Not 'Born Yesterday' Not 'Born Yesterday' (January 23, 2004)

Garson Kanin's classic comedy takes on new relevance in 2004

By Robyn Israel

Affixed to the back wall on the set of the Palo Alto Players' latest production, "Born Yesterday," is a 1928 painting by Rene Magritte entitled "La Tentative de L'Impossible" ("Attempting the Impossible").

The work depicts the Belgian artist painting a nude woman who is missing her left arm -- the only thing standing in the way of her wholeness.

It's a perfect description of the stunning transformation of the play's female lead, Billie Dawn, who evolves from an uneducated ex-chorus girl to a cultured and independent woman, thanks to the efforts of her patient mentor, a reporter named Paul Verrall.

The meaty and challenging comedic role is the kind actresses long to play. For Palo Alto resident Shannon Stowe, it represents her biggest theatrical role to date.

"She's an incredible character," Stowe said. "I liked her journey through the play, what she had to go through -- it's a huge arc. And to be able to play somebody with all that going on is an opportunity that doesn't come to everybody.

Another challenge for Stowe: Step into the shoes of a character immortalized by Judy Holliday, who played Billie Dawn on Broadway in 1946 and in the 1950 film version, which earned her an Academy Award for best actress.

But she followed director Mark Mezadourian's advice: Acknowledge that definitive performance, and then ignore it.

"The great thing about theater is that it's in the perpetual present," Mezadourian said. "I said, "Look at the circumstances, look at the text and play it honestly from there. Because the play is being done in 2004, it has a completely different meaning that in had in 1946. But it's really holding up well. It's incredibly modern."

Written by Garson Kanin, the comedic play is a brassy Americanization of the "Pygmalion" tale set in the aftermath of World War II in an exclusive Washington, D.C. hotel suite. Junk dealer Harry Brock, a war profiteer, has arrived in the Capitol seeking to score a major government contract. To accomplish his ends, he realizes he needs a senator in his pocket and a girlfriend who has class. Unfortunately, Harry's knockout girlfriend, Billie, doesn't have much.

Enter bright young reporter Paul Verrall, who is hired to teach Billie social graces and, in the process, unearths a social conscience.

As a "fiercely independent" woman, Stowe said she related well to the more savvy, sophisticated and self-confident character who appears onstage in the play's second and third acts. But Billie's nascent stage -- as a kept thirty-something woman who is told what to say and do by her wealthy boyfriend -- proved much more daunting to portray.

"It was easier to work backwards," Stowe said. "The beginning of the play was harder to access. (But I did it) through the rehearsal, through the writing, through talking. There's not one thing -- it's the process we've been guided through. But it took going through everything to get to the beginning.

"And the script gives you so much. The characters and their conversations are so well-crafted," Stowe added. "You step into the world of the play and if you're paying attention to that world, you can live it. It's all given to you."

Likewise, director Mezadourian encouraged the cast to explicitly trust Kanin's "perfectly written comedy," whose text he likened to William Shakespeare.

"It's Shakespearean, in terms of letting the words come through and inform, not being heavy-handed, not being manipulative, just letting it play," Mezadourian said. "And what the actors are discovering is that if they are relaxed with it, the range of emotion comes through more easily."

In studying "Born Yesterday," Mezadourian also realized that every single character undergoes a transition over the course of the play.

"Clearly, there's something happening there, in terms of theme," he said. "All these folks are in transition, and it's not subtle. It's big life stuff.

So Mezadourian asked each actor to think about his or her role, and how their character evolves -- a directive that hopefully helped reinforce for each supporting character -- the maid, the barber, the shoeshine boy -- their function in the play.

Mezadourian, a Palo Alto native making his directorial debut for the Palo Alto Players, has been prepping for "Born Yesterday" since last spring, when Executive Director Peter Bliznick hired him for the gig.

"We were very much on the same page, as far as what the play's about," recalled Mezadourian, a resident of Ashland, Ore. "(The challenge) was how to get the political message, without it being didactic."

Deeply affected by the world-altering events of World War II, Kanin wrote "Born Yesterday" while stationed in England. Aware of the impending reconstruction of America, Kanin sought to examine the dawn of a new civilization.

"There was a huge shift in consciousness, and he clearly had some worry, and some opinion about where this country was headed and the possibilities this country had, and the responsibility this country had to itself and its citizens," Mezadourian said.

"And Kanin cared passionately about human rights, that everyone had the right to be free and equal. It seems simplistic, but it's not happening now and it wasn't happening during or after World War II."

The character of Billie Dawn, he added, is symbolic of the American people.

"She goes from being simple -- not being asked what she thinks -- to a place where she not only has intellect, but a will. It's about the power of an individual to manifest change. That's what she does: by learning, by being open, taking in information and taking action.

"Mostly what she does is ask a lot of questions, and she figures things out. Definitely it's my impression that (this was what) Garson Kanin was after -- have an innocent ask questions about this country. Right now we have a deceptive and sneaky government, and this play speaks to that."

For Bliznik, "Born Yesterday" is clearly as relevant in 2004 as it was in 1946.

"With so many eyes looking toward Washington D.C. and focusing on the questionable practices between big business and politics -- especially in this time of war -- it became a perfect occasion to present a near-perfect play."
Information

What: "Born Yesterday," Garson Kanin's classic comedy, presented by the Palo Alto Players
Where: Lucie Stern Theatre, 1305 Middlefield Road in Palo Alto
When: "Born Yesterday" runs through Feb. 1. Regular show times are 8 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday and 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 1.
Cost: Ticket prices are $21 for Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday performances; $25 for Friday and Saturday evenings. Students and seniors will receive a $3 discount for Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday performances.
Info: Please call 329-0891 or visit www.paplayers.org

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