Rehearsals are underway at CDC Theatre, 78 Winans Ave. in Cranford, for the opening show of the theatre’s 97th season, Born Yesterday by Garson Kanin. A Broadway triumph turned Academy Award nominated film, Born Yesterday is a deliciously witty screwball comedy about a corrupt businessman, Harry Brock, trying to get ahead in Washington. He hires a newspaperman, Paul Verall (played by Cranford resident Joe Leo) to tutor his brassy girlfriend, Billie Dawn, but gets more than he bargained for when he discovers a little bit of learning can be a dangerous thing.
Directed by Eric Walby, the cast is led by Joe Leo as Paul Verall, Julie Ann Nolan as Billie Dawn and Matt Lafargue as Harry Brock. Joel Redmount, seen on stage at CDC in last seasons Aladdin is Ed Devrey. The cast also features Barry Leonard and Maureen Muldoon as Senator and Mrs. Hedges, Susan Roberts as Helen, James Beckman as the Bellhop and Brittany Patterson as the Assistant Manager.
The director recently asked “Can a classic still be considered timely? This piece is about ruthless business’ purchasing politicians to further their own interests at the cost of the general public. It’s about the abused and powerless finding their voice through information and bravery. It’s about genius’ selling their souls through weakness and fear; because the themes of government corruption and the marginalization of women are just as relevant to a story line today as they were 70 years ago.”
Born Yesterday opens October 16 and runs through October 24. For tickets and more information visit www.cdctheatre.org. Funding has been made possible in part by the NJ State Council on the Arts, Dept. of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, through a grant administered by the Union County Office of Cultural & Heritage Affairs.
(above l-r) Matt Lafargue, Joel Redmount, Joe Leo and Julie Ann Nolan appearing in CDC Theatre’s Born Yesterday.
