presents born yesterday - south coast repertory bernhardt, once. and richard mansfield. what a star....

Born Yesterday • SOUTH COAST REPERTORY P1

42nd Season • 403rd ProductionSEGERSTROM STAGE / OCTOBER 14 - NOVEMBER 20, 2005

David Emmes Martin BensonPRODUCING ARTISTIC DIRECTOR ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

presents

BORN YESTERDAYBY Garson Kanin

SCENIC DESIGN COSTUME DESIGN LIGHTING DESIGNMichael Ganio Frances Kenny York Kennedy

COMPOSER/SOUND DESIGN PRODUCTION MANAGER STAGE MANAGERJim Ragland Jeff Gifford Randall K. Lum*

DIRECTED BY

Warner Shook

HONORARY PRODUCERS CORPORATE PRODUCERLarry and Dee Higby Haskell & White LLP

Presented by special arrangement with Samuel French, Inc.

CAST OF CHARACTERSBillie Dawn ............................................................................... Jennifer Lyon*Harry Brock ........................................................................... Richard Ziman*Paul Verrall ..................................................................... Paul Morgan Stetler*Ed Devery ................................................................................ Richard Doyle*Senator Hedges/Assistant Hotel Manager ............................. Hal Landon Jr.*Mrs. Hedges/Helen ..................................................................... Jane Macfie*Eddie Brock ........................................................................ Alan Blumenfeld*Bellhop/Barber .............................................................................. Dale Jones*Bellhop/Bootblack/Waiter ................................................... Derek ArmstrongManicurist .................................................................................. Kacie Brown*Herself ............................................................................................ Bella Luna

SETTING: The scene is Washington D.C. Time: 1946

Act I: SeptemberAct II: About two months later

Act III: Later that night

LENGTHApproximately two hours and 15 minutes, including one 15-minute intermission.

PRODUCTION STAFFAssistant Stage Manager ................................................. Chrissy Church*Casting .............................................................................. Joanne DeNautDramaturg ................................................................ Linda Sullivan BaityFight Choreographer .............................................................. Ken MerckxStage Management Intern ............................................. Andrew MetzrothAssistant Lighting Designer ........................................... Michael SchruppCostume Design Assistant .................................................... Merilee FordAdditional Costume Staff .................. Bronwen Burton, Catherine Esera

Stacey Nezda, Peg Oquist, Swantjie Tuohino

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTACT Theatre for their assistance with props and costumes.

Please refrain from unwrapping candy or making other noises that may disturb surrounding patrons.The use of cameras and recorders in the theatre is prohibited. Smoking is not permitted anywhere in the theatre.

Cellular phones, beepers and watch alarms should be turned off or set to non-audible mode during the performance.

* Member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers.

P2 SOUTH COAST REPERTORY • Born Yesterday

Official Airline Media Partner


IIn 1974, playwright Garson Kanin published a tanta-lizing personal chronicle of the glamour guys andgals who populated Tinsel Town in its heyday. Thebook’s title says it all—Hollywood: Stars and Starlets,

Tycoons and Flesh-Peddlers, Moviemakers and Money-makers, Frauds and Geniuses, Hopefuls and Has-Beens, Great Lovers and Sex Symbols.

Kanin arrived in Los Angeles in 1937 as an “odd-looking, 24-year-old bundle of nerves who had been ahigh school dropout, a mediocremusician, a burlesque stooge, astock clerk at Macy’s, a drama stu-dent, a mildly successful actor, andthe director of a Broadway flop.”One of the first people he encoun-tered in Hollywood was the leg-endary Sam Goldwyn, whopromised him a weekly paycheckand a chance to learn the moviebusiness at the foot of the master.

Many years later, after having es-tablished himself as a talented and high-ly sought-after independent writer anddirector, Kanin was summoned for an au-dience with Goldwyn. “He still thinks Iwork for him!” Kanin marveled, recallingLillian Hellman’s famous pronouncement:“To understand Sam, you must realize thathe regards himself as a nation!”

According to Kanin’s account inHollywood, Goldwyn began their meetingwith, “I hear at Columbia they’re making Born Yester-day. You know. Your play. I want to tell you some-thing.” He paused, looking grave.

“Oh Christ,” thought Kanin. “How am I going tohandle this?”

“I like that play. I saw it. I am very, very proudof you. It’s a fine piece of work. Very strong. Andvery American. Yes, you turned out to be some kid.”There were tears in his eyes. “I’m really proud of you.I mean it.”

And Kanin knew he did.“Who directed it?” Goldwyn asked. “Why, I did,” Kanin answered.“You directed it yourself?” asked Goldwyn again,

astonished.“Yes.”

“I don’t think you should do that. It doesn’twork out. Every director needs a writer and everywriter needs a director. And they both need a produc-er!”

“Well,” Kanin huffed, “it worked out pretty wellthis time.”

