Mt. SAC News Current

Photo by Bruno Hernandez,left to right: Arthur Santiago, Mike Johnson and Anthony Rutowicz

 
Sleeping, silent day dreaming and leaving the auditorium are some methods of escape preferable to viewing community theater because of amateur acting. However, as the cast of Garson Kanin’s “Born Yesterday” filled Mt. SAC’s Sophia B. Clarke theater stage, there was no need for altnernative escape. It was opening night, Friday, April 17, and the image on stage was real.

The action of the play began on the elegant, Washington D.C. hotel suite set, cast in shadows under dim, blue lights. 1940s music played, “The Heaven Hop” and a painting of Abraham Lincoln hung in the background of the tan two-story suite.

Act I began as the maid (Lily Lopez) conversed with the whimsical, ever-smiling Paul Verrall (Paul Flores) about how much she despised rich people. Verrall shared a similar conviction, as a reporter with passionate political views. Verrall’s contempt for governmental greed and corruption was introduced through his interview with the despicable self-made tycoon, Harry Brock (Mike Johnson).

Johnson’s portrayal of Brock was transparent in Act I. His peevish vocal inflections, head jerks and body spasms fit the play’s comedic prescriptions, but were not backed with enough gangster clout. Stealing the audience’s attention was Brock’s go- to man Eddie (Arthur Santiago). Santiago entered as Eddie with rosy cheeks, greasy slicked black hair and a smile and stance befitting of a gangster. His energetic presence radiated the stage: square shoulders, confidence and intriguing subtle mannerisms. His constant, silent animation as a minor character-fixing his black suit over blood red tie when his ego was challenged-was not enough. If he had more lines, it would have been wonderful.

Act I picked up thanks to an encounter between Verrall and Mr. Brock’s ditsy, blonde-haired girlfriend, Emma “Billie” Dawn (Casey Currie). Currie and Flores gave strong performances as an unlikely couple working to intellectualize the crass x-broadway performer Billie Dawn. Brock hires Verrall to educate his girlfriend because he thinks it will enhance her image and improve his reputation.

While some of the scenes between Senator Hedges (Hector Santiago) and Brock’s gangster clan in Act I were a bit boring, Acts II and III were fully engaging. In contrast to Act I, Johnson’s performance reached a powerful apex of believability as he conveyed Brock’s forceful anger and villainy in Act II through the end of the play.

As Dawn became educated to the corruption of the world through Verrall, the play’s theme was released. Brock’s Harvard educated lawyer, Jim Devery, was played by Anthony Rutowicz. Most of the cast were strong actors, but Rutowicz portrayed Devery in a unique natural manner, establishing a balance between the large physicality of theater and realism.

Billie addressed Devery’s envy of her boyfriend’s wealth, and the play’s anti-corruption theme struck through the audience members’ hearts. “I’m not so sure you’re better than him,” she said. “Maybe you’re worse.”

Act III hit the play’s climax as Brock’s shady business practices and immoral legislation influence were tackled fearlessly.

Mt. SAC’s “Born Yesterday” lacked big-name actors like Melanie Griffith and John Goodman of the 1993 film version, but it was in no way unsatisfying. Mt. SAC actors gave successful comedic performances through a humorous, entertaining script. Brock competitively asked his girlfriend, “Do you know what a Peninsula is?” Dawn tells Verrall, “You don’t love me. You just love my brain.”

Casey Currie’s debut as the bombshell “Billie” Dawn—high-pitched New York -style slang, high heeled toe taps and constant gum-chewing—was impressive. Rutowicz (Devery) left the audience with a lasting thought in the final line of the play. He was carrying a shot of hard liquor in a glass after performing a hilarious, realistic drunken scene minutes prior.

Anthony Rutowicz’s version of a drunken stupor and Eddie Brock’s (Arthur Santiago’s) infectious smile were worth seeing the show again.

-Wendy Rubick