BORN YESTERDAY by Garson Kanin

 Pittsburgh Public Theater’s Education and Outreach programs are generously supported by BNY Mellon Foundation of Southwestern Pennsylvania. Additional funding for all youth education programs has been provided by The Grable Foundation and Dominion. Pittsburgh Public Theater Born Yesterday 2012‐2013 Season Page 1 Contents The Characters ................................................................................................................... 3 Synopsis ............................................................................................................................. 4 About the Playwright ......................................................................................................... 5 Born Yesterday: About the Play ......................................................................................... 8 The Junk Business ........................................................................................................ 10 Taxation .................................................................................................................... 11 War Profiteering ....................................................................................................... 11 Cartel ........................................................................................................................ 12 Political Journalism and Activism ................................................................................. 12 Who’s Who on Paul Verrall’s Bookshelf ....................................................................... 13 Pop Culture .................................................................................................................. 16 Meet the Cast .................................................................................................................. 19 Meet the Director ............................................................................................................ 24 Theater Etiquette ............................................................................................................ 25 Pennsylvania Academic Standards .................................................................................. 26 Pennsylvania Common Core Standards ........................................................................... 27 References ....................................................................................................................... 28 Pittsburgh Public Theater Born Yesterday 2012‐2013 Season Page 2 The Characters Harry Brock – early forties, has made a fortune from the junkyard business. He has come to Washington, D.C., to bribe a Congressman into passing a law that will make it easier for him to buy and sell battlefield scrap left in Europe from World War II. Billie Dawn – Harry Brock’s girlfriend accompanying him on his trip to Washington. She was once a chorus girl who performed in the musical Anything Goes. Although she is beautiful, she lacks education, and knows almost nothing about how the government works. Paul Verrall – young, idealistic, and intelligent journalist for The New Republic magazine. He is inquisitive and pulls no punches in his investigations into government corruption. Ed Devery – lawyer who manages Harry’s finances and shady business practices in exchange for an enormous paycheck. At one time, he was brilliant and competent, but now works solely for Harry. Senator Norval Hedges – meek, middle‐aged Congressman being paid off by Harry. He is timid and passive, allowing Harry to walk all over him in his quest to get rich off scrap. Mrs. Hedges – A typical politician’s wife who knows how to interact in Washington, D.C., society. Eddie Brock – Harry Brock’s cousin and personal assistant. Helen – hotel maid. The Assistant Manager A Bellhop Another Bellhop A Barber A Manicurist Pittsburgh Public Theater Born Yesterday 2012‐2013 Season Page 3 Synopsis Harry Brock, a wealthy and corrupt junk dealer, brings his girlfriend, the uneducated and rough‐around‐the‐edges showgirl Billie Dawn, to Washington, D.C. Harry has learned that there is a fortune waiting to be made from scrap metal left overseas from World War II. Not wanting to be bothered with paying tariffs when importing the metal back to America, Harry plans on engaging directly in business dealings with Congressman Norval Hedges while in Washington. During their stay in Washington, Harry realizes that Billie’s social ignorance might get in the way of his plans. He hires a journalist, Paul Verrall, to give Billie an education to make her more presentable among the Washington society. During her education, however, Billie comes to realize how corrupt Harry actually is and begins to interfere in Harry’s scheme to bribe Congressman Hedges into passing legislation that would help him make more money at the expense of the American people. United States Capitol Building
Pittsburgh Public Theater Born Yesterday 2012‐2013 Season Page 4 About the Playwright Courtesy of the Garson Kanin Official Website, www.garsonkanin.com Playwright Garson Kanin was a 20th Century Renaissance Man: a musician, burlesque comedian, actor, stage and film director, writer, and raconteur. He wrote plays, essays, screenplays, short stories, novels, memoirs, songs, and a libretto; and directed plays, musicals, documentaries and films. Born in 1912 in Rochester, New York, the young Kanin fell in love with show business when his father, a real estate developer, acquired a movie theater. Kanin used this opportunity to study the silent films – sometimes frame by frame, alone in the projection booth. He dropped out of high school during the Depression to work at Macy's as a stock clerk, and soon formed his own band, Gar Kay and the Red Peppers, featuring himself on clarinet. Although he was always self‐conscious about his lack of a high school diploma, his never‐ending curiosity and desire for improvement led him to befriend experts who could guide him. Among them were Justice Felix Frankfurter, W. Somerset Maugham, and Thornton Wilder. Kanin often said he went to "Wilder University," his tribute to the Pulitzer prize‐