“Never mind this time,” Goldwyn said scornfully.“I’m talking about a lifetime.”

“Okay,” Kanin said, remembering that argumentwith this man was fruitless.

“I love the theatre. Ifthere’s one thing I love in NewYork it’s the theatre in New York.I always loved the theatre. Even asa kid I would go. The peanutgallery. Sarah Bernhardt, once.And Richard Mansfield. What astar. Modjeska. She was Polish.And Nazimova. She wasn’t Pol-ish. The theatre is great whenit’s good. Now about yourplay. I’m sorry to say this,but I don’t think it will evermake a picture.”

“You don’t?” Kaninasked.

“No,” said the greatman, shaking his headwith genuine distress. “Inthe first place, it’s dirty. I

mean censorable. This manliving with this girl not married. And you can’t have acrooked Senator in a movie, f’Chrissake! Your endingis no good, either. You’ve got your two stars and inthe end you split them up. Audiences hate that. No, Iknow I’m right. It’s no picture. Are you sore? Be-cause I express my views? Why is it people can’tstand the truth?”

“The fact that it’s your opinion, Mr. Goldwyn,doesn’t make it the truth.”

Momentarily stunned, Goldwyn quickly changedthe subject and never mentioned Born Yesterdayagain. One can only imagine his reaction when themovie version of the play that was “no picture” wenton to win accolades for Garson Kanin and his collabo-rators, eventually taking its place among the classicfilm comedies of all time.

Hooray for Garson Kanin’s ‘Hollywood’

Garson Kanin


GGarson Kanin’s Born Yesterday is an all-Americancomedy that was conceived abroad. While sta-tioned in London during World War II, Kaninbegan writing a play for his friend, movie star

Jean Arthur, that combined elements of Shaw’s Pyg-malion with a comical exposé of governmental corrup-tion. The premise of the piece was to show that anyone person has the power to facilitate change, and inorder to illustrate this point dramatically, Kanin createda protagonist, Billie Dawn, who is unpolished, unedu-cated, and unaccomplished.

Returning to New York after the war, Kaninfound a likely producer in Max Gordon, who was suf-fering through a dry spell despitehaving a number of Broadwayhits under his belt, including TheBand Wagon, The Women, andMy Sister Eileen. Gordon thoughtKanin’s script had potential, buthe was leery of working withJean Arthur, whose reputation asa difficult Hollywood diva preced-ed her. Coincidentally, Arthurherself was less than thrilled atthe prospect of playing BillieDawn, but at Kanin’s insistence,she agreed to take the part withthe following demands: $2,500per week plus a percentage of thegross, a personal hairdresser, achauffeured limousine, and finalapproval over advertising and thehiring of key personnel.

The play’s leading male character was a gruff anduncouth junk tycoon named Harry Brock, whose abra-sive personality was modeled on the tough-talkingpresident of Columbia Pictures, Harry Cohn. Kanin hadoffered the part of Harry Brock to Broderick Crawford,who declined (although he would end up playing thepart in the 1950 film). All other attempts to secure anestablished actor at a reasonable price had also fallenshort. Running out of options, Gordon and Kanin de-cided to take a chance on Paul Douglas, who at thetime was better known as a sportscaster than an actor.Although he was light on experience, Douglas audi-tioned well and his comparatively meager salary de-mands helped to offset the huge expense associated

with hiring Jean Arthur.Like many plays, Born Yesterday was still very

much a work in progress when the production openedin New Haven for its first week of previews, with simi-lar engagements slated to follow in Boston andPhiladelphia. Local critics gave the play mixed reviews,noting that the comedy was uneven and the story fellapart halfway through the second act. While Arthur’sperformance drew a rather tepid response, newcomerDouglas was praised as a revelation.

Trouble was also brewing behind the scenes asArthur’s list of demands and complaints grew daily.She particularly hated the fact that her co-star (whom

she clearly detested) was gettingbetter notices, plus she was insist-ing on major script changes to ac-commodate her “acting style.”After only a few performances,Kanin received a note from hisformer friend asking him to per-manently replace her.

At this point, the chances ofBorn Yesterday ever reachingBroadway seemed remote at bestand gossip columnists picked upthe scent of desperation as theshow headed for Boston. Some-how Max Gordon managed toconvince Arthur to remain in thecast and Kanin began to surrepti-tiously search for another actress.Among the front-runners wereJune Havoc and Kanin’s wife,

Ruth Gordon, neither of whom were available. Fiveothers were approached about taking the role, but allturned it down.

The week-long Boston run had its peaks and val-leys as Kanin reworked the script. With each perfor-mance, Paul Douglas gained confidence and becamemore dynamic. Jean Arthur opened the run, but fell illmid-week and her understudy, Mary Laslo, was forcedto take over. With the Philadelphia engagement fastapproaching and Arthur’s health in jeopardy, finding apermanent replacement for her was Kanin’s top priori-ty.

