Liz Lauren
Reese Madigan, left, plays a journalist-turned-tutor to ex-showgirl Billie Dawn (Colleen Madden).
Born Yesterday began its run at American Players Theatre on June 23, and it was a perfect evening to take in Garson Kanin’s comedy. No rain and lack of oppressive heat were nature’s gifts. And effective high-percentage DEET bug repellant was a gift from APT.
When considering Born Yesterday, most people, myself included, will immediately think of the 1950 Oscar-winning movie featuring an indelible performance from Judy Holliday. Or maybe the 1993 movie starring Melanie Griffith in a more delible performance, but Kanin's play, on which those films are based, ran on Broadway from 1946-49 (with two revivals in recent decades).
All of the action takes place in an opulent hotel suite in Washington, D.C., in 1946. Uncouth business tycoon Harry Brock (David Daniel), who got his start in the junkyards of Plainfield, New Jersey, has descended upon the nation’s capital with his henchman-cousin-bartender Eddie (Josh Krause, bringing a shifty-eyed feral quality to the role) and sketchy attorney Ed Devery (John Taylor Phillips, reminding me of a boozy David Axelrod). Also in tow is Harry's longtime girlfriend, former chorus girl Billie Dawn (Colleen Madden). Brock's long game is to influence a Southern senator (James Ridge) to remove onerous regulations that would prohibit him from plundering post-World War II Europe’s scrap iron cache.
Although Harry is brash and boorish, he begins to view Billie’s apparent lack of intellect as a liability that could create roadblocks in his corrupt money grab. When Harry is interviewed by journalist Paul Verrall (Reese Madigan) for a newspaper profile, he decides that Verrall would make an excellent tutor for Billie. It turns out that Billie is smarter than everyone in the room. That’s due to her natural curiosity and appetite for acquiring knowledge. Ultimately, she becomes hip to Brock and Devery’s nefarious plans that include deceptive maneuvers to use her to shield his wealth from scrutiny and defraud the government.
Daniel imbues Harry with undeniable charisma and dangerous bravado. He’s a jocular brute who seems so uncomfortable in the physical trappings of his success that he can’t wait to rid himself of the expensive suits, socks and shoes he wears. He’s always kicking off his shoes and stripping off his socks (he used one to mop up sweat and blow his nose) or rolling up his pants like he is about to wade into the tide. Plopping down on furniture, scratching his armpits and frequently mispronouncing even the most common words (intraview instead of interview) seem like minor quibbles once we learn of his unscrupulous greed, watch him get handsy with the senator’s wife (Sarah Day), and witness him verbally and physically assault Billie. When Billie screeches, “You menace” to him, it’s the perfect description.
Madden’s Billie Dawn may have left the stage when she took up with Brock, but the stage hasn’t left her. She makes sure people realize she wasn’t just relegated to the chorus…she actually had five lines in Anything Goes, and gladly performs them in fast-forward fashion to underscore this point. She often warbles little ditties to herself or grandly sweeps through rooms and up the staircase as though she is playing to the cheap seats. Madden uses every inch of her body (even though focus is on certain parts of her body) to reveal information about Billie. This includes conspiratorial and flirty winks, hips jutted out to punctuate a point, and counting on her fingers during what has to be the most crowd-pleasing game of Gin Rummy I have ever seen. Madden, who appears to be having lots of fun, gives Billie a signature move – hands spreading out in an arc to create gestural fireworks of razzle-dazzle.
Madden and Daniel aren’t the only ones to focus on their character’s physicality. Movement director Jessica Lanius deserves praise for making movement such an integral part of the production.
Clearly, some audience members were thinking of another wealthy outsider hell-bent on taking D.C. by storm. Lines crafted by Kanin serve as civics lessons and cautionary tales (like Devery’s observation that “don’t-care-ism is Satan’s key to success” or Verrall’s warning that “a world full of ignorant people is too dangerous to live in”) and probably elicited more of a reaction than they might have before the current president occupied the White House.
Scenic designer Nathan Stuber hits all the right notes with the design of the lavish hotel suite, and Fabio Toblini’s costumes beautifully capture time and place. Billie’s turquoise lace peignoir with flouncy tap pants and frothy camisole were especially dreamy. As Act II begins we see how much Billie’s mind and worldview have expanded; her ensemble was deliciously reminiscent of Holliday’s costume for the same scenes in the film (a formal skirt overlaying cigarette pants paired with a curvy embellished vest and graceful blouse).
Brenda DeVita, APT’s artistic director, has directed the show with an eye toward the still-topical nature of the play, also displaying sensitivity to Billie’s trajectory.
