Born Yesterday | |
---|---|
Written by | Garson Kanin |
Date premiered | February 4, 1946 |
Place premiered | Lyceum Theatre New York City |
Original language | English |
Genre | Comedy |
Setting | Washington, DC. September 1946. |
Born Yesterday is a play written by Garson Kanin which premiered on Broadway in 1946, starring Judy Holliday as Billie Dawn. The play was adapted into a successful 1950 film of the same name.
An uncouth, corrupt rich junk dealer, Harry Brock, brings his showgirl mistress Billie Dawn with him to Washington, D.C. When Billie's ignorance becomes a liability to Brock's business dealings, he hires a journalist, Paul Verrall, to educate his girlfriend. In the process of learning, Billie Dawn realizes how corrupt Harry is and begins interfering with his plans to bribe a Congressman into passing legislation that would allow Brock's business to make more money.
Born Yesterday opened on February 4, 1946 on Broadway at the Lyceum Theatre [1] and ran there until November 6, 1948; the play transferred to Henry Miller's Theatre on November 9, 1948 and closed on December 31, 1949, after a total of 1,642 performances. [2] As of 2019 [update] it was the seventh longest-running non-musical play in Broadway history. [3] Judy Holliday starred as Billie, with Paul Douglas as Harry Brock and Gary Merrill as Paul Verrall. Written and directed by Garson Kanin, the scenic design was by Donald Oenslager and costume design by Ruth Kanin. [4] Jean Arthur was originally cast in the role of Billie but quit during tryouts. [5]
For his performance as Harry Brock, Paul Douglas was awarded the 1946 Clarence Derwent Award for the most promising male performance. [6]
Judy Holliday appeared as Billie Dawn in over 1,200 performances. [7] Her replacements in the role included Jean Hagen and Jan Sterling.
A production staged at Princeton University's McCarter Theatre, directed by Herbert Kenwith and starring Shelley Winters as Billie Dawn and Judson Pratt as Harry Brock, debuted June 19, 1950 and was enthusiastically received by Daily Home News critic Jack Lewis, who notes that "Kenwith's direction is in no small way responsible for the success of the show. More notable, however, is his selection of Shelley Winters and Judson Pratt to play the key roles. And their handling of these assignments is what made 'Born Yesterday' a laugh-filled experience for last night's audience." [8] A brief tour of New England venues—necessarily limited by Winters' prior commitment [9] —ensued, to similarly glowing reviews. [10] [11]
A production mounted by the Negro Drama Group at Broadway's President Theatre, starring Edna Mae Robinson as Billie Dawn, Powell Lindsay as Harry Brock and Henry Scott as Paul Verrall, was given a full review in The New York Times on January 1, 1954, with the theatre critic (signature L. C.) mentioning that "...Mrs. Robinson is in private life the wife of Sugar Ray Robinson, the former welterweight and middleweight champion of the world" and that she "...is possessed of a natural flair for comedy. With some judicious direction she could go a long way toward achieving spectacular success in the theatre." [12] Although the production received positive reviews, it closed after five days. [13]
According to theatre scholar Jordan Schildcrout, the Watergate scandal brought renewed interest in Born Yesterday, with a surge of productions in the early 1970s starring Betty Grable, Sandy Dennis, Chita Rivera, and Karen Valentine at major regional theatres, as well as Lynn Redgrave in a London revival directed by Tom Stoppard. [14] The critic Michael Billington noted, "With the Watergate scandal coming to a head, the play suddenly seems as fresh and relevant as the day it was written." [15] Kanin himself later asserted, "When the play was written it was a fable, but after Watergate it became a documentary." [16]
The play was revived on Broadway in 1989. It opened at the 46th Street Theatre in previews on January 18, 1989, officially on January 29, 1989, [17] and closed on June 11, 1989 after 153 performances. [18] It was directed by Josephine R. Abady and starred Edward Asner and Madeline Kahn, [17] who received a Tony Award nomination for Best Actress in a Play. [19]
Source:New York Times [17]
The second Broadway revival opened at the Cort Theatre for previews 31 March 2011, performances began on April 24, 2011. The show closed on 26 June 2011 after 28 previews and 73 performances. Produced by Frankie Grande and directed by Doug Hughes, the play starred Jim Belushi as Harry Brock, Nina Arianda as Billie Dawn and Robert Sean Leonard as Paul Verrall. [20]
The 2011 revival was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play and Best Costume Design of a Play (Catherine Zuber). [21]
The 1950 film adaptation, made by Columbia Pictures with direction by George Cukor starred Judy Holliday and William Holden. [22] A 1993 remake directed by Luis Mandoki and released through Buena Vista Pictures, starred Melanie Griffith as Billie Dawn and updated the plot. [23]
Adam's Rib is a 1949 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by George Cukor from a screenplay written by Ruth Gordon and Garson Kanin. It stars Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn as married lawyers who come to oppose each other in court. Judy Holliday co-stars as the third lead in her second credited movie role. Also featured are Tom Ewell, David Wayne, and Jean Hagen. The music was composed by Miklós Rózsa, and the song "Farewell, Amanda" was written by Cole Porter.
