| "Born Yesterday" - in the TUJ basement by Lina Kogan Here is one example pf how education intervenes with a person's life - and you can be the judge as to whether it's for the best... Therefore if you deign to join me in the depths of the TUJ's building, you'll find in its basement a lively theater troupe named Kurofune Productions, and just recently they had invited all of us to see their latest staging of G. Kanin's famous comedy "Born Yesterday." You even might have seen the Hollywood version of it, with Melanie Griffith, Don Johnson and the fat guy from the "Rosanne" sitcom in the lead roles. The play developed a bit slowly at first, but Matt Lagan (playing the conspicuous Harry Brock) created a fine energy stream from the moment he appeared. He filled the room, dominating the stage through his impetuous movements. His facial expressions and mannerisms made you smile - and fear him. Despite his rough New Jersey white trash accent, he sounded like a nice hometown boy; but he easily shifted to the tone of a threatening mobster. This is a man who rose from dirt to greatness and it took quite a personality. Surprisingly enough, it's the trio of Brock and two of his allies - Eddie (Magnus Kimura) and the lawyer (Tom Clark) - that created real sparks. You immediately felt the "chemistry" between the former two - Lagan and Kimura, who give you the feeling that they enjoyed working together, and Kimura himself proved that there is no such thing as a small role by portraying a funny, touching and believable mobster protegee. The real magic happened when the smooth lawyer Ed Devery joined these two. Lagan and Clark drew strong, professional and confident performances. It was interesting to watch a lawyer's figure being unveiled - he started as a well-bred Washington insider, but at the end he showed his tragically corrupt nature. Frightened Brock watched his world crumble under Billie's tough fingers, while Devery got drunk as his sobering conscience and humorous remarks create luminous sparks. The people who confront our villains are Billie Dawn, performed by graceful Carla Lev, and affectionate Paul Verrall (Brett Coleman). Coleman lent to his role his Hollywood-like appearence and personal charm, but he doesn't succeed at presenting a personality as strong as Brock's. Lev leads the play by delivering her Billie as a funny, loud, trashy dame. She constantly flipped between her own-life-imposed-stupidity and street wisdom that knows-it-all. She was much funnier when she acted and moved than when she talked - probably, just as a mobster's broad should be. The most interesting scene belonged to Brock and Billie when the pair played gin rummy. This is a funny though slowly paced representation of both characters and their disturbed dynamics. Brock used to victimize Billie on a daily basis, and being "owned" by Brock diminished all her existence (viewers know that she took great pleasure in her small efforts to make him pay for that - like having two mink coats or being occasionally unfaithful to him). This is their "quality time" together, but after years of living together they had nothing to say to each other. Brock was too preoccupied with himself and his business, and not capable of paying attention to fine details. He tended to lose his temper quite quickly and basically lacked any respect for others. At the same time, Billie, all full of silly "female-ish" mannerisms, knew how to annoy him and did so on purpose; but she was also perceptive and attentive to what was going on around her - much more than anybody would suspect. She kept winning the game, and this overture is just before Brock's big loss to his rival. Despite the small size of TUJ's basement and its forced intimacy, the team succeeded in creating proper theatrical distance and a big stage illusion. Music from the 40's, played before and during the show, helped to relax everyone and get us into the play's mood. A skillfully built set echoed the tacky taste of the era's classy hotels. This play made me laugh and I almost cried once - so I experienced a whole healthy range of emotions in a mere two hours. Pay attention to this group of talented people, headed by vivacious director, Jerry Rudd, and notice what happens in the basement - you might find fine entertaiment where you least expected it. BACK TO CURTAINCALL BORN YESTERDAY PHOTOS |