Born Yesterday

‘Born Yesterday’ is a very funny comedy by film and stage scriptwriter, Garson Kanin. Kanin was born in Rochester, New York 100 years ago. He wrote this play about post-war corruption whilst in his mid thirties. The play was a massive Broadway hit in the ‘40s, and was made into a film with the leading lady, Judy Holliday, winning an Oscar. Broadway saw two more revivals, and the film was remade in 1993 with Melanie Griffiths in the lead.

This quality two and a quarter hour production, The Old Mill’s best for a while, is being presented at the Old Mill Theatre, Mends Street, South Perth. Starting at 8.00 pm with the run showing until Saturday 15^th June.

The scene is just after the Second World War in a luxury suite, in an upmarket hotel in Washington DC. The room walls have Regency stripes; there is a scarlet settee centre stage and several art deco furnishings. On the left is a stair and landing, leading to the bedroom.

      Helen, the hotel maid (Valerie Dragojevic), is giving the suite a final clean of in preparation for the next important guest; the self-made, millionaire rogue, Harry Brock (Adam Petersen).
      The room’s double doors fly open, and led by the hotel’s assistant manager (Carmen Mackay) the Brock party enters. With Harry is his dumb hoodlum brother, Eddie (Rex Gray) who acts as his assistant, Harry’s dodgy lawyer, Ed Devery (‘Jack’son Wimhurst) and a gorgeous, voluptuous blonde bimbo, Billie (Britni Leslie). Staggering behind, with numerous pieces of luggage, follow the bell boys (Neel Goodwin and Tony McLeod).

      Frivolous burlesque star, Billie, whilst being beautiful has a cheap Bronx accent, a voice that can clear the wax from your ears at one hundred metres, and with a pitch that can possibly only be appreciated by the auditory system of a dog. Her brain struggles to understand words of more than one syllable and so Harry hires handsome, investigative journalist, Paul Verrall (Robert Ross) to teach the lonely and mistreated Billie a basic education. With his own personal barber and manicurist (Clare Roszak), Harry enjoys the good life.

       When Harry invites influential Senator Hedges (Rodney Greaves) and his wife (Norma Davis) around for an evening drink, the depth of Harry’s corruption, and the lengths to which he will go, start to show.

       Will Paul be able to do a Professor Higgins style conversion on this ‘lowly street kid’? Will Harry rule the scrap yards of America as he wants to?

The set was immaculate; as the curtains opened it got a well-earned applause. Tim Prosser’s décor on the solid, well-designed frame - built by Michael Trestrail, Phil Barnett, Noel, Rex, Adam and Robert - was breathtaking. The hatboxes, luggage and many of the props were from the period and of the highest quality. The clothes ranged from Eddies tasteless spiv like outfits, to the stunning underwear and clothing of Billie (Dinah Zaicos). The lighting and sound design (Graeme Johnson) and operation (Kath Carney, with assistance from Ursulla Andinah) was of the usual high quality.

The two leads are both American born. Adam comes from Washington and Britni from Alabama, so the accents were natural. The rest of the cast did very well, one actor decided that he would stick to a safe English accent, which is always better than a bad American drawl, and it did not detract. The scriptwriter has created a collection of rich characters and they have been brought vividly to life with skill.

Britni Leslie was so exceptional in the role that I find it hard to believe that the Oscar winning Judy Holliday could have done any better. Britni’s whole body oozed sex as she fawned over her loved one, her subtle body movements and facial expressions were hilarious – such as when she tried to read with her longsighted vision. Adam was also excellent as the dim but bullying businessman. A good strong cast that worked very well together. Great pace and energy, with the stage being alive at all times. Congratulations to the talented directors, Noel O’Neill and Marie Grayden.

A fine character study brilliantly performed. With the right contacts and a bit of luck, Britni could be major star of the professional stage. Not much wonder many of the audience commented that they wouldn’t mind seeing it again before the end of the run. A simple storyline, but the wonderful characters ensure a good, fun night at the theatre.