Erin Osgood Drives Down the Road Less Traveled in Becky’s New Car

Chris (Bob Cox) has some advice for his mother Becky (Erin Osgood)
PHOTO by Jan Cartwright

Everybody loves that new car smell!  Especially in Detroit – the Motor City – a new car is celebrated almost as much as the arrival of a baby.  A new car is sort of a rebirth, a fresh start, a new lease on life.  In Becky’s New Car – which opens at the Farmington Players Barn Theater on February 10 – Becky Foster sells cars for a living.  But when an eccentric millionaire offers her more than just another sales opportunity, Becky decides that it might be more exciting to journey down the road less traveled.

Erin Osgood plays Becky, and audiences might not be sure whether they love her or hate her.  As Erin says, “I love the character of Becky because she is so relatable.  She makes big mistakes as she tries to climb out of the emotional hole she is in.  I love playing characters that are flawed or that audiences may hate because there are so many ways to interpret them.  Sure, Becky has made big mistakes, but she’s just trying to find true happiness again.”

While Becky’s happiness starts at home, her 25-year marriage to Joe (Bob Hotchkiss) and her adult son Chris (Bob Cox) no longer fulfill her.  Erin says, “She loves her family, but she has come to a point in her life where she feels empty.  Something is missing.  Her son is in grad school and makes her feel like he doesn’t need her anymore.  He is very intelligent and uses that throughout the play to make her feel defeated.  I think all mothers can relate to Becky.  She raised her wonderful boy to be more intelligent and more successful than she is, but now feels like she is being left behind and unimportant.  Becky just wants to still be a part of his life but she is only allowed the little morsels of information he chooses to give her.”   Similarly, Becky’s husband Joe is a very good man, but Becky “feels her marriage is on autopilot and is just going through the usual motions of her mundane life.  She misses the spontaneity and excitement.  She wants to feel beautiful and important again.  And as she says in the play, she wants ‘to be seen’ again.”

Erin finds the emotional and physical demands of the show challenging, saying, “I could definitely NOT be able to do it without the rest of the cast.  They really drive the show.  Without them entering when they do, Becky would just be on stage twiddling her thumbs.  Each of the other cast members are wonderful - Dorne, Bob, Sue, Bob Jr., Nancy, Steve!  They bring humor to rehearsals and lots of energy. I am so happy to be treading the boards with them.  And Cynthia Tupper has always been one of my favorite directors.  I trust her judgment completely and she allows actors to experiment.”

Becky’s New Car opens at the Farmington Players Barn Theater on February 10 with nine performances through February 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.