Born Yesterday Born Again in South Perth
COMEDY, corruption and sexy 1940s charm come to the Old Mill Theatre from May 31 in Garson Kanin’s Born Yesterday.
The play follows the uncouth, corrupt and rich junk dealer Harry Brock and what happens when he brings his showgirl mistress Billie Dawn to Washington DC.
After realising it was a mistake, Brock hires a journalist to educate Billie so she stays out of the way, which proves to be another misstep.
Billie realises the extent of Brock’s corruption and interferes with his plans to bribe a congressman into passing legislation that would allow his business to make more money.
After being a major Broadway success, Born Yesterday was adapted into a 1950 film with Judy Holliday who scored an Academy Award for playing Billie.
The play was successfully revived on in 1989 and 2011 and was again made into a film in 1993 with Melanie Griffith, John Goodman and Don Johnson.
Director Noel O’Neill said Born Yesterday appealed to him because of its themes of corruption within a comedy.
“I like the comedic brute force and ignorance of the Harry Brock character and the Pymaglion-esque quality of Billie Dawn,” he said.
“For those that don’t know, Pygmalion is a George Bernard Shaw play the musical My Fair Lady was based on and Billie has a similar Eliza Doolittle transformation.”
Born in Ireland, O’Neill moved to New York in his late teens and studied acting with Lee Strasberg and Herbert Berghof, appearing in many off-Broadway productions including One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest and Of Mice and Men.
Since moving to Perth 12 years ago, he has appeared on stage and directed and written numerous shows for the Old Mill and KADS Theatres, Graduate Dramatic Society and the Irish Theatre Players.
“The main challenge with Born Yesterday is taking the actors back to the 1940s and early 1950s because the characters are the sort we rarely see today and the dialogue is different,” he said.
“The play also demands lots of energy from the actors because they are all very well-written character roles.”
Born Yesterday plays from May 31 to June 15. Bookings:9367 8719, oldmilltheatre@iinet.net.au or online at www.oldmilltheatre.com.au.
The heritage-listed Old Mill Theatre is on Mends Street, South Perth, opposite the Windsor Hotel and Australia Post.
Images: Corrupt junk deal Harry Brock (Adam Peterson, left) comes to blows with his showgirl mistress Billie Dawn (Britni Leslie, right) in front of hotel maid Helen (Valerie Dragojevic) & Britni Leslie is showgirl mistress Billie Dawn in Born Yesterday.
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