Last Chance: 'Becky's New Car' A Heartfelt, Hilarious Ride

NORTH FORK, NY - When women reach a certain age, they become invisible.

That's the premise of "Becky's New Car," a play by Steven Dietz that's wrapping up its run at the North Fork Community Theatre in Mattituck this weekend.

Directed by Bob Kaplan and produced by Susan McCabe, the show is a heartfelt and humorous ride along with a woman navigating a journey into the new and unfamiliar just when everything she's ever known has become achingly familiar.

"I love this show because the playwright seamlessly combines humor and melancholy," Kaplan wrote.

Another reason he embraces the gem is that characters are allowed to hilariously break through the "fourth wall", addressing the audience directly and drawing theatre-goers into the plot.

Becky, played with spot-on acting chops by Catherine Maloney, is everywoman, a working mom whose grown son never seems to leave home, whose relationship with her loving husband is a well-worn sweater, soft yet ever the same, a woman who works in a car dealership, where shiny new automobiles promise the open road.

When a woman wants a new car, she says at one point, she's not coveting the car, she's yearning for a new life.

And so it is.

When wealthy Walter waltzes into the dealership late one night after hours, looking to snatch up a pile of shiny new keys to reward his employees, he takes a shine to Becky. And, in a series of misunderstandings, comes to believe that she's grieving her very much alive husband, much as he's mourning the death of his wife.

Lon Shomer's Walter is imbued with a mixture of suave sophistication and boyish longing; the audience finds themselves rooting for him to find the balm for his broken heart in his beloved Becky.

Becky, meanwhile, finds herself at a turning point. Driving in her car and heading for a party at Walter's house, she's buckled up for adventure but unsure about whether to slam on the brakes.

The play, however, is about reality, and in real life, relationships do falter, spouses stray, hearts are shattered and sometimes, patched up again, although in never quite the same way.

Becky's loyal husband Joe, played to perfection by a North Fork treasure, Alan Stewart, starts off devoted and dogged in his dedication to his wife. But as realization dawns of her infidelity, he ignites with a mix of fury and outright laugh-out-loud funny that keeps all eyes on his top-notch performance.

Scott Joseph Butler, as the couple's son Chris, and Marissa Russo, who plays Walter's daughter and, ironically, Chris' new love, deliver stand-out portrayals of a young couple whose bliss is forever shattered by the ugly reality of infidelity.

Matthew S. Orr, as Becky's co-worker Steve, and Marguerite Volonts, as Ginger, Walter's neighbor and would-be new wife, complete the stellar cast that works seamlessly to pack a powerhouse punch in every line of dialogue.

There was a moment when Becky almost took the trip of a lifetime, heading off in a shiny new car meant for a customer whose life ended tragically. A case of mistaken identities had her family struggling to cope with the sudden loss.

But in the end, her internal GPS brings Becky home, to her family, to the driveway she can't seem to keep out of her rear-view mirror — or her heart.

In the end, Becky's new car doesn't get very far; she ends up on Sunday drives with her husband, driving past the house where her secret live exploded. She's destined to live her live not behind the wheel, but in the passenger's seat, a sad and heartbreaking symbol of women of a certain age everywhere, who forego the road not traveled for the grindingly and soul-oppressingly familiar.

The last two performances will be held at 8 p.m. on Saturdays and at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday. Tickets are $15 and are available by calling the box office at 631-298-NFCT or by clicking here.