winning playwright's influence on his education. Garson Kanin Photo by Eva Rubinstein, 1974 In 1936, at the age of 24, Garson Kanin directed his first Broadway play, Hitch Your Wagon. Word of his talent spread quickly and that same year he was recruited to become a production assistant with Samuel Goldwyn in Hollywood. After a year's internship, he moved to RKO Studios and directed his first feature film, 1938's A Man to Remember, written by Dalton Trumbo. At the time, Kanin was the youngest director in Hollywood. He directed seven more films at RKO, including Bachelor Mother and My Favorite Wife. During his last RKO project, a Ginger Rogers comedy called Tom, Dick, and Harry, Kanin was drafted into the U.S. Army's Film Unit. Pittsburgh Public Theater Born Yesterday 2012‐2013 Season Page 5 For the first few years he was stationed in Washington D.C. and directed training and patriotic films. He married stage and film actress Ruth Gordon in December, 1942. Months later, the military enlisted Kanin in the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), the precursor to the CIA, and sent him to the Supreme Headquarters of the Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF) in London. Kanin, with Carol Reed, co‐directed General Dwight D. Eisenhower's official record of the Allied Invasion, a documentary titled The True Glory. The documentary was named Best Film of 1945 by the National Board of Review and won the Academy Award for Best Documentary that year. Top‐
secret while in production, it covered the period from the preparations for D‐Day to the liberation of Paris. Ruth Gordon's success on Broadway in her play Over 21 made it possible for Kanin to stay at Claridge's instead of the barracks. At night, while Nazi bombs blitzed London, Kanin wrote a draft of Born Yesterday, still his most widely performed play. Born Yesterday opened on Broadway at the Lyceum Theater on February 4, 1946. Kanin directed the play, which catapulted the then‐unknown Judy Holliday to stardom. The hit comedy ran for four years (1,649 performances), still holding the record for longest‐running play at that theater. Also in 1946 Kanin directed Ruth Gordon's play Years Ago. Kanin co‐wrote four screenplays with Gordon, three of which – A Double Life (1948), Adam's Rib (1949) and Pat and Mike (1952) ‐ were nominated for Academy Awards for Best Original Screenplay. Kanin was exceptionally busy between 1949 and 1950. During those two years he wrote and directed three Broadway plays, The Smile of the World, The Rat Race, and The Live Wire; wrote the libretto for and directed Fledermaus at the Metropolitan Opera; and wrote the screenplay for Born Yesterday (although he never received credit for it). Throughout the 50's, Kanin wrote several screenplays, including It Should Happen to You, which starred Judy Holliday and Jack Lemmon. In 1955 he directed the Broadway Pittsburgh Public Theater Born Yesterday 2012‐2013 Season Page 6 and London premieres of The Diary of Anne Frank by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett. 1955 also marked his foray into fiction when his short story "A Day at a Time" was published in Good Housekeeping. Throughout the next four decades, Kanin published many short stories and six novels. He continued to write essays as well as five well‐received nonfiction books, including Remembering Mr. Maugham and Tracy and Hepburn: An Intimate Memoir. Kanin's commitment to theater continued throughout the 1960's. On Broadway, he directed the musical Do Re Mi, with music and lyrics by Jule Styne, Betty Comden and Adolph Green. He also directed Robert Redford in Norman Krasna's Sunday in New York and Henry Fonda in A Gift of Time. In 1964 he directed the young Barbra Streisand in her first starring role on the stage as Fanny Brice in Funny Girl. In 1985 he was inducted into The Theater Hall of Fame. That same year, his wife and partner of more than forty years, Ruth Gordon, died in Martha's Vineyard. During his last decade Kanin reaped the rewards of a successful artistic career. For many years he served on the Dramatists Guild Council, was Vice‐president of The Players Club, and president of The Authors League of America. Numerous organizations honored his life and career: he received the William Inge Lifetime Achievement Award (1987); the Writers Guild of America's Valentine Davies Award (1989); The Players' Edwin Booth Lifetime Achievement Award (1996); and the Mr. Abbott Award from the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers (1997). In 1990 Kanin married the actress Marian Seldes. He died in 1999 in New York City. Ruth Gordon Photo 1969 Pittsburgh Public Theater Marian Saldes Photo 2001 Born Yesterday 2012‐2013 Season Page 7 Born Yesterday: About the Play Premiering on Broadway in 1946, Garson Kanin’s Born Yesterday was an immediate success, running for 1,649 performances over four years at Broadway’s Lyceum Theatre, as well as being adapted into an Academy‐award winning film several years later. The play cemented Kanin’s place in American theater history, and has been widely performed across the country ever since, including a 2011 Broadway revival featuring Jim Belushi and earning a Tony Award nomination for Nina Arianda. While initially controversial for its scathing and unapologetic portrayal of corruption in Washington, D.C., Born Yesterday won over audiences with a combination of charming wit and memorable characters – in particular, the ditzy yet loveable Billie Dawn. When the United States entered World War II in 1941, Kanin was an up‐and‐coming director for RKO, a legendary Hollywood studio. That same year, he was drafted into the Army Signal Corps, and was eventually transferred to Washington to work for the Office of Strategic Services – the precursor to the CIA. While in the military, Kanin assisted with the production of propaganda films and war documentaries. He also had the opportunity to witness firsthand the influence that corporations and lobbyists had over the government, and was appalled by the widespread lies and swindles that occurred daily in our nation’s capital. It was these observations that led Kanin to compose the script that would become Born Yesterday. He had first planned to turn his experiences into a screenplay, but soon realized that no studio would want to produce such an inflammatory film; he decided that his story would serve its purpose better on the stage. After being transferred to London in 1944, Kanin found himself caught in the middle of the London blitz, a ceaseless German bombing campaign that devastated the city. Because of Kanin’s marriage to Ruth Gordon (a famous Broadway actress), he was able to live in a private hotel room instead of the army barracks, allowing him the freedom to revise his script over a period of nine sleepless nights amid the surrounding chaos. When the war finally ended, Kanin returned to America to direct his new play in Pittsburgh Public Theater Born Yesterday 2012‐2013 Season Page 8 New York, with a cast featuring the actress Judy Holliday – a performer who defined the role of Billie and would eventually portray her in the Hollywood adaptation. Although it was a huge success, Born Yesterday stood out among other works of its time for the way it contrasted typical attitudes toward American politics. After the Allied victory in 1945, the American public was infused with new feelings of optimism and patriotism. Having overcome both the Great Depression and World War II, Americans were more trusting of their government than ever before, and were willing to ignore the shady dealings that had become typical in the offices of politicians. Kanin’s play, on the other hand, exposed these corrupt practices, satirizing both lobbyists and the politicians who bent to their will. While audiences enjoyed laughing at Kanin’s clever take on Washington, others were not so amused. Kanin later became one of many artists investigated by Congress under suspicion of “un‐American” activities during the Red Scare of the 1950s. New World
