Theatre

Cape Playhouse Ignites Laughter with Oldie

"Born Yesterday" Comes out of Mothballs to Pack a Big Punch
Pygmalion story is alive and well and still laughing

   A scene from Born Yesterday at the Cape Playhouse. Stage photos by Kathleen A. Fahle.

By Libby Hughes, drama critic for Cape Cod Today

Before the first teardrop falls in September, the Cape Playhouse has unwrapped "Born Yesterday" from 52 years in mothballs to unleash laughter on opening night of their 5th show. Although a tad dated, the Pygmalion theme had the audience cheering at the final curtain.

The stage production of the play opened on February 4, 1946 at the Lyceum Theater, where it began the first of 1,642  performances. Directed by its writer, Garson Kanin, and starring Judy Holliday (Dawn), Paul Douglas (Brock), and Gary Merrill (Verrall), the play opened to rave reviews and finished its run on Christmas Eve of 1950. The movie (poster above) was released in 1950.

The test of time

Playwright/director Garson Kanin put the bimbo blonde story together in 1946 and took it to Broadway as a long-lasting smash hit. Actress Judy Holliday hit the boards with her dumb blonde routine, supported by Paul Douglas and Gary Merrill. Holliday also did the starring role in the 1950 movie with Broderick Crawford and William Holden. She won an Oscar for Best Actress. Strangely enough, my theatre companion, Betsey Welton of  cable television's "Books and the World" fame, was at the Willard Hotel in Washington, D.C. when Melanie Griffith, Don Johnson, and John Goodman were doing a remake of the film, released in 1993. She and a friend were sipping Mint Juleps in the lobby while the stars were rehearsing.

One slight drawback

Over half a century ago, playwrights wrote three-act plays (television was still in its infancy). People were willing to stay through two intermissions. Not today. Two hours with one intermission is the norm. The Playhouse combined acts two and three. The first act was slightly soggy because Garson Kanin had so much exposition to set up the story and plot. Once that was out of the way, the show began to hum and the audience loved the transformation of the bimbo to brainy. Kanin's lines still remain funny and pertinent to politics in D.C. today.

Remember other stories?

Of course, there was George Bernard Shaw's "Pygmalion" in 1912, followed by the musical film adaptation "My Fair Lady" with Audrey Hepburn and Rex Harrison in 1964 and on Broadway in 1956. A Cockney girl is transformed into an elegant lady-diction and all. Remember Martha Mitchell, the alleged airhead wife of President Nixon's Attorney General, John Mitchell in the 1970s? During the Watergate scandal, Martha, who was nicknamed "Mouth of the South," was feeding reporters the inside scoop. She was banished by her husband and others. This was real-nothing made up, but very close to the character of Billie Dawn in "Born Yesterday," but almost 30 years later.

Two leads were excellent

Earlier in the season we saw Michael McGrath in "A Day in Hollywood/A Night in the Ukraine." His character of Harry Brock in "Born Yesterday" is totally different. One can only marvel at his versatility and extraordinary talent. He is so convincing as the rich, rough-edged Brock, who made his fortune from junkyard scrap metal, that he comes across as an egocentric Mafioso. His control, domination, and physical abuse of his mistress are slowly whittled away, but very close to stories you might see on Oprah.

The crowning glory went to Leslie Kritzer as Billie Dawn. It's in the writing by Kanin. Harry Brock doesn't grow or change in the play, but Billie Dawn does. Transformation is more appealing and reaps its reward for Kritzer. Her high-pitched nasal twang set the "dumb" tone of her character. In her first entrance, she could have been stronger in hitting the audience with that jarring, guttural twang. Her stage business in playing gin rummy and warbling "Anything Goes" is a stunning piece of acting, reminiscent of Geraldine Page's brilliance of taking ten minutes of no dialogue and make it riveting..

Reporter is a hero, too

Like the two Washington Post reporters in Watergate, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, the part of the reporter,  Paul Verrall, is a winner by actor David Furr--a sort of Clark Kent/Superman character, who coaches Billie Dawn about words and books. He is the good guy, trying to expose greed in D.C. by lobbyists, senators, and lawyers. What else is new?

Even bit parts excelled

Brad Bellamy has two roles as the Hotel Manager and the smarmy Senator Hedges, who is submissive to the wealth of diamond-in-the rough Harry Brock. Suzanna Hay has a cameo role as the very southern Mrs. Hedges-similar to Ladybird Johnson. She's the Irish maid, too--completely different. Michael Keyloun is perfect as Eddie Brock, the scared lackey to Harry Brock. And Ross Bickell gives credibility to Brock's tipsy lawyer Ed Devery, whose guilt over creating shady deals is drowned in booze.

Set Designer is back

Richard Chambers is back with his Midas touch. As the curtain opened, the audience oohed and awed at the turquoise set in gold and cream trim inside a hotel suite. The off-white satin sofa with zebra-print pillows is effective as is the curved staircase. Pamela Hunt's reputation as director is magnificent. Her comic stage business is impeccable, which we well remember several years ago in "Sylvia." Lisa Zinni has some great costumes for Billie Dawn and Mrs. Hedges. The men wore standard outfits.

This comedy is a laugh every few minutes when it gets rolling.

All ages will love it and word of mouth will spread. See it from August 18 through August 30 Monday through Saturday at 8:00pm. Matinees: Wed.at 2:00pm; Sat. 8/23 at 4:00pm; Thurs. 8/28 at 2:00pm. Cape Cod Center for the Arts in Dennis on Rte 6A. Call 508-385-3911.