Gilbert E. Brown Sr.
October 15, 2009
Margaret Simoneaux
October 20, 2009
“Born Yesterday,” the play that made Judy Holliday a star in theater and then in movies after it was brought to the silver screen, was one of the first works ever produced by Thibodaux Playhouse.
So, to celebrate its 50th anniversary, the playhouse is reviving the 1946 Garson Kanin comedy in October.
In fact, co-director Heather Keller said “Born Yesterday” may have been the first play staged by the theater, though she is not certain.
“Yesterday,” set in post-World War II Washington, D.C., is about loutish businessman Harry Brock who gets his comeuppance from his naïve girlfriend, Billie Dawn, after she learns some refinement from newspaperman cum tutor Paul Verrall.
The Billie Dawn role is one of the showcase parts in theater and the effort that was made to fill it back in 1946 is legendary.
Movie star Jean Arthur first had the role during the play’s pre-Broadway runs outside New York, but she dropped at the last minute, apparently not cottoning to the unpolished Billie Dawn character.
Holliday, unknown at the time, was brought in and needed to learn the part in four days. The show had a run of 1,642 performances. The 1950 movie version, which also starred Holliday, won her the Oscar for Best Actress.
“For the Billie Dawn role, we held an open audition for anybody,” Keller said. “We had a lot of girls try for the part. It came down to who worked better with (the characters of) Paul and Brock. She had to be compatible with both.”
Keller and co-director Blake Petit, who are brother and sister, chose Laura Templet, a recent Nicholls State University graduate who has done “The Pajama Game,” “Lucky Stiff” and a few musicals with Thibodaux Playhouse. Templet has had parts in Nicholls Players productions as well.
“She decided to stick around out of college,” Keller said.
The Billie Dawn role is mostly comical but has occasions requiring more seriousness. Templet can do both, Keller said.
“Billie, in the beginning of the play, she’s uneducated, coarse,” Keller said. “Harry realizes, to do business with senators she needs to be educated.”
Harry (Damon Stentz) is trying to corner the market on scrap metal in Europe following the war. In cahoots with his lawyer (Randy Mayeux), he plans to bribe a senator (Joel Champagne) to turn the course of legislation in his favor.
Harry hires reporter Paul Verrall (Joey Pierce), who is conveniently nearby, to help make Billie’s manners more acceptable to Washington society. But Paul has an ulterior motive.
“Pauls’ been hanging around near the apartment,” Keller said. “He’s trying to get the big story on corruption. Paul is trying to learn as much about Harry as possible but he’s also attracted to Billie. It’s a way to hang with her more…He’s trying to advance his career, expose corruption. He wants to make everyone accountable.”
Harry is a brutish character – somewhat unusual in a light comedy – played memorably by Broderick Crawford in the movie.
“He’s not completely unlikable, but he’s not the kind of guy you want to hang out with,” Keller said. “In his own way he’s likable. He doesn’t know any better. He’s not abusive by choice. The character has aspects that are likable, though he can be abusive. But we’re playing it mostly as comedy.”
In a well-known controversial scene from “Yesterday,” Harry hits Billie.
“We’re basically profiling both the actors so it looks like he’s really striking her,” Keller said. “Laura’s great. She knows how to react to make it look real.”
At the urging of his lawyer, Harry signs over most of his property to Billie as a way to disguise assets. “He uses Billie. He does dealings under the table, tells her to ‘sign here,'” Keller said.
But with Paul’s tutoring, Billie finds that she actually likes more highbrow pursuits. Her exposure to the arts and literature changes her in a way Harry does not anticipate.
“Billie becomes educated because of Paul,” Keller said. “She doesn’t like Harry’s doings anymore, wants nothing to do with him anymore.”
After leaving him, Billie manipulates Harry into changing his ways by offering him his property back-a little at a time as long as his behavior meets with her approval. She also ends up marrying Paul.
Both she and Harry come to realizations about themselves, Keller said.
“Billie’s got two mink coats,” Keller said. “She doesn’t understand there’s a better life out there, that money and power are not everything. Harry learns the same thing.”
“Born Yesterday” is onstage at the Thibodaux Playhouse (314 St. Mary St. in downtown Thibodaux) Thursday, Oct. 22 through Sunday, Oct. 25. All shows are at 7:30 p.m. except the Sunday matinee at 2 p.m. For ticket information, call the theatre at (985) 446-1896.
Keller said Thibodaux Playhouse will be reviving other productions from the theater’s past to celebrate its 50th anniversary.
“Born Yesterday” cast members – from left, Jason Galjour, Damon Stentz, Laura Templet, Randy Mayeux and Joey Pierce – rehearse a scene from the play.