February 5, 1948 Such accusations should not come as a surprise, considering how candidly Born Yesterday discussed corruption and underhanded political dealings. Kanin’s character Paul Verrall, an intrepid Washington journalist, seemed to aim his lessons on government toward the audience as much as toward Billie, his on‐stage pupil. But Kanin’s play was equally optimistic about the future as it was pessimistic about the time in which it was written. As Verrall himself said, “I want everybody to be smart. As smart as they can be. A world of ignorant people is too dangerous to live in.” Pittsburgh Public Theater Born Yesterday 2012‐2013 Season Page 9 The Junk Business As unlikely as it might sound, the scrap yard business can be highly lucrative. Even today, the buying and selling of scrap metal is a multi‐billion dollar industry, and one of the few U.S. industries maintaining profits during the current recession. Not only is the recycling of waste metal, both for export to other countries and for use here in America, an effective way for companies to save on production costs, but also is a benefit to the environment: certain metals like steel can be melted down and reused. During World War II, scrap metal became more important than ever before. Because of the need for vast quantities of metal in the production of new tanks, ships, airplanes, and guns, the necessity of collecting and reusing all available scrap, and the rationing of items such as fuel, oil, and rubber, was a vital part of the war effort. Among other various household items, families were encouraged to collect scrap metals such as copper and brass for use in bullets and artillery shells. Neighborhoods held large “scrap drives” during which dozens of people pooled together items to be shipped off to manufacturers. Steel and iron recycling became especially important, with certain campaigns collecting millions of tons of each. Celebrities helped promote these efforts, such as Bing Crosby, who even wrote a song entitled “Junk Will Win the War.” Although it remains questionable how much material collected from these home scrap drives was actually implemented in production of armaments, there is no question that on the whole, industrial scrap was necessary to kick‐start the war effort. By the time the war had finished, the U.S. had produced over 85,000 new ships, 80,000 tanks, and nearly 300,000 aircraft, as well as millions of guns and billions of rounds of ammunition. After the end of the war, the battlefields of Europe and the Pacific islands were littered with countless tons of destroyed or abandoned vehicles and weaponry – no longer useful for waging war, but once again, useful for the scrap business. The opportunity for Pittsburgh Public Theater Born Yesterday 2012‐2013 Season Page 10 wealth presented by the reclamation of wartime scrap was incredible – there were tons of it out there, and little idea of who any of it actually belonged to. In Born Yesterday, Harry Brock is one of these hopeful opportunists looking to buy out European scrap companies, import scrap from Europe at a low price, and turn it into big bucks back in the U.S. Taxation War Excess Profits Tax Published 1918 Unfortunately for him, and other real‐life prospectors who sought to get rich quick, there were a mound of taxes and regulations in the way. The first obstacle was an Excess Profits Tax, a wartime tax levied on U.S. businessmen that prevented them from earning more than a certain amount of money from industries related to the war effort. The second, and more important, were two “anti‐trust” laws: the Sherman Act of 1890, and the Clayton Act of 1914. These laws were designed to prevent monopolies – companies who control the majority of the industry in which they do business. In Born Yesterday, Harry Brock’s desire to buy numerous scrap businesses in Europe would give him a monopoly over the buying and selling of scrap throughout the continent, an illegal practice. If Brock wanted to complete his business plan, he would need to remove such regulations; this is why having Senator Hedges on his side is so important. War Profiteering Brock’s plan to make money off the aftermath of World War II – besides being illegal – would also have been viewed negatively by the public as an attempt at “war profiteering.” Since the advent of mass production techniques, businesses involved with the production of weapons, vehicles, and supplies for battle have often seen widespread conflict as an opportunity to make quick cash. In the First World War, the Canadian army was plagued with malfunctioning rifles and shoddy boots, manufactured by an industrialist seeking to cut costs and increase production. More recently, companies such as the oil giant Halliburton have been accused of using the Middle East conflicts as a means to generate excessive profits. While not all forms of war Pittsburgh Public Theater Born Yesterday 2012‐2013 Season Page 11 profiteering are illegal, such as Brock’s fictional monopoly, they are generally perceived negatively and considered to be unethical. Born Yesterday is one of many World War II‐era works of literature to deal with the subject of profiteering, with others including Joseph Heller’s novel Catch‐22, and Arthur Miller’s play All My Sons. Catch‐22
Joseph Heller, 1961
Cartel A cartel is a combination of independent commercial or industrial enterprises designed to limit competition or fix prices. When Billie accuses Harry of trying to form a cartel, she is referring to his plan to buy up scrap companies in Europe in order to better control the buying and selling of leftover wartime junk. As opposed to a monopoly, where one company controls the manufacture and All My Sons
Arthur Miller, 1947
