{"id":14142,"date":"2017-06-02T10:49:03","date_gmt":"2017-06-02T17:49:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/?p=14142"},"modified":"2017-06-02T10:49:03","modified_gmt":"2017-06-02T17:49:03","slug":"born-yesterday-relevant-and-witty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/2017\/06\/02\/born-yesterday-relevant-and-witty\/","title":{"rendered":"Born Yesterday<\/em> relevant and witty"},"content":{"rendered":"

Garson Kanin\u2019s Born Yesterday<\/em> lives up to its name: while the language may remain of a certain era, its themes of corruption, integrity, and ignorance remain topical today.<\/p>\n

Following a blowhard crook attempting to pass legislation through a gutless congressman, the crook\u2019s mistress finds a greater sense of self through education. This timeless story also extends itself to the characters, although portrayed through a more archetypal lens. Jonathan Mason is the epitome of earnesty as journalist Paul Verrall, although his passion borders on preachy. Jacob Richmond\u2019s portrayal of slimy businessman Harry Brock is a model for any car salesman, yet he brings a smarminess worth remembering.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Kassiani Austen plays Emma \u201cBillie\u201d Dawn in Blue Bridge Theatre\u2019s adaptation of Born Yesterday<\/em> (photo provided).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But the focus remains on Kassianni Austin\u2019s performance as Billie Dawn. She goes through a seamless and commendable development from ditzy concubine to tack-sharp modern woman, all without losing her charm on the audience.<\/p>\n

But the play is not without a sense of chaos\u2014the rapid development in the opening scenes, especially listening to the jargon, caused some confusion, but there was clarity after some time and I was thoroughly invested. Kanin\u2019s writing remains sharp and crackling, and it keeps the audience chuckling.<\/p>\n

Dawn\u2019s twittery dancing to Cole Porter\u2019s \u201cAnything Goes\u201d during Brock\u2019s shady meetings is a delight. And the biggest laughs come when the scene is most tense, allowing the audience a chance for catharsis and reminding them that, however dark, this play is still a comedy. Just after a strangle, a mispronounced word is thrown in, and the audience roars.<\/p>\n

The opening night of Blue Bridge\u2019s Born Yesterday<\/em> went practically without fault. The actors\u2019 deliveries were stunning, with an excellent commitment to pumping up the blood vessels in Richmond\u2019s face, which lit up alongside the volume of his voice. The play also has excellent costuming by Graham McMonagle, who does a great job channelling the characters\u2019 nature. For example, the dull, spineless character of Tim Machin\u2019s Ed Devery is paired brilliantly with a dull green tie, pants, and jacket, reflecting his resigned nature. In direct opposition, Billie\u2019s growth is reflected through her increasingly empowered wardrobe.<\/p>\n

Similarly, the dramatic changes in set props\u2014courtesy of set designer Barbara Clerihue\u2014from drinks to books provide greater symbolism toward Dawn\u2019s own removal of ignorance.<\/p>\n

Overall, the production sparkles with a knowing grin; it\u2019s a story as worthy today as it was when it debuted.<\/p>\n

Born Yesterday
\n<\/em>Various times, until Sunday, June 11
\nVarious prices, Blue Bridge Theatre at the Roxy
\nbluebridgetheatre.ca<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Garson Kanin\u2019s Born Yesterday lives up to its name: while the language may remain of a certain era, its themes of corruption, integrity, and ignorance remain topical today. Following a blowhard crook attempting to pass legislation through a gutless congressman, the crook\u2019s mistress finds a greater sense of self through education. This timeless story also […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":14022,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14142","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-webexclusive"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14142","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14142"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14142\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14143,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14142\/revisions\/14143"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14022"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14142"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14142"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14142"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}