The name Judy Holliday was first suggested toKanin back in New Haven by the show’s wardrobe de-

Giving Birth to a Classic

Jean Arthur


signer, Mainbocher, who spoke glowingly of Holliday’ssupporting turn in the Broadway production of KissThem For Me. Kanin had seen her perform withAdolph Green and Betty Comden in their nightclub act,The Revuers, but had dismissed the notion of castingher in his play. By this time, however, he was gettingdesperate, and he set up a meeting with her in NewYork. Holliday was desperate, too, having been out ofwork for six months, so Kanin returned to Philadelphiawith a possible “Plan B.”

The next morning, Jean Arthur failed to appear atrehearsal, and before long, Kanin and Gordon receivedword that she was leaving the show immediately due to“nervous exhaustion.” Without a leading lady, theshow couldn’t open. Gordon had begun making plans

to close the production for goodwhen Kanin suggested at least

playing out the Philadelphiaengagement with JudyHolliday in the lead.

“That fat Jewish girlfrom The Revuers?”asked Gordon.

“But she’sfunny and ahelluva good

actress,” Kaninargued.

An SOSwent out toHolliday, whoarrived laterthat after-noon.Shewasmet

at her

hotel by Kanin, who handed her a script and told her toread it through once before deciding whether or notshe thought she could handle the role. Two hourslater, Holliday agreed. Her only question was “Whendo I start?”

“Whenever you’re ready,” said Kanin.“Saturday night,” said Gordon.Looking thunderstruck, she shook her head in ter-

ror and cried, “I couldn’t!” This meant that she wouldhave to learn the entire part in four days instead of thecustomary four weeks—a daunting task for even a vet-eran actress, let alone one attempting her first majorstage role. Although she pleaded with Gordon formore time, word had gotten out that Arthur was out ofthe show and folks were already lining up at the boxoffice demanding refunds. There was no other choice.

On Saturday, January 12, 1946, the curtain wentup on Born Yesterday at Philadelphia’s Locust StreetTheater. Those who braved the harsh winter weatherto see a troubled play starring three relative unknownswere justly rewarded for their trouble. By all accounts,Judy Holliday gave a nearly flawless first performance,and although she managed to hold her herself togeth-

er while onstage, she would burst into tears be-tween each scene. The enthusiastic response ofboth audience and critics confirmed that Kaninand Gordon had found their new Billie Dawn.

Born Yesterday had its Broadway premiereat the Lyceum Theatre on February 4, 1946,where it played to sold-out houses for almost

four years. Judy Holliday (who rarely missed ashow during that time) took her final stage turn as

Billie Dawn on May 24, 1949, and headed forHollywood to reprise the role on film.

Ticket sales fell off sharply followingHolliday’s departure from the cast,and after a history-making run of1,642 performances, Born Yesterdayclosed on New Year’s Eve 1949.

This article is largely excerpted, with theauthor’s kind permission, from GlennMcMahon’s essay on the Judy Holli-day Resource Center website[www.judyhollidayrc.com]. McMa-hon’s sources include Hollywood

by Garson Kanin (Viking, 1974),Judy Holliday by Will

Holtzman (Put-man’s, 1982), andJudy Holliday:An Intimate LifeStory by GaryCarey (Seaview,1982).

Paul Douglas andJudy Hollidayin BornYesterday.


Educating BillieI

n the stage directions for her entrance in Act One of Born Yesterday, Garson Kanin describes Billie Dawn as“breathtakingly beautiful and breathtakingly simple.” In the character’s own words, “I’m stupid and I like it.” Aformer chorus girl, Billie is the long-time mistress of junk tycoon Harry Brock, an ignorant, loud-mouthed loutwho has brought Billie along with him to Washington. But there’s a problem—every time Billie “opens her

kisser, sump’n wrong comes out!” Enter Paul Verrall, a reporter with The New Republic hired by Harry to smoothoff Billie’s rough edges and turn her into a woman of substance. Here are some of the sights, sounds and peoplechosen by Paul—and presumably Garson Kanin—as being essential to a well-rounded education in 1946.

Aprogressive magazine founded in 1914, The NewRepublic (TNR) is known for its strongly intellec-

tual bent. Although urging America’s entry intoWorld War I on the side of the Allies after thesinking of the Lusitania, its post-war stance shift-ed left-of-center. TNR supported the Socialist can-didate for president in 1932, switched to FDR in1936, and by 1946, circulation had reached an all-time high. Generally supportive of Communismand the Soviet Union, this avid liberalism changedwith the start of the Cold War, as the publicationbegan edging towards the centrist position it occu-pies today.

The New Republic

From Hull House, the worldfamous social settlement

she founded in Chicago in1889, Jane Addams built herreputation as the country’smost prominent womanthrough her writing, her so-cial work, and her interna-tional efforts for world peace.She wrote prolifically, pro-ducing eleven books and numerous articles, aswell as maintaining an active speaking scheduleand playing an important role in many local andnational organizations. Maintaining her pacifiststance after the United States entered World War I,Addams worked through the Women’s Peace Party,which became the Women’s International Leaguefor Peace and Freedom in 1919, and as a result,she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1931.

