Becky's New Car Spins Its Wheels

By Andrew Juhl
Photo By Elisabeth Ross

Carole Martin

Iowa City - Becky works hard, and liking her comes easy. In Act 1, anyway. In Act 2… no so much. She’s a woman with a good life that she doesn’t fully appreciate. She’s overly stressed and exasperated, but once she relaxes and begins to enjoy herself, life opens up for her, drops possibilities into her lap, and complicates her relationships to degrees she would have never imagined before loosening her safety belts.

Steven Dietz, the show’s writer, instructs the character of Becky to speak directly to the audience, a routine breaking of the fourth wall that could be either obnoxious or enjoyable, depending on the actress. Luckily for Dreamwell's production, Carole Martin (Becky) is a fantastically pleasant and identifiable confederate with which the audience is allowed to interact. Her stress is palpable, as are her concerns, consternations, and vacillations.

Becky's New Car Opens May 9

Iowa City - "Have you ever been tempted to flee your own life? Becky Foster is caught in middle age, middle management and in a middling marriage—with no prospects for change on the horizon. Then one night a socially inept and grief-struck millionaire stumbles into the car dealership where Becky works. Becky is offered nothing short of a new life… and the audience is offered a chance to ride shotgun in a way that most plays wouldn’t dare. Becky’s New Car is a thoroughly original comedy with serious overtones, a devious and delightful romp down the road not taken.

Auditions for Becky's New Car

Iowa City - "Dreamwell's final production of the 2013-14 season is a hilarious comedy by Steven Dietz. The play centers on Becky, a middle-aged woman who's happily married to her husband, but 28 years of wedded life has turned their marriage into a predictable routine. She meets a grieving widower who happens to be a millionaire. He mistakes her to be a fellow widow, and she doesn't reveal the truth, driving her to a crossroad in her life.