Under the slick and steady direction of Shannon Eubanks, and bolstered by the thoroughly engaging performance of Wendy Melkonian in the lead role, Georgia Ensemble Theatre’s production of “Becky’s New Car” is a case of style overriding substance.
The less you think about Steven Dietz’s flimsily plotted comedy, the better. If at any point in the story, our otherwise likable heroine took just a few seconds to clarify that she ISN’T the eligible widow a wealthy new suitor mistakes her to be, it would stop the entire show in its tracks. So, instead, Dietz spins his wheels contriving all sorts of increasingly illogical complications.
Throughout much of the play, Melkonian does an impressive, seemingly effortless job of creating a pleasant rapport with the audience, often interacting with the crowd directly, recruiting volunteers to help her get dressed for a big date or bringing up the house lights to conduct a survey.
Melkonian makes it easy for us to care about Becky and to understand how she may yearn for a breath of fresh air in her routine life. She lives at home with her husband, Joe, the laid-back owner of a roofing company, and their grown son Chris, a psychobabbling grad student. At work, she’s the office manager of a busy car dealership, where she eventually meets Walter, that smitten business tycoon and widower.
But Dietz ultimately betrays the character and our trust in her. The longer Becky strings Walter along, the more she comes across as superficial and insensitive. And there’s a lengthy stretch near the end in which Becky is conspicuously absent, essentially taking a back seat in her own vehicle, not so much bravely embarking on a new life as aimlessly abandoning her old one.
It’s a refreshing touch that Joe and Chris aren’t portrayed as the loutish or sullen stereotypes they could have been. At the same time, however, given the warm and agreeable performances of Randy Cohlmia and Jacob York, respectively, it’s harder to truly accept why Becky might feel she has things quite so bad.
Eubanks also elicits superb work from Allan Edwards as Walter. Most recently on view as Moliere in Horizon’s “Legacy of Light” and primarily known for many other highly theatrical roles with Georgia Shakespeare, it’s exceedingly enjoyable to watch the actor taking it a bit easier, for a change. He relaxes into the part beautifully, bringing Walter an understated poignancy that’s honest and real, rather than simply playing up his scatterbrained eccentricity.
The show’s design team excels, too: Jamie Bullins’ set features a sloped living room and several large hanging snapshots; and Bryan Rosengrant’s lighting is uncommonly active and effective.
As innocuous diversions go, “Becky’s New Car” is perfectly fine. Unfortunately, though, that’s about as deep as it gets.
Theater review
“Becky’s New Car”
Grade: B
Through Jan. 22. 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays; 8 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays; 4 p.m. Saturdays; 2:30 p.m. Sundays. $23-$33. Roswell Cultural Arts Center, 950 Forrest St., Roswell. 770-641-1260, get.org.
Bottom line: Style overrides substance.