sales of a certain product to prevent competition, cartels form from separate similar companies who agree to stay independent but limit competition between each other by setting similar (and usually higher) prices for goods or services. Political Journalism and Activism While the intrepid journalist Paul Verrall is a fictional personality, his exploits parallel those of events and changing trends in journalistic practices from the early 20th century. Investigative journalism is a common occurrence in today’s world, but was still a fairly recent and somewhat controversial invention in the 1940s. As industrial technology was booming in the late 19th century, society was becoming increasingly industrialized. Skilled craftsmen were being replaced by assembly lines and cheap manual labor, and local shops were supplanted by large corporations that could turn out food products, clothing, and other items at a much faster rate. Cities became increasingly crowded, profits of big businesses grew, and conditions for America’s working class worsened. Laborers lived in squalid tenements and even their children were forced to work 12‐hour days in dangerous conditions. Lacking regulation and Pittsburgh Public Theater Born Yesterday 2012‐2013 Season Page 12 oversight, companies had free reign over the way they conducted business, mistreating their workers and cutting costs however they could – often to the benefit of the business owners and government officials alike. Journalists investigated and exposed such poor working conditions and government corruptions by taking advantage of new communications technology, which diminished the cost of printing and distributing newspapers to more people than ever before. Who’s Who on Paul Verrall’s Bookshelf Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. (1841‐1935) – Justice of the United States Supreme Court, known as the “Great Dissenter” for his philosophy of judicial restraint. He was born in Boston and was the first child of famed writer and physician Oliver Wendell Holmes. After graduating from Harvard Law School and serving in the Massachusetts Supreme Court, Holmes was appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1902 by Theodore Roosevelt. He was the first to put a solid definition on the limits of free speech, stating that words putting others into “clear and present danger” should be considered illegal. A strong advocate of free thought and enterprise, Holmes did not believe it was the Supreme Court’s job to write new legislation, preferring to act as a guardian of constitutional values rather than a lawmaker. He served on the Court until the age of 91, making him the oldest actively serving Supreme Court justice in U.S. history. Fanny Dixwell Holmes (1840‐1929) – the wife of Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., married in 1872. She was the daughter of Oliver’s former schoolmaster and had maintained a longtime friendship with him prior to their marriage. She is best known for her famous quote (also included in the play): “Washington is full of famous men and the women they married when they were young.” Robert G. Ingersoll (1833‐1899) – a passionate, well‐known orator and political speechmaker best known for his cross‐country speaking tours. He began his career as a successful attorney, but earned national recognition for his speeches, in which he would discuss literature, science, philosophy, and more. He was an early supporter of rights for both African Americans and women, and an advocate of the theories of Charles Darwin. Despite his controversial views, Ingersoll maintained a quiet, wholesome life with his Pittsburgh Public Theater Born Yesterday 2012‐2013 Season Page 13 family – often praising the importance of family values in his speeches – giving his opponents little ammunition with which to discredit him. Brilliant as he was, Ingersoll received little formal education; he taught himself through reading extensively, and learned to be a lawyer through apprenticeship. Although he often supported politicians on their campaigns, including numerous presidential candidates, he was never appointed or elected to a public office due to his opinions, which were viewed as too inflammatory. Alexander Pope (1688‐1744) – an English poet and satirist, best known for his “Essay on Man” and the poem “The Rape of the Lock”. Born in London to a Roman Catholic family, his father was forced to move to the country amidst growing anti‐Catholic sentiment in the city. Pope was afflicted with a bone deformity in his childhood that left him with a humped back and severe respiratory difficulties. Despite his disability, Pope became a prolific writer, composing epic poems, translating Greek literature, and even – much to the dismay of many scholars – edited and rewrote some of Shakespeare’s works. His vicious satire earned him many enemies, and he would often mock his critics directly in his works. After his death, his legacy waned until the early 20th century, when he was “rediscovered” and the quality of his works recognized for their literary brilliance. Jane Addams (1860‐1935) – a Nobel Peace Prize‐winning activist and social worker, who helped create Chicago’s first neighborhood center – also one of the first in the United States. After graduating from college, she planned on attending medical school, however, she was unable to complete it due to bad health. She traveled to Europe to study on two occasions, and was inspired by a visit to London in which she visited a settlement house in London’s East End. Realizing that a center which provided help to underprivileged persons could be useful back in Chicago, she returned to the city, and with the help of her friend Ellen Starr rented and began a community center at Hull‐House (a home built by the wealthy Charles Hull). Her facility became a bustling hub of activity, eventually housing a kindergarten class, club meetings, night school, art gallery, kitchen, coffee house, gym, pool, book bindery, art studio, music school, drama group, library, employment center, Pittsburgh Public Theater Born Yesterday 2012‐2013 Season Page 14 and museum. Her efforts led to an appointment on Chicago’s Board of Education, and further public responsibilities, including investigations into quality of citizens’ lives and criminal activities in her neighborhood. She was a feminist and an advocate of women’s suffrage, and strongly opposed America’s entry into World War I. In 1910, she was the first woman to receive an honorary degree from Yale, and in 1931, received a Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts to deliver food supplies to women and children of enemy