Jennifer Robbins and John Combs (Photo by Gabe Tejada)
Reviewed by Catherine Crouch
Theatre 40
Through June 15
RECOMMENDED
“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.”
Written by Steven Dietz, Becky’s New Car probes the common question: How far would you go for chance to start over? Our desires—for adventure, for recognition, for more—fuel our dreams and keep us going. If it was possible to achieve the unachievable, would you run from your own life?
The play follows Becky Foster (Jenn Robbins), an office manager at a car dealership. She is married to Joe (Grinnell Morris), a roofer, and their 26-year-old son Chris (Riley Introcaso), a graduate student in psychology, lives in their basement. Her life is simple — maybe a little more mundane than she’d like—but good. Becky works long hours at the dealership; she’s often kept company by her coworker Steve (John Combs), who is mourning the sudden, accidental death of his wife. Evidently, Becky is not alone in dreaming of a different reality.
Late one night, multi-millionaire widower Walter Flood (Christopher Franciosa) stops by the dealership, hoping to buy a whooping nine cars for his staff. Walter is charmed by Becky, and despite her misgivings, she is charmed by him. A series of comedic miscommunications leads Walter to believe that Becky’s husband is dead. She dutifully tries to set the story straight, but when Walter’s interest in her becomes more explicit and he asks her to his home, she cannot find a way to tell the truth. For the first time in her life, Becky is offered a chance to enter a world where she doesn’t have to be Becky — but the more refined, comfortable and confident Rebecca.
Directed by Cate Caplin, Becky’s New Car is a well-oiled machine. Professionalism, dedication, and joy are at the heart of this production. While the play sometimes feels long, the cast does an extraordinary job of keeping audiences engaged when the script falters. Still, it is Dietz’s clever subversion of tropes that may be the most entertaining. While Chris may live in his parents’ basement, he is the opposite of a stereotypical deadbeat. Rather, he is a budding academic, eager to soak up and share as much knowledge as he can. Walter’s adult daughter Kenni (Isabella DiBernardino) may have had life handed to her on a silver platter, but she is gracious, kind, and works to distance herself from the entitled crowd her wealth has surrounded her with. And though Walter’s wealthy old friend Ginger (Kristin Towers-Rowles) is the classic drama queen, her one-dimensional façade is quickly shattered when she steps into Becky’s world.
Becky’s New Car would have little chance of succeeding without a strong Becky, and Robbins measures up. She is charming, funny, and even though her character’s choices are questionable, you root for her happiness anyway. Robbins shines brightest in Dietz’s surprise, lump-in-your-throat ending, delivering Becky’s terse lines with unexpected gravitas. In a few moments, the tone of the play changes, and Robbins leaves audiences with one hell of gut-punch atypical in a comedy.
In one of the many moments where Becky breaks the fourth wall, she asks, by a show of hands, if we think she should visit Walter — and in the process, lie to Joe about her whereabouts. It would be her first unequivocal step toward an affair.
In the audience, hands go up, and hands stay down. However, the purpose of the question is not to ascertain who would and who would not support adultery. Becky’s New Car aims for a deeper collective realization: it serves as a reminder of how many of us may crave a new life. It is up to each individual to decide for themselves what chances are worth taking, and whether we can justify the consequences that may follow in their wake.
Theatre 40, 241 Moreno Drive, Beverly Hills. Thurs.-Sat., 7:30 pm; Sun., 2 pm; thru June 15. https://theatre40.org Running time: Approximately 100 minutes with intermission.
