In 2007, when former islander Benita Staadecker turned 60, the last present she expected was a play commissioned in her honor. After all, when Benita’s husband Charlie asked her what she wanted, she said, “Surprise me.” Surprise her he did with a play commissioned via Seattle’s ACT Theatre. “Becky’s New Car” will have its island premiere this weekend and next at Open Space for Arts & Community.
“Little did I know that (Charlie) would surprise me with the best gift I have ever received,” Staadecker wrote in an email interview from her home in Naples, Florida, “and we are thrilled that Vashon has the opportunity to see the play.”
The idea came to Charlie when he overheard a conversation between Benita and a woman who had commissioned a tuba concerto with the Seattle Symphony in memory of her husband. That set the gears turning for Charlie, who contacted ACT where Benita, a theater enthusiast, was a trustee.
“The powers that be at ACT loved the idea,” Benita said. “They used this commission to kick off their program called ‘New Plays for the American Stage’ to encourage others to commission new plays.”
ACT hired playwright Steven Deitz, who chose the subject and characters, which the Staadeckers say bear no resemblance to events or people in their life. Written for a seven-character ensemble, the play is a screwball comedy about a middle-class woman, Becky, who works in an auto dealership. Her husband, Joe, is a roofer. Life is pretty mundane until she meets a bumbling millionaire. Comedic misunderstanding ensues, and he offers Becky a chance to live a new life, a sort of parallel universe. While those are the light-hearted plot lines, the themes call out to the serious — the nature of love, fidelity and redemption.
The play opened at ACT in 2008 and has since been staged worldwide. This weekend will be the play’s island premiere, produced in partnership between Drama Dock and Open Space. According to Benita, two other helpful islanders deserve a shout out.
“Without the tenacity of Vicki and Ted Clabaugh, this would not be happening,” she said, “so they deserve a round of applause.”
Islander Michael Barker will direct the ensemble cast — Elise Morrill, Marshall Murray, Ryan Alumbaugh, Harris Levinson, Lisa Breen and Michael Shook — in the round in the Great Hall at Open Space.
“It is very gratifying to watch audiences enjoy my birthday gift,” Benita said. “It is the gift that keeps on giving.”