nations during the First World War. Thomas Paine (1737‐1809) – a British‐born journalist and writer who is now considered one of the founding fathers of the United States. At a young age, Paine failed out of school and began to work as a corseter for his father – only to have little success once again. After a brief adventure at sea, he found himself working as a tax officer back in England. In 1774, Paine met Benjamin Franklin by chance while in London, who helped him immigrate to Philadelphia. Once in the colonies, he became a journalist, publishing “Common Sense,” a written defense of American independence from England, in 1776. From 1776 until the end of the American Revolution in 1783, he published “The Crisis,” a pamphlet inspiring both soldiers and their families. When the revolution had finished, Paine went back to England, where he published “The Rights of Man” from 1791‐1792, pamphlets in support of the French Revolution. Under threat of arrest from English authorities, he fled to France, where he was imprisoned a year later for opposing the execution of King Louis XVI. During his imprisonment, he wrote a series entitled The Age of Reason, which promoted the abandonment of ancient religious texts and advocated for a new era of scientific progress. After being freed from prison with the help of the future president James Monroe, he gained widespread derision for his latest writing, and returned to America in 1802. There, he discovered that his rejection of Christianity had caused his contributions to the American Revolution to be widely ignored. In the face of public outrage and abandonment by old friends, Paine faded away into poverty and alcoholism, dying in New York City in 1809. Pittsburgh Public Theater Born Yesterday 2012‐2013 Season Page 15 Pop Culture The New Republic – a long‐standing weekly political journal based in Washington, D.C.. Founded in 1914, the magazine promoted progressive ideas and used its close proximity to Congress, the White House, and the Supreme Court to its advantage, reporting on new policies and other current events immediately after they occurred. While primarily a news outlet, The New Republic also had numerous editorials, which in the magazine’s early days encouraged American intervention in World War I and supported the Russian Revolution, among other things. Within a year of its first issue, it had nearly 15,000 weekly readers. Today, the journal is still published twice a month and has around 50,000 subscribers. National Gallery of Art – an art museum located in Washington, D.C., housing an impressive collection of paintings, sculptures, and other artworks from around the world. The idea for the gallery came from wealthy industrialist and Pittsburgh native Andrew Mellon, who began collecting art throughout the 1920s with the purpose of creating a large public gallery in our nation’s capital. In 1937, Congress accepted Mellon’s enormous gift of artwork, and approved the construction of a national gallery. Following the museum’s completion in 1941, numerous other private art collectors followed Mellon’s example and donated works to the gallery, expanding its collection greatly. A combination of private donations and support and federal funding has allowed the museum to continue expansion to the present day; as a result, the gallery is free to visit. In addition to storing and displaying artworks, the gallery also does restoration work and educational programs. Brentano’s – one of the oldest book store chains in the United States, Brentano’s Books was founded in New York City in 1858 by August Brentano, an Austrian immigrant. The store quickly grew into Brentano’s Book Emporium, founded in 1870, and this Fifth Avenue location exploded into the largest book store in the city. At its height, Brentano’s in New York had a selection of over 250,000 volumes, and as the franchise expanded to other cities, became nationally recognized for its atmosphere and quality of service. The Brentano’s which Paul Verrall recommends that Billie visit in Washington, D.C., would have been very similar to the New York location, and was probably selected Pittsburgh Public Theater Born Yesterday 2012‐2013 Season Page 16 by Verrall due to the huge selection of books available at the store that wouldn’t have been available anywhere else. Anything Goes – a Broadway musical first produced in 1934 at the Alvin Theatre. The musical’s book was written by Guy Bolton, P.G. Wodehouse, Howard Lindsay, and Russell Crouse, with lyrics and music composed by Cole Porter. The story takes place on the S.S. American, an ocean liner bound for Southampton from New York City, and mainly follows a stock broker who has stowed away on the boat to pursue a rich heiress he has fallen in love with after sharing a taxi with her. The original production ran for 420 performances and has had numerous revivals; it is especially popular among high schools and local theatre groups, and was most recently produced on Broadway in 2011. David Copperfield – an 1849 novel by British author Charles Dickens, inspired by his early childhood as a member of the working class during the Industrial Revolution. The story is told from the point of the title character, who is recalling the events of his life to the reader. Young David comes from a poor family in London, with an abusive step‐father and little prospects for a happy future. As the story progresses, David works in a bottling factory, manages to graduate from boarding school, becomes a lawyer, starts a family, and rises through society to eventually become an author. In the modern era, the novel is viewed as a vivid depiction of the social change that took place in Britain during the mid 1800s. The Industrial Revolution brought new technologies to the masses, but a wide gap between the rich and poor remained, and workers were often exploited and forced to start working at a very young age, in dangerous and dirty conditions; the story of David Copperfield and the misery of his early childhood would have been a commonplace occurrence in Dickens’ day. Amos ‘n Andy – a highly controversial yet popular radio and television program that had a run of nearly thirty years, from 1928 until 1953. The show began as a radio program featuring two white comedians portraying a pair of African Americans, the older Amos and his younger associate Andy. This first incarnation used exaggerated and often offensive characteristics of African American speech and culture, but became a Pittsburgh Public Theater Born Yesterday 2012‐2013 Season Page 17 nationwide success. In 1951, CBS began a television series based on the characters. It had