By Kimberly Harper
During her curtain speech on Sunday at Ocean State Theatre Company, “Born Yesterday” director Amiee Turner made a point to mention that the play had been written in the 1940s and that they had not changed a word of the dialogue or updated it in any way. I wondered why she’d said so, certainly, when one goes to see a period piece they must expect some outdated language.
And there was plenty of that. Lots of “dames” and things getting tossed around. But more than that, Garson Kanin’s “Born Yesterday” is a microcosm of today’s political arena, boiled down to five or six personality types and set in a beautiful art deco hotel suite. The big boss, Harry Brock, is a loud, brash junk dealer who traveled to Washington DC to influence senators and steal power, a man who thinks he’s the smartest in the room, who has a penchant for beautiful woman he can treat like trash and who surrounds himself with the appropriate sycophants and yes men to do the ultimate damage.
In other words, there were moments where I was pretty sure Donald Trump had cribbed directly from the script. And judging by the reaction from the audience, I wasn’t the only one. Clearly, not much has changed since the 40s when it comes to how people behave.
Anyway, without giving away too much of the plot, Harry travels to the nation’s capital and brings along his cousin Eddie, little more than a lackey, his lawyer Ed and his blonde bimbo girlfriend Billie Day. They meet up with the milquetoast Senator Hedges and his wife, after which Harry decides that Billie can’t play in the big leagues with him unless she gets a little more refined. He asks a reporter, Paul, to teach her how to act. It’s like My Fair Lady, but with more corruption. Unfortunately for Harry, he underestimates his girlfriend’s hunger for knowledge and risks losing everything when Billie realizes all of his plans – in which she had never taken much interest before – are shady and illegal. It’s uproariously funny, but also incredibly relevant.
The 75 minute show is divided into two acts (it was originally written as three) and, despite being very verbally dense, moves along quickly. This is in large part thanks to the incredible talent Turner has assembled. Everyone, from the bellhops to Harry, does a fantastic job, and they have the additional privilege to be performing on one of the best looking sets I’ve seen anywhere this year. It’s perfection and designer Kenneth J. Martin deserves major praise for it.
Both Lara Hayhurst (Billie) and Robert Ierardi (Harry) are actors from New York, and I’m glad they made the trip out. They play well against each other, with a back and forth that’s fitting for the decade the characters are supposed to have been together. Ierardi gives a lot of nuance to Harry – he’s loud and blustering, and not afraid to act like a spoiled toddler throwing a fit, but we see chinks in the armor as Billie begins dressing him down. It’s a solid, three-dimensional performance. Hayhurst is perfect as Billie. Her physical comedy is especially notable. Towards the end of act 1, there’s a lengthy card game with very little spoken dialogue. In the wrong hands, it would be interminable. But Hayhurst’s reactions and bits of business throughout make it incredibly entertaining.
From start to finish, this show is funny, relevant and perfectly done. It’s lighthearted but carries an important message that’s still true 70 years later. Get a friend or three, get your tickets ASAP and have fun discussing over drinks after. You won’t be sorry.
“Born Yesterday” runs through Feb. 12 at Ocean State Theatre Company, 1245 Jefferson Blvd., Warwick, R.I. Tickets start at $24 and may be obtained by calling (401) 921-1777 or visiting oceanstatetheatre.org .
