Very Witty! Remy Bumppo Theatre Presents Born Yesterday at Greenhouse Theatre (March 27, 2017)

If witty barbs delivered by a sharply dressed cast is your thing, Born Yesterday is for you. This absorbing play takes the audience to Washington, D.C. in the aftermath of World War II, where Harry Brock and his girlfriend Billie Dawn are moving up in the world, thanks to Harry’s shady business dealings.

But the audience soon learns that Billie isn’t satisfied with just being Harry’s girl and singing show tunes (e.g. “Anything Goes). She has a desire to expand her knowledge of the world and her place in it. They watch Billie transform from an idle, would-be socialite into a bespectacled revolutionary. She delves into book after book and scribbles newly learned facts in a tiny notebook (London is in England? Who knew?!).

She revels in her new knowledge of literature and history, and her transformation is delivered in a way that makes her funny and vulnerable. The play’s message is never heavy handed, even when Billie is debating exploding her own life to live a more moral one. Billie forces not only herself, but the people around her, to question their motives and the societal implications of their actions. Born Yesterday leaves the audience with more questions than answers, which seems to be the point.

Get tickets now for Born Yesterday through April 30th!

Jen Hubert