the unique aspect of being both groundbreaking and notorious at the same time; on a positive note, the show featured an all‐African American cast, the first television show to do so. On the other hand, the series continued its use of outdated stereotypes as a source of humor, and was heavily protested by activist groups such as the NAACP. In 1953, the show was reluctantly cancelled by CBS, due to accusations of racism from the black community, and the unpopularity of the show in the South due to its all‐black cast. Gin Rummy – a variation of the card game Rummy, played between two people. The game involves the drawing and discarding of cards in an attempt to form “runs” (three or more cards of consecutive numbers in the same suit) or “sets” (three or more cards of the same number with different suits). The first player to form all ten cards in their hand into sets or runs wins, and receives a score of zero; the losing player then totals the face values of the cards left in their hand (face cards are worth ten points), and a new hand is dealt. Try it out! See the Gin Rummy page on howstuffworks.com http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/how‐to‐play‐gin‐rummy.htm Teapot Dome Scandal – one of the worst political scandals in American history, during the administration of President Warren G. Harding. When Harding was elected, he invited many personal friends and campaign supporters to serve on his cabinet, giving them a great deal of authority and little supervision. One of these men, Albert Fall, was appointed as the Secretary of the Interior. In 1921, Harding transferred control of the naval oil reserves to Fall’s department; shortly thereafter, Fall leased the Teapot Dome oil reserve (located in Wyoming) to the private Mammoth Oil Company, in exchange for gifts and a great deal of cash. He continued to lease other reserves out to various companies over the course of the year, illegally earning himself over $400,000. The next year, when the Wall Street Journal published its suspicions about Fall’s dealings with oil companies, a Senate investigation uncovered the affair in its entirety, fining Fall and sending him to prison. While President Harding was never implicated directly, his administration never recovered from the scandal. Upon his death in 1923, Harding’s successor, Calvin Coolidge, completely replaced the members of his cabinet. Pittsburgh Public Theater Born Yesterday 2012‐2013 Season Page 18 Meet the Cast KEN BOLDEN* (Assistant Manager) is very pleased to be back at The Public where previously he appeared in The Comedy of Errors (Angelo), Amadeus (Valet), and The Odd Couple (Vinnie). He has worked nationally and internationally, most notably as an artistic associate with Virginia Stage Company and as a member of London’s New Vic Theatre. Currently, he is a teaching artist at the University of Pittsburgh where he has appeared in As You Like It (Jacques), Lovers & Fighters (Ken), and The Gammage Project (Attorney Krastek). Recently he played Dr. Miranda in Death and the Maiden for Off the Wall Theater. Film: Sorority Row (Dr. Rosenberg); TV: “Supah Ninjas” (Vice Principal). NIK DUGGAN (Bellhop) is thrilled to be making his debut at Pittsburgh Public Theater. His credits include the world premiere of A Child’s Guide to Heresy at the Pittsburgh Playhouse, originating the role of Satan Boy. He has appeared in many shows around the San Francisco Bay area including The Fantasticks (Matt), To Kill a Mockingbird (Jem). TV credits include spots in “Nickelodeon’s Addicting Games Showdown,” a commercial for “Mario and Sonic at the Winter Olympic Games,” a promo for the Sony Move controller, and a promo for the Sony Move video game entitled “Everybody Dance.” JAMES FITZGERALD* (Barber) is most happy to return to The Public after appearing in The Royal Family and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Other Pittsburgh appearances include nine productions for Pittsburgh Irish & Classical Theatre, Quantum Theatre, and Bricolage. James has performed 16 seasons with Chicago Shakespeare Theater and made numerous appearances at Marriot’s Lincolnshire Theater, as well as Chicago’s Second City, ETC., The Royal George, Apple Tree, among many other Chicagoland theaters. Regionally he has performed at Baltimore Shakespeare Festival, Cape May Stage, NJ, Milwaukee Rep, the Nebraska Shakespeare Festival, North Carolina Shakespeare Festival, and was a member of the Off Broadway Company of Rose Rage directed by Edward Hall. James is also the Pittsburgh Public Theater Born Yesterday 2012‐2013 Season Page 19 recipient of two Joseph Jefferson Awards (Best Supporting Actor), a Jeff Citation (Best Actor), and Chicago’s After Dark™ Award as the author of (Best New Work) Two for the Show. He was cited by the Pittsburgh Post‐Gazette’s “Best of Pittsburgh 2011” for his work. James recently completed filming Progression and The Mercury Men. JILL KEATING* (Mrs. Hedges) graduated from Point Park University and danced with Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre. Frustrated at not being able to sing during the four acts of “Swan Lake,” she moved to New York City to pursue musical theater. National Tour: Big River (Michael Greif, director). NYC: When the Cookie Crumbles… (Promenade, Jay Harnick, director), Reservations For Three (Playwrights Horizons). Regional: Nickel and Dimed (GEVA). Favorite Roles: Roxie (Chicago), Winnifred (Once Upon a Mattress), Shirley (Shirley Valentine), Miss Hannigan (Annie). Proudest Achievements: her 37‐year marriage to John and her daughter, Joni, a junior at Pitt. Jill is honored to be making her debut at The Public. TED KŌCH* (Harry Brock) is thrilled to be back at Pittsburgh Public where he has been seen in God of Carnage and Broadway. Broadway credits include Death of a Salesman, The Pillowman, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, and Elling. National tours include Frost/Nixon and Death of a Salesman. Off‐Broadway and Regional credits include: Strange Interlude (Shakespeare Theatre Company), Meshugah (Naked Angels), Chaos Theories (Shotgun Productions), The Front Page and Sweet Bird of Youth (Williamstown Theatre Festival), True West (Arena Stage, Helen Hayes nomination for Best Actor), A Streetcar Named Desire (Buffalo Studio Arena), Whisper House, Pig Farm, Sea of Tranquility (The Old Globe Theatre). Television credits include: “Made in Jersey,” “The Good Wife,” “Pan Am,” “Gossip Girl,” “Cashmere Mafia,” “The Sopranos,” “The West Wing,” “Law & Order,” “Ed.” Films include: Cold Souls, Hannibal, Griffin and Phoenix, Love to Leenya, Autumn in New York, Dinner Rush. Pittsburgh Public