Movie Classic 'Born Yesterday' Lost Onstage Without Laughs

"Born Yesterday" is a dark comedy about abusive relationships and the roughshod, ad hoc business of controlling Congress in the era before Jack Abramoff and other powerful lobbyists. Now onstage at the Alden Theatre, it is also the inaugural production of the McLean Community Players, the troupe born of the merger of the Great Falls Players and the Community Alliance Supporting Theatre in McLean, two groups under orders from Alden management to fill more seats or risk losing their time at the Alden.

"Born Yesterday," by Garson Kanin, was a sensation when it opened on Broadway in 1946, partly because it opened naïve eyes to the way moneyed interests could buy or bully legislators and partly because it was a star vehicle crafted for the special talents of comedienne Judy Holliday. She played an uneducated, but not stupid, chorus girl who outsmarts the smart boys, winning her an Oscar for the 1950 film version. It's rare to find someone for the Holliday role who can truly replicate her persona, so "Born Yesterday" has lost much of its luster.

Businessman Harry Brock (Lanny Slusher) sets himself up for business in a deluxe D.C. hotel, accompanied by blonde girlfriend Billie Dawn (Dana Goodin). He's in Washington to buy off some congressmen to pass legislation granting him a monopoly for the buying and selling of World War II scrap metal.

The irrepressible, uncouth Billie embarrasses Harry, himself pretty rough around the edges, so he pays journalist Paul Verrall (Stephen Smith) to transform her into a lady. The lessons are more successful than Harry anticipated, and Billie begins to rebel against him -- and fall in love with her tutor.

Longtime Great Falls Players director Jerry Bonnes has taken a serious approach, treating this as melodrama instead of comedy. That's possible because Kanin did not incorporate comical punch lines into the dialogue, relying instead on the actors to provide comedy shtick.

The actors, including Goodin, play it straight. The first and only real laugh of the show comes 12 minutes into Act Two. That's a half-dozen appreciative chuckles spread over two-plus hours.

Two outstanding performances anchor the show, but not the ones you might expect. Goodin is adequate but unremarkable as Billie, leaving it to Harry and his weary lawyer Ed Devery, played with wrenching regret by Dick Hollands, as the odd couple in this dance of corruption.

In the play, Ed, a former assistant U.S. attorney general and author of an idealistic book on citizenship, has traded in his ideals for Harry's money, using alcohol to mask his pain and guilt. He's good at his job, opening doors in the halls of Congress for the brutish Harry and hiding Harry's fortune under Billie's name, unbeknownst to her.

Hollands plays it quietly, his countenance weary, in marked counterpoint to Slusher's bombast as Harry. Hollands peels back the lawyer's mask just enough for us to see his innate decency straining to be restored.

Slusher has a difficult challenge because Harry is a caricature of an unrefined, powerful man. In his portrayal, Slusher balances the man's cruelty with a rough outward charm that makes his burst of violence hit the audience hard. Slusher and Hollands show us the alpha and the omega of the abuse of power with their precise, powerful work.

As journalist-turned Henry Higgins, Smith is slick as Paul, a salesman's rictus substituting for charm. The relationship between Verrall and Goodin's toned-down Billie lacks sparks.

Without laughs or romantic heat, "Born Yesterday" is a routine cautionary tale.

"Born Yesterday" concludes this weekend at the Alden Theatre at the McLean Community Center, 1234 Ingleside Ave. Showtime is 8 p.m. tomorrow and Saturday. Tickets are available at the theater box office and Ticketmaster, 202-432-7328. For information, visithttp://www.mcleancommunityplayers.org.