Becky's New Car
Don't blink, and Steven Dietz's seriocomedy makes for an entertaining evening. Blink, however, or pause for reflection, and perplexities abound. In effect, Dietz turns Craig Lucas's mystical dramas (like Prelude to a Kiss) on their ear: somber reality lurks behind the fantasy. Becky, an office manager for an auto dealership, is bogged down at work and at home. Enter Walter Flood, a Prince Charming with, as Bones says in Star Trek, "wealth beyond the dreams of avarice." He seems everything Becky's couch potato husband isn't (which is true, though not as she anticipated). The play, and portions of the North Coast production, has gaps (tonal problems in particular). But Mark Pinter's portrayal of Walter is spot on: a surface free of depths. The play has to make a woman about to commit adultery likable. To solve matters, Dietz has women from the audience come onstage (they even take a vote). The traffic not only takes too much time, it's an obvious trick to help endear Becky. But Carla Hartig, who plays her, has such a natural rapport, and such impressive, moment-to-moment focus, that all the pseudo-support just gets in the way of a fascinating performance.
Worth a try.
When
Ongoing until Sunday, September 26, 2010
Hours
| Sundays, 2pm & 7pm |
| Wednesdays, 7pm |
| Thursdays, 8pm |
| Fridays, 8pm |
| Saturdays, 8pm |