Theater Born Yesterday 2012‐2013 Season Page 20 DANIEL KRELL* (Paul Verrall) is happy as always to be back at The Public where this production marks his 19th appearance. Some favorite Public credits include As You Like It, Circle Mirror Transformation, A Moon for the Misbegotten, Metamorphoses, Amadeus, Cabaret, Oedipus the King, Much Ado About Nothing, and Sweeney Todd. Dan has acted in major roles in the area’s professional theaters such as City Theatre, Pittsburgh CLO, Quantum, Bricolage, Pittsburgh Irish & Classical, and The Rep to name a few, and in regional theaters such as Clarence Brown Theatre and Gateway Playhouse among others. For three years Dan was a member of PlayMakers Repertory Company (NC) and is a veteran of many films, commercials, industrials, and voice‐overs. BRANDON LAMBERT (Bellhop) is thrilled to be making his Pittsburgh Public Theater debut in Born Yesterday. Brandon is a Senior Musical Theatre Major at Point Park University, and was last seen onstage in Pittsburgh Musical Theater’s Legally Blonde and in Point Park’s Illyria. Additionally, he won last year’s Pittsburgh Concert Society Young Artist Competition and is a proud recipient of the Mary Catherine Dykhouse voice scholarship. AMY LANDIS* (Helen) is delighted to return to Pittsburgh Public Theater having appeared in last season’s Electra. Past productions at The Public: The Bird Sanctuary and The Comedy of Errors. Off‐
Broadway: Playing With Fire (Lincoln Center Salon); The Classic (New York Playwright’s Lab); Waiter, Waiter (Ohio Theatre). American Repertory Theatre: The Cherry Orchard, Hot‐N‐Throbbing (world premiere); Meadow Brook Theatre: The Glass Menagerie; Fulton Opera House: Pride and Prejudice, Mother Hicks; Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theatre: Oleanna; Seven Angels Theatre: Scotland Road; Centenary Stage Company: The Innocents, Scotland Road; Gretna Playhouse: Noises‐Off, Rumors; Actor’s Company of Pennsylvania: The Two Gentlemen of Verona; Bricolage: Hunter Gatherers (Top Ten Plays/Post‐Gazette); Pittsburgh Irish & Classical Theatre: Racing Demon; Pittsburgh Public Theater Born Yesterday 2012‐2013 Season Page 21 Quantum Theatre: Anna Karenina, A Midsummer Night’s Dream; Pittsburgh Playhouse REP: The Queens (Best Performances/Post‐Gazette), Death of a Salesman (directed by Robert A. Miller). Film/TV: Adventureland (Miramax), “Saturday Night Live,” “As the World Turns.” Training: American Repertory Theatre Institute at Harvard University. MICHAEL McKENZIE* (Ed Devery) has appeared at Pittsburgh Public Theater as Horace in The Little Foxes, Creon in Oedipus the King, Don Pedro in Much Ado About Nothing, Sebastian in The Tempest. Broadway: Waiting in the Wings, The Man Who Came to Dinner, Eastern Standard. Tour: The Acting Company. Off‐Broadway: Kari Floren’s Voices of Swords, If Wishes Were Horses, A Late Supper. Regional: Denver Center, Baltimore CenterStage, Hartford Stage, Pioneer Theater, Portland Stage, Connecticut Repertory, Capital Repertory, Olney Theater. Film and Television: “House of Cards,” “Law & Order,” “Kidnapped,” “Hack,” “Chicago Hope,” “One Life to Live,” The Boy Who Cried Bitch, and many episodes of “Babylon 5.” KAREN MERRITT (Manicurist) is thrilled to return to Pittsburgh Public Theater where she appeared as Miss Peake in The Royal Family. Favorite theatrical credits include: Romeo and Juliet, Our Town, The Music Lesson, and A Wrinkle in Time (Prime Stage); Shadowlands, Anne of Green Gables, You Can’t Take It With You, and Murder in the Cathedral (Saltworks Theatre); The Three Sisters, The Winter’s Tale, Shrew!, and The Comedy of Errors (Unseam’d Shakespeare); Steel Magnolias (Pennsylvania Centre Stage). Training: BA in Theatre Arts from Penn State University and MFA in Acting from Carnegie Mellon University and the Moscow Art Theatre School. LARRY JOHN MEYERS* (Senator Norval Hedges) most recently performed at Pittsburgh Public Theater in The Royal Family (2010), Harry’s Friendly Service (2009), Amadeus (2008), and Gem of the Ocean (2006). Other productions this year include: The Pitmen Painters, Three Sisters, and The Evils of Tobacco for Pittsburgh Irish Pittsburgh Public Theater Born Yesterday 2012‐2013 Season Page 22 & Classical Theatre; The Gammage Project, a Pittsburgh Playwrights/Pitt Rep joint production; and M.I.A for the Point Park Playhouse REP. Larry is currently developing the plays A Waver of Love, 1908, adapted from the letters of Lillian Steichen and Carl Sandburg, and Towing the Line for Red Wing Forge. MELISSA MILLER* (Billie Dawn) is thrilled to be making her Pittsburgh Public debut in Born Yesterday. Earlier this year Melissa was seen in My Name is Asher Lev at the Long Wharf Theatre, directed by Gordon Edelstein. Last year she appeared opposite F. Murray Abraham in The Merchant of Venice (Theater for a New Audience, directed by Darko Tresnjak). Other recent credits include: premiere of Jason Grote’s Civilization (Clubbed Thumb); The Tenant (Woodshed Collective); I Never Sang for My Father (Keen Company), Richard III (New York Classical). She made her Broadway debut in Tartuffe (Roundabout Theatre). Regional work/workshops at: Hartford Stage, Alley Theater, Premiere Stages, Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, Williamstown, Chester Theater. Television: “Ed,” “All My Children,” and “An American Experience” on PBS. Vassar College (Phi Beta Kappa), Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (Certificate). www.melissamiller.org. JOHN SHEPARD* (Eddie Brock) is delighted to be back at The Public where he was seen in The Little Foxes and Mary Stuart directed by Ted Pappas and Circle Mirror Transformation directed by Jesse Burger. John just directed the recent August: Osage County at The REP where he has acted in many productions including Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman (Pittsburgh Post‐Gazette’s Performer of the Year). John recently created Reed in The Electric Baby for Quantum, where he has worked many times. He has also appeared locally at City Theatre and Pittsburgh Irish & Classical Theatre. John has appeared on Broadway, Off‐Broadway, and at many of the country’s finest regional theatres. Please visit www.johnshepard.info. Pittsburgh Public Theater Born Yesterday 2012‐2013 Season Page 23 Meet the Director TED PAPPAS celebrates his 13th season as Producing Artistic Director of Pittsburgh Public Theater and his 20th year of close association with the company as a director. He has staged more than 40 productions for The Public, including the works of Euripides, Shakespeare, Schiller, Wilde, Gilbert & Sullivan, and Sondheim. Some highlights include Sophocles’ Electra, Shakespeare’s As You Like It, Kaufman & Ferber’s The Royal Family, Peter Shaffer’s Amadeus, Mary Zimmerman’s Metamorphoses, Kander & Ebb’s Cabaret, the American premiere of Alan Ayckbourn’s RolePlay, and the world premiere of Rob Zellers & Gene Collier’s The Chief, which played The O’Reilly for seven seasons and was filmed. His career began in New York City where he worked at Playwrights Horizons, Joseph Papp’s Public Theater, John Houseman’s The Acting Company, New York City Opera under the leadership of Beverly Sills, and shows on and off Broadway. His regional credits are numerous and varied and include productions for Williamstown Theatre Festival, Arena Stage in Washington DC, the Kennedy Center, the Canadian Opera Company, Toronto’s Royal Alexandra, and Goodspeed Musicals. He staged a hip‐
