Bob Cox Sings Becky's Praises in his First Non-Musical Role

Bob Cox as Chris with his stage mom (Erin Osgood as Becky)

Do you have to be middle-aged to have a mid-life crisis?  In Becky’s New Car – playing at the Farmington Players Barn Theater through February 25 – all of the characters are approaching a crossroads in their lives.  And even the youngest among them undergoes a transformation.  

In the Farmington Players’ production, Bob Cox plays Chris, Becky’s 24 year-old son that she sees as a freeloader who needs to get his act together and move out.  Yet Chris is a psychology student who is adept at turning the tables on his mother.  Bob describes his character as follows:  “Chris often uses his book-smarts to talk his way out of conversations that he doesn't want to have. He even uses some vocabulary terms from psychology class to describe what Becky does.  Chris is a little bit of a know-it-all, and can even come off as a snob, but he actually has a great sense of humor. Most importantly, despite being secretive and somewhat insensitive towards his parents, he really loves them a lot.”   Bob has a lot of self-awareness about Chris, saying, “He's at an awkward age where he thinks he's smart because he's so much smarter than he was five years ago, but doesn't yet realize that he'll eventually be looking back at his current self and shaking his head at how stupid he was.”  If only we could all see ourselves with the benefit of hindsight!

At age 28, Bob has 10 years of musical credits under his belt, but this is his first non-musical role.  He planned only to be assistant director for the show, but when no young men showed up at auditions, he filled in as Chris.  Director Cynthia Tupper was so impressed with his impromptu readings that she persuaded Bob to take the role.  Despite not knowing what to expect, Bob has truly enjoyed the experience, saying, “I'm sincerely happy things worked out this way because I didn't realize how much fun a non-musical actually is.  I'm surrounded by extraordinary actors and directors. The experience of Becky's New Car from the beginning has been a collaborative effort. The cast and crew have provided so much laughter and so many smiles through the course of our time together that I highly anticipate being out of sorts for a while when it's all said and done. Luckily, I know I'll see many if not most of them at the Barn again.”  

Becky’s New Car has three performances remaining at Farmington Players Barn Theater on February 23, 24 and 25.  The show is proudly sponsored by Cadillac Travel.  Tickets are available online at farmingtonplayers.org or by emailing boxoffice@farmingtonplayers.org or calling the Barn box office at 248-553-2955.