Curtain Up Theater Review . . . by Camille Bounds:

“Becky’s New Car” is a complicated comedy

Play about a woman facing middle age offers up escapist fun and relatable drama

https://morganhilllife.com/2023/08/07/beckys-new-car-review/

“Becky Foster” (Denee Lewis) with her husband “Joe” (Robert Sean Campbell) in Limelight Theatre’s

production of “Becky’s New Car.”

Photo by Elizabeth Mandel

humdrum life gets upended, the play explores what happens when she abandons responsibilities for

excitement. She comes to a point in her life where she has to make a decision, one that takes her to a

cross in the road of her life and that can change the lives of friends and family around her .

A handsome widower named “Walter Flood” (Rob Christopher, balancing affable charm and

introspective melancholy) wanders into Becky’s car dealership workplace to make lavish purchases.

The millionaire plans to buy a large number of top-of-the-line models as gifts for his employees in his

hugely successful company. Soon, he whisks Becky into a world of parties and luxury. But her attraction

to Walter leaves her torn between her stifling daily grind and the exhilarating escape he offers.

Anchored by Lewis’ endearing performance, the cast shines in portraying the flawed yet likable

characters orbiting Becky’s messy adventure. Her husband “Joe” (a warm Robert Sean Campbell) loves

Throughout the show, Becky breaks through the fourth wall to give the audience her observations of

life. In one of here aside, she tells us, “When a woman wants a new car, it means she wants a new life.”

You may be asked to deliver a roll of toilet paper on your next visit to the bathroom — or offered a

beer.

Playwright Dietz crafts an intimate, engaging experience through subtle theatrics that draw the

audience into Becky’s dilemmas. Director Andrew Cummings smartly utilizes the Limelight’s thrust

stage layout to make the show feel more personal and inclusive. The audience sits just feet from the

actors, able to see every expression as Becky faces questions of morality and responsibility. Costume

designer Lorraine and Kathie Bell and lighting by Clara Shem-Tov and sound by Kris and Marianne

Snook bring in well done details to an excellent production.

‘Becky’s New Car’ opens Aug. 4 at Limelight

Erik Chalhoub July 27, 2023

Andrew Cummings predicts a spirited discussion will take place among audience members as they walk

out of the theater following the curtain call for “Becky’s New Car.”

Did Becky Foster, the play’s titular character, choose the right path? Should she have focused on this

relationship instead of that one?

“The characters are so real and so relatable that it’s impossible not to take sides,” said Cummings, who

is directing the play. “There’s an enticing ambiguity that looks a lot like real life: there are right choices

and wrong choices, but just enough gray that everyone who sees the play walks out with a different

take.”

Valley Civic Theatre’s “Becky’s New Car.” Photo: Elizabeth Mandel

Foster, described as being “caught in middle age, middle management and in a middling marriage,”

meets a grief-stricken millionaire Walter Flood, who offers her a new life in this play written by Steven

Dietz.

Cummings praised the “incredible” cast of seven, “who were all too ready to find the fire in each

relationship.” He also gave kudos to assistant director Christy Wright, who he said “has a special talent

for finding the key moments between two characters that need to blossom on stage.”

Such a factor is important in any play, but especially so in “Becky’s New Car.” Cummings said the main

character’s primary struggle is based entirely on relationships, and which one should she dedicate the

most time to: her husband or Flood?

every audience member can find something to relate to.

“To do this, I find aspects of Becky’s life that I can connect to such as her day-to-day challenges of

each of their characters.

“You become a small band of brothers and sisters leaning on, caring about, and helping each other

create the best outcome that you can,” Christopher said.

While “Becky’s New Car” is a comedy, it also tackles difficult subjects with humor and compassion,

Christopher said, which helps the audience get further engaged with the material.

And another benefit of the setting? The audience can chat with the cast at the end of the show.

“We hope everyone will join us before the show by ordering dinner or bringing their own, and by

hanging out with us at the end of the evening for a friendly debate over drinks at the bar,” Cummings

said.

‘Becky’s New Car’ is personal, mischievous, and

hilariously real

https://morganhilllife.com/2023/07/21/limelight-beckys-new-car/

“Becky Foster” (Denee Lewis) with her husband “Joe” (Robert Sean Campbell) in Limelight Theatre’s

production of “Becky’s New Car.”

Photo by Elizabeth Mandel

By Calvin Nuttall

When a handsome widower wanders into “Becky Foster’s” mundane life and whisks her away, she

The married “Becky” (Denee Lewis) works as an office-manager at a car dealership. She faces a

complicated mid-life crisis when a handsome millionaire named “Walter Flood” (Rob Christopher)

arrives to buy a large number of cars as gifts for his employees. The show becomes a delightful romp

down the road not often taken as her soul is pulled in two directions, romantically and socially, said

director Andrew Cummings.

“It’s about a woman who was living a regular life,” he said. “She had bills to pay and jobs to work. But

she, like all of us, was sometimes a little dissatisfied with that.”

The cast swirling around her suddenly chaotic life include her husband “Joe Foster” (Robert Sean

Campbell), college-age son “Chris” (Alex Topete), coworker “Steve” (Bruce Pember), “Walter’s”

daughter “Kenni” (Jenna Hernandez) and Walter’s single neighbor “Ginger” (Joyce Bedard).

“‘Becky’ gets an opportunity to go on a little bit of an unexpected adventure, and she has to make

some complicated choices along the way,” Cummings said. “Her escape from her regular life at times is

really fun but has the potential to hurt some of the people around her. So she has to make some

decisions in terms of what she wants for herself.”

Equal parts escapist and relatable, the story revolves around a central question: can “Becky” have it

all? She launches herself from her mundane, stressful, middle-class life into a glamorous world of

wealth and parties. Her responsibilities to her family and career pull back on her in a tug-of-war that

“She was very content with her life,” Lewis said. “But it was exhausting and overwhelming, and I don’t

think she even realized how much of a weight it was. So when the opportunity to escape came along,

it’s like she hadn’t even realized she needed it.”

Audience members should be ready to get swept up in the adventure alongside “Becky,” Lewis said.

“I don’t feel alone up there,” she said. “I’m bringing all of my friends along with me on this. I think it is

going to be a unique experience for everyone.”

Mirroring “Becky’s” pursuit of opulence and glamor, “Walter” is a man with more than his fair share of

luxury — but nonetheless, he also feels the crushing mundanity of life and wishes for something more.

“Despite that he has a comfortable life, he is a little bit lost and rudderless,” Christopher said. “But he

brings some terrific perspectives on life. Here is somebody who comes from a completely different

make before she has crossed a line?”

“We’re all enjoying the challenge of it, and Andrew is doing his best to bring out our more conflicted

selves,” he said. “We’re supposed to walk the line in between that, like in real life, is a bit ambiguous.

Sometimes we lean a little bit this way, sometimes a little bit that way.”

Playwright Dietz masterfully portrays everyday experiences in a relatable and engaging way, Campbell

said. With understated scenes and subtle theatrical devices, the story remains personal and accessible

rather than over-the-top dramatic.

“The way he writes and stages is very inclusive and engaging in a way I think most theater productions

aren’t,” he said. “The stage setting is not presentational — you’re going to feel like you’re part of it. I

wonder if this audience has ever experienced this type of show.”