hop concert hosted by Harry Belafonte which galvanized the Cannes Film Festival, directed a Las Vegas extravaganza for impresario Steve Wynn, and served as choreographer for NBC’s legendary series “Saturday Night Live.” He studied Shakespeare with Samuel Schoenbaum and modern drama with Eric Bentley, and holds degrees from Northwestern University and Manhattan’s Hunter College. He is a past president of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, the national labor union. Pittsburgh Public Theater Born Yesterday 2012‐2013 Season Page 24 Theater Etiquette Things to remember when attending the theater When you visit the theater you are attending a live performance with actors that are working right in front of you. This is an exciting experience for you and the actor. However, in order to have the best performance for both the audience and actors there are some simple rules to follow. By following these rules, you can ensure that you can be the best audience member you can be, as well as keep the actors focused on giving their best performance. 1. Turn off all cell phones, beepers, watches etc. 2. Absolutely no text messaging during the performance. 3. Do not take pictures during the performance. 4. Do not eat or drink in the theater. 5. Do not place things on the stage or walk on the stage. 6. Do not leave your seat during the performance unless it is an emergency. If you do need to leave for an emergency, leave as quietly as possible and know that you might not be able to get back in until after intermission. 7. Do clap—let the actors know you are enjoying yourself. 8. Do enjoy the show and have fun watching the actors. 9. Do tell other people about your experience and be sure to ask questions and discuss the performance. Pittsburgh Public Theater Born Yesterday 2012‐2013 Season Page 25 Pennsylvania Academic Standards Reading, Writing, Speaking, and Listening 1.2 – Students read, understand, and respond to essential content in a variety of informational texts and documents. 1.3 – Students analyze the characteristics and effectiveness of the play, the use of literary elements, and the use of literary devices. 1.4 – Students compose dramatic scenes where they work to construct dialogue, develop character, and outline plot. 1.6 – Students listen critically; respond with appropriate questions, ideas, information, or opinions; and demonstrate awareness of audience using appropriate volume and clarity in speaking presentations. 1.9 – Students analyze the techniques of media messages to evaluate how they influence society. Civics and Government 5.1 – Students apply examples of the rule of law as related to individual rights and the common good, and will analyze the principles and ideals that shape the United States government. 5.2 – Students analyze citizens’ rights and responsibilities, and analyze citizens’ roles in the political process toward the attainment of goals for individual and public good. 5.3 – Students explain how government agencies create, amend, and enforce policies in governments, and analyze the influence of interest groups in the political process. Economics 6.5 – Students define wealth, and analyze how risks influence business decision‐making. Geography 7.3 – Students explain the human characteristics of places and regions according to population, culture, settlement, economic activities, and political activities. History 8.1 – Students compare the interpretation of historical events and sources, considering the use of fact versus opinion, multiple perspectives, and cause and effect relationships. 8.3 – Students compare the role groups and individuals played in the societal, political, and economic development of the U.S., and interpret how conflict and cooperation among groups and organizations have impacted the growth and development of the U.S. Pittsburgh Public Theater Born Yesterday 2012‐2013 Season Page 26 Arts and Humanities 9.1 – Students know and recognize elements and principles of the theatre art form; identify and use comprehensive vocabulary within the theatre art form; communicate a unifying theme or point of view through the theatre production; explain the function and benefits of rehearsal and practice sessions; and know where arts events, performances, and exhibitions occur and how to gain admission. 9.2 – Students explain the historical, cultural, and social context of a work of art; analyze a work of art from its historical and cultural perspectives; and know and apply appropriate vocabulary used between social studies and the arts and humanities. 9.3 – Students evaluate works in the arts and humanities using a complex vocabulary of critical response. Career Awareness and Preparation 13.1 – Relate careers to individual and personal interests, abilities, and aptitudes. 13.4 – Identify and describe the basic components of a business plan. Pennsylvania Common Core Standards On July 1, 2010, the Pennsylvania State Board of Education adopted the Common Core State Standards in English language arts and mathematics. The regulations pertaining to these standards took effect upon their publication in the October 16, 2010 edition of the Pennsylvania Bulletin. The transition to Common Core will begin during the 2010‐2011 school year, with full implementation by July 1, 2013. English Language Arts CC.1.3 – Reading Literature: Students read and respond to works of literature – with an emphasis on comprehension, making connections among ideas and between texts with a focus on textual evidence. CC.1.5 – Speaking and Listening: Students present appropriately in formal speaking situations, listen critically, and respond intelligently as individuals or in group discussions. http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/current_initiatives/19720/common
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