[NEohioPAL] Rave Review of BECKY'S NEW CAR at Actors' Summit

[Neil Thackaberry]

Actors’ Summit stages ‘exciting new show’

*2/17/2011 - West Side Leader*
*By David Ritchey*




  DOWNTOWN AKRON — Actors’ Summit Theater is celebrating its 100th
production with the regional premiere of an exciting new show, “Becky’s New
Car.”

The title may damage the audience attendance. “Becky’s New Car” seems to
indicate this is a light, situation comedy. That’s not true. Playwright
Steven Dietz seduces the audience into a serious story by coating it with
comedy and charm.

The plot is, indeed, wild and wonderful. Becky (Paula Kline-Messner) works
in an auto dealership office. She is married to Joe (Bob Keefe), who is a
roofer. Their son, Chris (Mark Leach), is a graduate student in psychology.
As Becky works late one evening, she is interrupted by Walter Flood (Ric
Goodwin), who is incredibly wealthy. He wants to buy nine new cars, one for
each of his employees. As Becky makes the sale, Walter reveals his wife died
about a year ago. In a strange misunderstanding, Walter thinks Becky is a
widow and calls to invite her to his home for a party.

Kline-Messner creates Becky as chatty, charming and cute. As the play
progresses, Kline-Messner does an excellent job of letting Becky become a
strong woman, capable of doing the wrong thing well and the right things
with appealing clumsiness.

The playwright gives Chris some of the most interesting lines in the show.
Leach gets to play with the jargon he’s learned in his psychology classes
and work that language into his conversations with his parents. Leach plays
the comedic elements of his lines with agility and understands the pleasure
of earning a laugh.

The playwright does a superior job of interweaving the lives of the
characters. To reveal any more of the plot would damage some of the fun the
reader might have when seeing “Becky’s New Car.”

Director Constance Thackaberry has done an excellent job helping the actors
develop interesting, sympathetic characters and keeping the timing of the
production moving at a fast pace.

This is an excellent new script, well directed and well performed.

The history of the play makes for good theater. Charles Staadecker wanted to
give his wife, Benita, a special gift for her 60th birthday. He contacted an
ACT theater in Seattle, where they live, and arranged to commission a play
to be dedicated to his wife. He explained to the playwright he didn’t want a
dark, unhappy play. Dietz wrote “Becky’s New Car,” and the play opened in
October 2008. Benita Staadecker insists this is the best gift she’s ever
received. She and her husband have seen the 13 productions of “Becky’s New
Car” and give each cast and crew member a scarf with the name of the play on
one side and the name of the theater on the other.

After the performance, the Staadeckers made their presentations to the cast
and crew and talked to the audience about commissioning a play. One of the
main points was that you don’t have to be wealthy to commission a play. In
fact, several families could go in together and commission one. Charles
Staadecker has been so pleased with the success of this commission that he
told me he and a group of friends have commissioned a symphony that will
premiere in Seattle next year.

The challenge is obvious. The board of Actors’ Summit should launch a
campaign and commission a play that would have its premiere here in Akron.

To see what this is all about, don’t miss “Becky’s New Car,” which is on
stage through Feb. 27. What a treat it is to see a new show. For ticket
information, call 330-374-7568. On opening night, Feb. 11, the theater was
filled almost to capacity.

*David Ritchey has a Ph.D. in communications and is a professor of
communications at The University of Akron. He is a member of the American
Theatre Critics Association.*


-- 
Neil Thackaberry
Co-artistic Director
Actors' Summit, a professional theater
103 South High Street
6th Floor
Akron OH 44308
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