Adolph Green was an American lyricist and playwright who, with long-time collaborator Betty Comden, penned the screenplays and songs for musicals on Broadway and in Hollywood. Although they were not a romantic couple, they shared a unique comic genius and sophisticated wit that enabled them to forge a six-decade-long partnership. They received numerous accolades including four Tony Awards and nominations for two Academy Awards and a Grammy Award. Green was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1980 and American Theatre Hall of Fame in 1981. Comden and Green received the Kennedy Center Honor in 1991.
Judy Holliday was an American actress, comedian and singer.
James Adam Belushi is an American actor. His television roles include the title role in According to Jim (2001–2009), Saturday Night Live (1983–1985), and Twin Peaks (2017).
Garson Kanin was an American writer and director of plays and films.
Paul Douglas Fleischer, known professionally as Paul Douglas, was an American actor.
Born Yesterday is a 1950 American comedy-drama film directed by George Cukor, based on the 1946 stage play of the same name by Garson Kanin. The screenplay was credited to Albert Mannheimer. According to Kanin's autobiography, Cukor did not like Mannheimer's work, believing it lacked much of the play's value, so he approached Kanin about adapting a screenplay from his own play. Because of legal entanglements, Kanin did not receive screen credit.
It Should Happen to You is a 1954 American romantic comedy film starring Judy Holliday, Peter Lawford and Jack Lemmon; it was Lemmon's first major film appearance. The film was directed by George Cukor, and partly filmed on location in New York City. Screenwriter Garson Kanin originally intended the script as a vehicle for Danny Kaye, but Kanin's wife, Ruth Gordon, suggested casting Judy Holliday instead. The title was initially A Name for Herself.
Daniel Hugh Kelly is an American stage, film and television actor. He is best known for his role on the 1980s ABC TV series Hardcastle and McCormick (1983–1986) as the ex-con Mark "Skid" McCormick, co-starring with actor Brian Keith.
Yolande Donlan was an American-born British-based actress who worked extensively in the United Kingdom.
Born Yesterday is a 1993 American comedy film based on Born Yesterday, a play by Garson Kanin. It stars Melanie Griffith, John Goodman and Don Johnson. It was adapted by Douglas McGrath and directed by Luis Mandoki.
Max Gordon was an American theater and film producer. His credits included My Sister Eileen, which he produced both on stage and on film.
The Diary of Anne Frank is a stage adaptation of the posthumously published 1947 book The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank. It premiered on Broadway at the Cort Theatre in 1955. Its script also primarily formed the basis of the Academy Award-winning 1959 film adaptation.
Fay Kanin was an American screenwriter, playwright and producer. Kanin was president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences from 1979 to 1983.
Phffft is a 1954 American comedy romance film starring Judy Holliday, Jack Lemmon, and Jack Carson and featuring Kim Novak in a supporting role. The picture was written by George Axelrod and directed by Mark Robson. It was the second film starring Holliday and Lemmon that year, after It Should Happen to You.
Harold Russell Scott Jr. was an American stage director, actor and educator, who broke racial barriers in American theatre. Scott first became known for his work as an electrifying stage actor with a piercing voice, and later as an innovative director of numerous productions throughout the country, from Broadway to the Tony Award-winning regional theatre, the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, where he was the first African-American artistic director in the history of American regional theatre.
William Hartwell Snyder, Jr. was an American playwright and a longtime faculty member of the theatre department at the University of Tennessee at Martin. He is best known for his play The Days and Nights of BeeBee Fenstermaker.
Nina Arianda Matijcio is an American actress. She won the 2012 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for her performance as Vanda Jordan in Venus in Fur, and she was nominated for the 2011 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for portraying Billie Dawn in Born Yesterday. She stars in Amazon Studios legal series Goliath and starred in the biographical film Stan & Ollie (2018) as Stan Laurel's wife Ida.
Born Yesterday is a 1956 TV film based on the play Born Yesterday by Garson Kanin for the Hallmark Hall of Fame. Kanin adapted and directed it. George Schaefer helped Kanin direct but was not credited.
Kenwith's direction is in no small way responsible for the success of the show. More notable, however, is his selection of Shelley Winters and Judson Pratt to play the key roles. And their handling of these assignements is what made 'Born Yesterday' a laugh-filled experience for last night's audience. [...] Judson Pratt handles the role of Harry Brock in a manner reminiscent of Paul Douglas, who used it as a springboard to bigger and better paying things.
Pratt opened last week in 'Born Yesterday' opposite Shelley Winters at Princeton, N. J. and will tour with the film star until she sails for Europe in the middle of July.
The role of the 'dumb blonde' who, in the final analysis, proves not so dumb after all, is an ideal one for Miss Winters and she makes the most of her opportunities, which are plentiful. Judson Pratt is outstanding as the rough and ready millionaire who thinks that all you need to get what you want in Washington is plenty of money and a lot of bluster.