Jane Addams (1860-1935)

Dedicated in 1941by President

Franklin Roosevelt,the National Galleryof Art in Washing-ton, D.C., housesone of the finest col-lections in the world,illustrating majorachievements in painting, sculpture, decorative arts,and works on paper from the Middle Ages to thepresent. The museum’s most valuable paintingsand sculptures were evacuated to Biltmore Housein North Carolina for protection during World WarII, not returning to the gallery until late 1944.

National Gallery

Brentano’s is one of the oldest and most respect-ed names in bookselling, and its current Fifth

Avenue headquarters is New York City’s largestbookstore. August Brentano was young, ambi-tious, and newly arrived from Austria in 1853when he set up a newsstand in front of the NewYork Hotel. He prospered enough to open a realstore in 1860 that catered to the fashionable “car-riage trade” from all over the city, and soonBrentano’s was an institution. They opened theirfirst Washington branch in 1884, and a second onthe concourse of the Pentagon Building in the late1930s.

Brentano’s, Inc.


Born in Finland and trainedin Helsinki and Berlin, Jan

Sibelius composed sevensymphonies, symphonicpoems inspired by ancientFinnish legends, and cham-ber music, in addition to hisfamous Violin Concerto,which was written in 1903 and first recorded byJascha Heifetz—”the violinist of the century.”

Concerto in D for Violin and Orchestra, op. 47 by Jan Sibelius (1865-1957)

Newsreelswere an im-

portant meansof mass com-municationsfrom the1920s throughthe late 1940s.Most movie-goers enjoyed these black-and-white short subjectsdocumenting current events along with a featuremotion picture. There were, however, a numberof theatres across the country that presented onlynewsreels, which usually lasted about 45 minutesand were updated twice weekly. The newsreelhelped the film industry cement political connec-tions with Washington and gave many Americanstheir first real look at the people making headlines.

Newsreel

Tom Paine was an Englishjournalist living in

Philadelphia in 1776. Therehe published his pamphlet,Common Sense, attackingthe British monarchy and ar-guing for American indepen-dence. When he returnedhome after the war, Painepublished his most influen-tial work, The Rights of Man, in 1791, again attack-ing his government and arguing for equal politicalrights. When the enraged British monarchybanned his book, Paine became a French citizen,but his radical views upset French revolutionaries,who imprisoned him for several years. Upon hisrelease in 1794, he published Age of Reason, awork that dared to question the truth of Christiani-ty. By the time of his death, The Rights of Manhad sold 1,500,000 copies in Europe.

Tom Paine (1737 - 1809)

Born in Boston andnamed after his illustri-

ous father, Holmes wasthe most famous Harvardman in the 20th Mas-sachusetts Infantry Regi-ment during the Civil War.In 1892, Holmes was ap-pointed by PresidentTheodore Roosevelt to theU.S. Supreme Court,where he spent thirty years as one of the most in-fluential political and cultural figures of the 20thcentury and was known as “The Great Dissenter.”He exercised a deep influence on the law throughhis support of the doctrine of “judicial restraint”which urges judges to avoid letting their personalopinions affect their decisions. Hollywood madea biopic about Holmes entitled The MagnificentYankee in 1950.

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. (1841-1935)

English essayist, critic,satirist, and one of the

greatest poets of the En-lightenment, Pope wrote hisfirst verses at the age of 12.His breakthrough work, “AnEssay on Criticism,” whichappeared in 1711 when hewas twenty-three, includesthe famous line, “a littlelearning is a dangerous thing.” Pope’s physical de-fects made him an easy target for heartless mock-ery, but he was also considered a leading literarycritic and the epitome of English Neoclassicism.

Alexander Pope (1688-1744)

American political leader and orator, Ingersollwas noted for his broad range of culture and his

defense of Agnosticism during the Golden Age ofFreethought. His radical views on religion, slav-ery, women’s suffrage, and other issues of the dayeffectively prevented him from ever holding politi-cal office higher than that of Attorney General.

Robert G. Ingersoll (1833-1899)


HHarry S. Truman, the 33rd President of the UnitedStates (1945-1953), assumed the Presidency fol-lowing the sudden death of Franklin D. Roo-sevelt only eighty-two days after having been

sworn in as FDR’s Vice President. A New DealDemocrat from Missouri, Truman presided over thedropping of two atomic bombs in Japan, the end ofWorld War II, the Marshall Plan to rebuild Europe,the beginning of the Cold War, desegregation of thearmed forces, founding of the United Nations, andmost of the Korean War. Exceeding the low expecta-tions many had at the start of his administration, Tru-man developed a reputation as a strong, capa-ble leader who really had a way withwords:

sss

“A politician is a man whounderstands government. Astatesman is a politician who’sbeen dead for 15 years.”

sss

“A bureaucrat is a Demo-crat who holds some office that a Republi-can wants.”

sss

“A President needs political understanding to runthe government, but he may be elected without it.”

sss

“All the President is, is a glorified public relationsman who spends his time flattering, kissing and kick-ing people to get them to do what they are supposedto be doing anyway.”

sss

“Always be sincere, even if you don’t mean it.”sss

“I never did give anybody hell. I just told thetruth and they thought it was hell.”

