Strong cast drives Hale's 'Yesterday'
"BORN YESTERDAY," Hale Centre Theatre through Feb. 5 (801-984-9000 or www.halecentretheatre.org); running time: 2 hours, 15 minutes (one intermission)
"Real knowledge is to know the extent of one's ignorance," Confucius said.
Such is the realization for Billie Dawn (Kylee Bird) in Hale Centre Theatre's production of "Born Yesterday." Billie gets an education under the thumb of her tycoon boyfriend, Harry, only to discover what she's been missing and who exactly she's been living with.
This screwball comedy created in the 1940s by Garson Kanin and directed by HCT veteran Tamara Adams delivers laughs and memorable lines while delving into issues such as classism, sexism and corruption.
Set in an elitist post-World War II Washington, D.C., junkyard baron Harry (David Strensrud) settles into the city to hunt for a senator he can put in his pocket. But rubbing shoulders with the congressional coterie plunges him and his silly girlfriend, Billie (Jennie Richardson), into the unfamiliar world of intellectual conversation and refinement — one in which Billie's honking voice and blissful ignorance seem to pose a threat to Brock's progress.
When reporter Paul Verrall (Josh Richardson) is brought on to make her more presentable, Billie discovers her mind, Paul discovers his heart and Harry discovers that an educated Billie is infinitely more menacing to him.
With a single set and seven cast members (I saw the Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday cast), the script and its delivery had nothing to hide behind. Thanks to Jennie Richardson's spot-on performance as Billie, it never had to.
Richardson's Long Island squeal was hilarious, and her daffy disposition was somehow over the top without being overacted. The way she bantered with boyfriend Harry (Strensrud) was charming and laugh-out-loud funny, reaching its pinnacle during a late-night game of gin rummy.
The role is a real catch for any actress wanting to flex her acting muscles and comedic skill. It's no wonder it won Judy Holliday a Tony, Oscar and Golden Globe for best actress. Richardson's performance is also award-worthy.
Strensrud did a superb job portraying a self-absorbed millionaire oozing with arrogance and a short temper without losing his character's humanity. As a man described as "living at the top of his voice," the temptation to play Harry as a terrifying tyrant might be hard to resist. Strensrud instead beckoned laughs by honing in on Harry's insatiable stubbornness — keeping it light and fun for the audience.
Josh Richardson, who plays Paul, seems a little less confident, but he was certainly a likable match for Billie. Another standout performance came from David Nieman, normally part of the Monday/Wednesady/Friday cast, who played Harry's right-hand man, Jim Devery. His rendition of a sell-out yes man was delivered with apologetic eyes and a beaten-down slump that solicited sorrow instead of anger.
Kanin's political commentary throughout — which might have seemed "smart" (as the play is touted) in a more innocent age — won't necessarily resonate with today's crowd. So don't expect to leave the theater enlightened, resentful or even introspective — unless you're new to the idea that education is power, sexism is wrong or that bare-faced corruption is bad.
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