Walnut Street's BORN YESTERDAY

Garson Kanin's gutsy comedy is brought to life by the folks at the oldest theater in America.

The story line has an all too familiar, timely theme about shady politics and those who attempt to buy their way to even greater power and fortune.  Set in 1946, Washington DC is about to meet up with a wealthy scoundrel of a business man Harry Brock (Marco Verna),  who is on a mission to influence an equally shady senator (Greg Wood), that "teaming up" for "special interests" could be a profitable venture.  One little fly in the ointment; Brock's long time main squeeze, Billie Dawn (Kate Fahrner), who is an appointed " paper partner", may not be the ideal arm charm he is hoping to present to the highbrows in the Nation's Capital town. Brock befriends a D.C. journalist, Paul Verral (Darren Michael Hengst) and convinces him to polish and smarten her up just a little bit. They are all in for a big surprise at the outcome as her crash course in politics, diplomacy and ethics backfires on Brock.

Mark Clements's direction, while overall good in quality, is a bit unbalanced. The faced paced action misses a few great comedic opportunities and yet labors in a few scene spots.

The casting is solid. Verna's Brock is a dead on roudy, gangster-style dumb/funny rogue. Fahrner plays Billie, the dim-witted blond in Act one quite well, but seems to fall a bit shallow in her transformation to the sharp "I Am Woman" image I was hoping to discover.  Despite a noble effort, the changes are a bit too subtle. Her speaking voice is weak and the accent made it a bit of a challenge to catch all of her lines, even from my fifth row seat. 

Garson Kanin's Born Yesterday was a massive Broadway hit, running for more than 1600 performances. Judy Holliday, starring as Billie Dawn in the original production and the 1950 film, received a Best Actress Academy Award for her portrayal of the not-so-dim witted blonde. The show has maintained great popularity over the years, due to its ever-relevant mix of political satire, romantic storyline and witty banter.

Darren Michael Hengst is perfectly cast as the nervous young journalist turned tutor for the mobster's fiancée.  Hengst is convincingly awkward and quite cute as he falls for Billie and her new found feelings of honesty and kindness.  David Hess plays Brock's crooked attorney a bit too stiffly and misses a few great moments to shine. The cast also includes Philadelphia area actors and Walnut favorites Joe Jackson, Karen Peakes, Fran Prisco, Bill Van Horn, Susan Wilder and Greg Wood.

The 1940s sets consist of the luxury suite at the top floor with the US Capital as a window view.  Scenic Designer Todd Edward Ivins brings this to the fore nicely.

Born Yesterday runs at the Walnut Street Theater, 825 Walnut St. Phila. Pa
through April 26th. Tickets range from $10-$60 and are available online at http://www.walnutstreettheatre.org or Ticketmaster. Tickets are also available by phone at 215-574-3550 or 800-982-2787.

 Director:Mark Clements
Scenic Design:Todd Edward Ivins
Lighting Design: Shelley Hicklin
Costume Design:Colleen Grady
Sound Design:CHRISTOPHER COLUCCI
Fight Choreographer:DARREN MICHAEL HENGST

 Photos by Mark Garvin.
 (l-r) Darren Michael Hengst, Marco Verna and Kate Fahrner

 

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