“I remember when I first came to Washington.For the first six months, you wonder how the hell youever got here. For the next six months, you wonderhow the hell the rest of them ever got here.”

sss

“If I hadn’t been President of the United States, Iprobably would have ended up a piano player in awhorehouse. To tell the truth, there’s hardly any dif-ference.”

sss

“It’s a recession when your neighborloses his job; it’s a depression when you

lose yours.”sss

“Those who want theGovernment to regulate matters

of the mind and spirit are like menwho are so afraid of being murdered that

they commit suicide to avoid assassination.”sss

“Upon books the collective education of thehuman race depends; they are the sole instruments ofregistering, perpetuating, and transmitting thought.”

sss

“When even one American—who has done noth-ing wrong—is forced by fear to shut his mind andclose his mouth, then all Americans are in peril.”

sss

“When you have an efficient government, youhave a dictatorship.”

sss

“Whenever a fellow tells me he’s bipartisan, Iknow he’s going to vote against me.”

sss

“Whenever you put a man on the SupremeCourt, he ceases to be your friend.”

sss

“You want a friend in Washington? Get a dog!”

Give ‘Em Hell, Harry!


When Harry Met Billie“I

could have been a star, probably,” Billie Dawn recalls wistfully, “if I’d of stuck to it.” Before Harry Brockcame barrelling into her life, she had been in the cast of Anything Goes, one of the longest-running musi-cals of the 1930s, and even though it’s been more than a decade since her brush with big-time show biz,she can still recite the five lines she spoke and she can still warble the show’s catchy opening tune:

Anything Goes, with music and lyrics by Cole Porter,book by Guy Bolton and P. G. Wodehouse, directed byHoward Lindsay, and starring William Gaxton, EthelMerman, and Victor Moore, opened on November 21,1935, at the Alvin Theatre. The show transferred to the46th Street Theatre on September 30, 1935, and closedon November 16, 1935, after 420 performances.

“Anything Goes”Music and Lyrics by Cole Porter

Times have changed,And we’ve often rewound the clock,

Since the Puritans got a shock,When they landed on Plymouth Rock.

If today, any shock they should try to stand,‘Steada landing on Plymouth Rock,Plymouth Rock would land on them.

In olden days a glimpse of stockingWas looked on as something shocking,

But now, God knows,Anything goes.

Good authors, too, who once knew better words,Now only use four-letter words

Writing prose,Anything goes.

The world has gone mad today,And good’s bad today,

And black’s white today,And day’s night today,When most guys todayThat women prize todayAre just silly gigolos.

So though I’m not a great romancer,I know that I’m bound to answer

When you propose,Anything goes.


DEREK ARMSTRONG (Bellhop/Bootblack/Waiter) is making hisSCR debut after having recentlycompleted SCR’s Professional In-tensive Program. He is also agraduate of the American Acade-my of Dramatic Arts where heappeared in Maybe Tuesday,Once in a Lifetime, Say Good-night, Gracie, Sexual Perversityin Chicago, Where’s My Money?,Assembly Line, Career and Pic-nic.

BELLA LUNA (Herself) is makingher SCR debut. Bella Luna is aplayful Pomeranian with a lineof greeting cards. While she is anatural entertainer, this is herfirst stage appearance. She is alicensed therapy dog (LoveOnALeash.org) and has spent manyyears bringing joy to senior citi-zens and visiting people in hos-

pital. A five percent donation ismade from the proceeds of hercards to the Animal AssistanceLeague of Orange County. How-ever, until the end of the yearshe will be donating to spca.orgto help rescue and shelter ani-mals devastated by HurricaneKatrina.

