broadway theaters. His work has also been produced in more than a dozen other countries.
Produced by Malia Murray and Portia Bagley and directed by Ilene Chalmers, “Becky’s New Car” is the first of three post-feminist plays comprising a season Bowie Community Theatre calls “The Year of the Woman.” The plays are directed by and focus on situations faced by women.
“Becky’s New Car” deals with a perfectly conceived woman’s mid-life crisis.
Chalmers, assisted by stage manager Linda Sellner and her assistant Sally Dodson, drives a wonderful cast and creative team. The plot pulses with shifting beats between lively mini-scenes that require lightning-fast tech cues and savvy staging.
Artfully designed by Murray, Chalmers’ lovely set consists of four locales — well defined by Garrett Hyde’s lighting design — that easily accommodate crisp blocking. The family living room, Becky’s cubicle at a car dealership where she works, the terrace of a wealthy widower’s estate and Becky’s car share surreal space and fit together like a puzzle. These pieces represent the overlapping parts of Becky’s life.
Richard Atha-Nicholls’ sound, Maureen Roult’s hair and makeup design and Hillary Glass’ costumes, created with assistance from Zoe Baltimore, fit beautifully.
Once the lights rise, the fourth wall breaks at the whim of the title character, played by Rebecca Ellis, who fills a demanding role with phenomenal energy and presence.
Becky starts the motor running as she cleans house while interacting with the audience — she even asks one member to deliver a roll of toilet paper to the bathroom.
Venting about her job, her complacent husband and “eternal freeloader” son, Becky foreshadows the approaching crossroads with the lines: “When a woman says she needs new shoes, what she really wants is a new job.
When she says she needs a new house, she wants a new husband. And when she says she wants a new car, she wants a new life.”
Stepping into her work cubicle, Becky embarks on the highway of middle-age angst when a rich, silver-haired Prince Charming appears at the car dealership, assumes Becky is a widow and instantly becomes smitten.
As Walter, Greg Anderson is heartbreakingly genuine as he pins his hopes for love on Becky in a performance as refined as his character.
But unknown to the widower, Becky’s true-blue husband, Joe, played by Matt Leyendecker, is very much alive and kicking.
Joe is no fool, and Leyendecker balances intense moments of painful disappointment and his lighter laugh lines with excellent technique.
The couple’s 26-year-old grad student son, Chris, well played by Thomas Peter, oozes hilarious psychobabble and creates sweet chemistry with Meghan Sova as Kenni. Both supporting characters bring likability and humor to the stage.
The same can be said for Becky’s finicky vegan co-worker, Steve, played by Chalmers’ husband, David; and Barbara Webber as Ginger, a down-to-earth and bankrupt heiress who drowns her misfortune in scotch.
How the characters crash and come together by play’s end is left for new audiences to discover. Suffice it to say that there are no villains, Becky gets a new car, and the outstanding production has depth despite a script that sometimes feels a bit contrived.
For anyone who’s ever daydreamed about a better life, Bowie Community Theatre’s production of “Becky’s New Car” is at the very least a hoot.
“Becky’s New Car” continues through Sunday, July 29, at Bowie Playhouse, 16500 White Marsh Park Dr., off U.S. 3 South. Shows are 2 p.m. Sundays; 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
General admission is $22; students and seniors pay $17. For more information and to buy tickets, go to bctheatre.com.
A theater professor at the University of Texas, Dietz has written more than 30 plays produced in U.S. regional and off-Broadway theaters. His work has also been produced in more than a dozen other countries.
Produced by Malia Murray and Portia Bagley and directed by Ilene Chalmers, “Becky’s New Car” is the first of three post-feminist plays comprising a season Bowie Community Theatre calls “The Year of the Woman.” The plays are directed by and focus on situations faced by women.
“Becky’s New Car” deals with a perfectly conceived woman’s mid-life crisis.
Chalmers, assisted by stage manager Linda Sellner and her assistant Sally Dodson, drives a wonderful cast and creative team. The plot pulses with shifting beats between lively mini-scenes that require lightning-fast tech cues and savvy staging.
Artfully designed by Murray, Chalmers’ lovely set consists of four locales — well defined by Garrett Hyde’s lighting design — that easily accommodate crisp blocking. The family living room, Becky’s cubicle at a car dealership where she works, the terrace of a wealthy widower’s estate and Becky’s car share surreal space and fit together like a puzzle. These pieces represent the overlapping parts of Becky’s life.
Richard Atha-Nicholls’ sound, Maureen Roult’s hair and makeup design and Hillary Glass’ costumes, created with assistance from Zoe Baltimore, fit beautifully.
Once the lights rise, the fourth wall breaks at the whim of the title character, played by Rebecca Ellis, who fills a demanding role with phenomenal energy and presence.
Becky starts the motor running as she cleans house while interacting with the audience — she even asks one member to deliver a roll of toilet paper to the bathroom.
Venting about her job, her complacent husband and “eternal freeloader” son, Becky foreshadows the approaching crossroads with the lines: “When a woman says she needs new shoes, what she really wants is a new job.
When she says she needs a new house, she wants a new husband. And when she says she wants a new car, she wants a new life.”
Stepping into her work cubicle, Becky embarks on the highway of middle-age angst when a rich, silver-haired Prince Charming appears at the car dealership, assumes Becky is a widow and instantly becomes smitten.
As Walter, Greg Anderson is heartbreakingly genuine as he pins his hopes for love on Becky in a performance as refined as his character.
But unknown to the widower, Becky’s true-blue husband, Joe, played by Matt Leyendecker, is very much alive and kicking.
Joe is no fool, and Leyendecker balances intense moments of painful disappointment and his lighter laugh lines with excellent technique.
The couple’s 26-year-old grad student son, Chris, well played by Thomas Peter, oozes hilarious psychobabble and creates sweet chemistry with Meghan Sova as Kenni. Both supporting characters bring likability and humor to the stage.
The same can be said for Becky’s finicky vegan co-worker, Steve, played by Chalmers’ husband, David; and Barbara Webber as Ginger, a down-to-earth and bankrupt heiress who drowns her misfortune in scotch.
How the characters crash and come together by play’s end is left for new audiences to discover. Suffice it to say that there are no villains, Becky gets a new car, and the outstanding production has depth despite a script that sometimes feels a bit contrived.
For anyone who’s ever daydreamed about a better life, Bowie Community Theatre’s production of “Becky’s New Car” is at the very least a hoot.
“Becky’s New Car” continues through Sunday, July 29, at Bowie Playhouse, 16500 White Marsh Park Dr., off U.S. 3 South. Shows are 2 p.m. Sundays; 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
General admission is $22; students and seniors pay $17. For more information and to buy tickets, go to bctheatre.com.
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