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Saturday, Aug 30, 2008
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Today is not so different from Yesterday |
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| Today is not so different from Yesterday | ||
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by Miryam Gordon -
SGN A&E Writer BORN YESTERDAY BY GARSON KANIN DIRECTED BY SUSANNA WILSON STARRING JANE MAY, ROBERT BOGUE AND JASON MARR SECONDSTORY REPERTORY THROUGH MARCH 1 This play proves that politics is classic. Big business and politics have gone together since the invention of the wheel. SecondStory Repertory chose the play because of its timely nature, during this political season. It's a sort of spoofy story about a guy and his "moll" who doesn't think and doesn't want to. They go to Washington while he tries to bribe senators and get his way, but Washington society is a little different than he's used to. The "moll," Billie (played with gusto by Jane May), has two left feet where society manners are concerned and so Harry (played with even more gusto, if that's possible, by Robert Bogue) wants to smarten her up so she doesn't embarrass him. Harry finds a newspaper journalist who is smart (earnestly played, with glasses, by Jason Marr) and makes him an offer the journalist can't refuse: a lot of money to tutor Billie in the finer ways of talking and interacting. If you've seen the movie that earned Judy Holliday an Oscar, you know that she gets "too" smart and finally figures out what that paperwork she's been signing is all about. Garson Kanin, the playwright, does not display much subtlety here about his point, nor does he appear to want to be subtle. He really wants you to know that he thinks the little guy should stand up and stop the big guy from running things. Director Susanna Wilson quotes P.J. O'Rourke in the program: "When buying and selling are controlled by legislation, the first things to be bought and sold are legislators." If you can ignore the bombast, this fun production trots along with many laughs. Jane May and Jason Marr have nice chemistry as they get closer to each other during class time. Robert Bogue is bigger than life as the blustery Harry, and his sidekick lawyer, who is constantly drunk, is played with drunken subtly by Tom Butterworth. Jane plays Billie as smart-but-doesn't-want-to-know-it, and it works very well as she learns why it matters. She has great comic timing. Set by Dan Schuy, lighting by Nicholas Lazarro, and costumes by Sherrill Taylor are period savvy and set the atmosphere well. If you're sharp, you might notice that Billie has three different dresses on within the very first minutes of the play, which is another fun detail to keep an eye out for. For more information, go to www.secondstoryrep.org or call 425-881-6777. Comments on reviews go to sgncritic@gmail.com. |
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