*ALAN BLUMENFELD (EddieBrock) is making his SCR debut.On Broadway he appeared inLaughter on the 23rd Floor. Re-gional theatre credits includeMuch Ado about Nothing, AMidsummer Night’s Dream, AFlea in Her Ear and School forWives at A Noise Within; We AreFamily, Creatures, Rhinoceros(Garland Award) and Threepen-ny Opera at the Odyssey The-atre; The Skin of Our Teeth, Ly-sistrata 2003, King Lear, The

Merchant of Venice, The Mad-woman of Chaillot, The MerryWives of Windsor (LA DramaCritics Award) and Charley’sAunt at Theatricum Botanicum;Henry IV, Part I at the OjaiShakespeare Festival; TwelfthNight at The Old Globe; Bleach-er Bums and One Flew Over theCuckoo’s Nest at The Little NightFox Theatre; The Taming of theShrew at the Cannery Theatre;Inherit the Wind, That Champi-onship Season, Damn Yankees, AStreetcar Named Desire andWestside Story at the Pacific Con-servatory of the Performing Arts;Romeo & Juliet, Henry IV, Part Iand All’s Well That Ends Well atthe Oregon Shakespeare Festival;Misalliance, Pillars of the Com-munity, The Taming of theShrew, Richard III and Cyranode Bergerac at the American

Artist Biographies

BELLA LUNA

HerselfDEREK ARMSTRONG

Bellhop/Bootblack/WaiterALAN BLUMENFELD

Eddie Brock


Conservatory Theater; and Car-men and La Clemenza di Tito atthe San Francisco Opera. Filmcredits include Dickie Roberts:Former Child Star, The Ring,Heartbreakers, The Flintstones inViva Rock Vegas, Dinner andDriving, Jingle All the Way, TheFlintstones, Tin Men, K-9, WorthWinning, Problem Child and thesoon to be released In HerShoes. On television he hasmade over 200 guest starring ap-pearances including recent ap-pearances on “Century City,”“Curb Your Enthusiasm,”“Gilmore Girls,” “The Division,”“CSI,” “Without a Trace” and“Judging Amy.”

KACIE BROWN (Manicurist) ismaking her SCR debut after hav-ing recently completed SCR’sProfessional Intensive Program.She appeared in Tony andTina’s Wedding at the CurtisTheatre and is a graduate of theAmerican Academy of DramaticArts where she appeared inSouthern Girls, Spoon River An-thology, Miss Julie, A StreetcarNamed Desire, The Pizza Man,Beyond Therapy, Ah! Wildernessand Macbeth.

*RICHARD DOYLE (Ed Devery) isan SCR Founding Artist. He ap-peared earlier this season in TheCaucasian Chalk Circle, last sea-son as Eddie in A View from theBridge and Habeas Corpus andthe previous season in IntimateExchanges, The Last Night ofBallyhoo and A Christmas Carol.Additional appearances includethe world premieres of TheBeard of Avon, On the Jump(Robby Award), But Not for Me,BAFO, The Interrogation ofNathan Hale, She Stoops to Folly,Wit, Hospitality Suite and High-est Standard of Living. Othercredits include Relatively Speak-ing, Proof, Major Barbara, MuchAdo about Nothing, A DelicateBalance, Of Mice and Men, Ah,Wilderness!, What the ButlerSaw, Pygmalion, Six Degrees ofSeparation, Arms and the Man,The Cherry Orchard, Waiting forGodot, Our Country’s Good andIntimate Exchanges, for whichhe earned a Los Angeles DramaCritics Circle Award nomination.He won a LADCC Award for hisrole in Sally Nemeth’s Holy Daysand was nominated for ReverendHale in The Crucible. “Cheers”fans will remember him as

Woody’s snooty father-in-lawWalter Gaines. Other film andtelevision credits include AirForce One, “NYPD Blue,” “Sis-ters,” movies of the week, “ThePractice” and guest star appear-ances on “The Pretender” and“The Lot.” He is a voice-overactor in animation, CD ROMS,television, radio commercialsand documentaries, includingthe Emmy-winning series TheLiving Edens and Impressions ofCalifornia. He also narrates theGreen and Green “Art-in-Archi-tecture” documentary. Mr. Doylecurrently plays the villain Enochon Cartoon Network’s Benten.

*DALE JONES (Bellhop/Barber) ismaking his SCR debut. Theatrecredits include Gypsy at the ParkPlayhouse; Cabaret at Perfor-mance Riverside; The Will RogersFollies and West Side Story at theWelk Resort Theatre; Guys andDolls, Singin’ in the Rain, Meand My Girl, Fiddler on the Roof,Oklahoma! and DamnYankees at Bollinger’s Candle-light Pavillion; Hello, Dolly!,Man of La Mancha, Gigi, TheFantasticks, Anything Goes, MyFair Lady, South Pacific and The

RICHARD DOYLE

Ed DeveryKACIE BROWN

ManicuristDALE JONES

Bellhop/Barber


Sound of Music at the CurtainCall Dinner Theatre; The Piratesof Penzance at the Curtis The-atre; The Mikado at the Moor-park Melodrama Playhouse;Once Upon a Mattress at theLong Beach Playhouse; and theEuropean Tour of Fame.

*HAL LANDON JR. (SenatorHedges/Assistant Hotel Manager)is an SCR Founding Artist whorecently appeared in The Cau-casian Chalk Circle, A View fromthe Bridge, Habeas Corpus, Cyra-no de Bergerac, Safe in Hell,Antigone, The Drawer Boy(LADCC Award nomination),Two Gentlemen of Verona, MajorBarbara, Getting Frankie Mar-ried—and Afterwards, TheSchool for Wives, Much Adoabout Nothing, Entertaining Mr.Sloane, The Hollow Lands, TrueWest, Play Strindberg, Tartuffeand Ah, Wilderness! Other cred-its include Arcadia, Our Town,Sidney Bechet Killed a Man ,BAFO, Six Degrees of Separation,An Ideal Husband, A Mess ofPlays by Chris Durang , TheThings You Don’t Know, FaithHealer, Ghost in the Machine,Green Icebergs, Morning’s at

Seven, Dancing at Lughnasa,The Miser, Our Country’s Goodand Waiting for Godot. He cre-ated the role of EbenezerScrooge in SCR’s A ChristmasCarol, and has performed it inall 25 annual productions. Heappeared in Leander Stillwell atthe Mark Taper Forum and inHenry V at The Old Globe inSan Diego. Other resident the-atre roles include Salieri inAmadeus, Malvolio in TwelfthNight and Gordon Miller inRoom Service. Among his filmcredits are Trespass , PacificHeights, Almost an Angel, Billand Ted’s Excellent Adventureand Playing by Heart.

*JENNIFER LYON (Billie Dawn)is making her SCR debut. Shemost recently played Billie Dawnin Warner Shook’s production ofBorn Yesterday at ACT Theatre.She is a recent graduate of theNorth Carolina School of theArts. At the Wilma Theatre sheplayed Violet Gray in PollyPenn’s world premiere musialEmbarrassments, directed byBlanka Zizka, and the title rolein Tom Duznick’s world pre-miere comedy Hail Mary, direct-

ed by Pamela Hunt at the StudioArena Theatre. Ms. Lyon hasalso appeared in the new musi-cal Hexed in the City at the BeltTheatre, Only 10 Minutes to Buf-falo at the Lincoln Center Insti-tute and David Simpatico’s Wait-er, Waiter at the GreenwichHouse Theatre. She would liketo thank her family, NCSA, Tal-entworks, the ice cream shop,and the wonderful director, castand crew involved in this pro-duction.

*JANE MACFIE (Mrs. Hedges/Helen) is happy to return to SCRwhere she previously appearedin Major Barbara, How the OtherHalf Loves and Hay Fever. Othertheatre credits include LongDay’s Journey Into Night and Ah,Wilderness! on Broadway withJason Robards and Colleen De-whurst; and Hamlet in Hamlet,Ruth in Blithe Spirit, Viola inTwelfth Night, Truvy in SteelMagnolias and Rosalind in AsYou Like It at the Grove TheaterCenter. She has appeared at theOregon Shakespeare Festival/Portland, Yale Repertory Theatre,Berkeley Repertory Theatre andin Sir Peter Hall’s Romeo and

JENNIFER LYON

Billie DawnHAL LANDON JR.Senator Hedges/Ass’t Hotel Manager

JANE MACFIE

Mrs. Hedges/Helen


Juliet at the Ahmanson. She is afounding member of the Pasade-na Shakespeare Company. Filmand television credits include“Daddy’s Little Angel” on HBO,“Frasier,” “Strong Medicine,” “GetReal” and the award-winningshort film High Water. She is aYale School of Drama graduate.

*PAUL MORGAN STETLER (PaulVerrall) is making his SCR debut.He currently lives in Seattlewhere he most recently playedPaul Verrall in Warner Shook’sproduction of Born Yesterday atACT Theatre. In Seattle, Mr.Stetler has appeared in variousroles at the Seattle RepertoryTheatre, Intiman Theatre, ACTTheatre, Empty Space Theatre,Seattle Shakespeare Company,Seattle Children’s Theatre, Vil-lage Theatre and Tacoma Actor’sGuild. Prior to that, he was anoriginal company member of thecritically lauded Circle X TheatreCompany based in Los Angeles.Film and television credits in-clude Life Or Something Like It,Pleasantville, “The Drew CareyShow,” “Buffy the Vampire Slay-er,” “The Fugitive” and “Sein-feld.” A native of Seal Beach,

California, Mr. Stetler is gratefulfor the opportunity to return toOrange County and work at SCR,a theatre he attended regularlywhile growing up. He holds anMFA from Penn State University.

*RICHARD ZIMAN (Harry Brock)is making his SCR debut. Hemost recently played HarryBrock in Warner Shook’s produc-tion of Born Yesterday at ACTTheatre. On Broadway his cred-its include Henry IV, Not AboutNightingales, Laughter On the23rd Floor, Epic Proportions, Lostin Yonkers and Biloxi Blues. Off-Broadway appearances includeKit Marlow, Twelfth Night, JuliusCaesar, The Two Gentlemen ofVerona, The Normal Heart, HowIt All Began, Polish Joke, The Re-sistible Rise of Arturo Ui, Dan-ton’s Death, Misconceptions andTulsa, for which he received aDrama Logue Award. Regionallyhe has appeared at ACT, TheShakespeare Theatre in Washing-ton D.C., Hartford Stage, AlleyTheatre, Wilma Theatre, Hunt-ington Theatre, Dallas TheaterCenter (Rabin Award for TwelfthNight), Actors Theatre ofLouisville, Long Wharf and The

Royal National Theatre of GreatBritain. Film and televisioncredits include Unholy, PrivateParts, Clockers, Hackers, “ThirdWatch,” “The Sopranos,” “Law &Order” and “Law and Order:SVU.” Mr. Ziman is a graduateof the High School of PerformingArts and the Juilliard TheatreCenter.

PLAYWRIGHT,DIRECTOR & DESIGNERS

GARSON KANIN (Playwright)worked as an actor in the theatreand as a director and produceron Broadway and in Hollywood,but he is best known as a writer.During the Great Depression, hedropped out of high school tohelp support his family, workingas a musician and later as a co-median. He attended the Ameri-can Academy of Dramatic Artsfrom 1932-1933 and brieflyworked as an actor on Broadwayfollowing his studies. Kanin be-came an assistant to Broadwaydirector George Abbott in 1935,and then joined Samuel Gold-wyn’s production staff in Holly-wood in 1937, but left for RKOat the end of one year, frustratedat not having been given any di-recting assignments by Mr. Gold-wyn. At RKO he directed sever-al films including The Great ManVotes in 1939 and Tom, Dickand Harry in 1941, but he wascontinually frustrated by the lackof control he had over his filmsunder the studio system, a frus-tration which continued through-out his career. When draftedduring World War II he madedocumentary films for the WarInformation and EmergencyManpower offices. One of them,The True Glory (1945), won anAcademy Award for Best Docu-mentary. During the war yearsKanin began writing stories andplays as well. After the war he

PAUL MORGAN STETLER

Paul VerrallRICHARD ZIMAN

Harry Brock


directed several plays on Broad-way, including his own, BornYesterday in 1946, for which hereceived the Donaldson Awardfor Best First Play of the Seasonand Best Director of the Season,and which he later adapted forthe screen. Kanin collaboratedon four successful screenplayswith his wife, Ruth Gordon, in-cluding Adam’s Rib (1949) andPat and Mike (1952) starringKatharine Hepburn and SpencerTracy. Garson Kanin died in1999 at age 87.

WARNER SHOOK (Director) di-rected SCR’s productions of TheLast Night of Ballyhoo, The Cir-cle, You Can’t Take it With You,Frankie and Johnny in the Clairde Lune and Beyond Therapy.Most recently in Los Angeles hisacclaimed production of EdwardAlbee’s The Goat or Who isSylvia? was seen at the MarkTaper Forum. For seven yearshe served as Artistic Director ofSeattle’s Intiman Theatre wherehe directed Angels in America,The Litt le Foxes, Three TallWomen, Who’s Afraid of Vir-ginia Woolf?, Private Lives, Love!Valour! Compassion! and TheRoyal Family among many oth-ers. He also directed the worldpremiere of The Kentucky Cycleat Intiman plus the subsequentproductions of this six hour epicat the Mark Taper Forum, TheKennedy Center and on Broad-way where it won the PulitzerPrize and was nominated for theTony Award. Last year Mr.Shook had the distinct privilegeof directing Angela Lansbury andDana Ivey in a benefit perfor-mance of Peter Shaffer’s Letticeand Lovage at the Coronet The-atre. Most recently he directedthe world premiere of GoreVidal’s On the March to the Seawith Chris Noth, MichaelLearned, Charles Durning and

Richard Easton at Duke Universi-ty. Other regional credits in-clude the Long Wharf Theatre,The Old Globe, Hartford Stage,ACT in Seattle, Oregon Shake-speare Festival, Pasadena Play-house and American Conservato-ry Theatre. On December 5thhe will be reunited with Ms.Lansbury when he directs her inThis is On Me (an evening ofDorothy Parker) at the Brent-wood Theatre.

MICHAEL GANIO (Set Design) isdesigning his first production atSCR. In 14 seasons with theOregon Shakespeare Festival hedesigned The Visit, A Midsum-mer Night’s Dream, As You LikeIt, The Merry Wives of Windsor,The Man Who Came to Dinner,Seven Guitars, The Comedy ofErrors, The Two Gentlemen ofVerona, Molière Plays Paris,Love’s Labours Lost, Macbeth,The Tempest, Toys in the Attic,The Taming of the Shrew (Ash-land); and Dancing at Lughnasa(Portland). Other design creditsinclude Tristan und Isolde, Fide-lio (Virginia Opera Company);Lady Windemere’s Fan, NaplesGets Rich and The Mill on theFloss (Milwaukee Repertory The-ater); Agrippina (Chicago OperaTheater); The Royal Family andThe Little Foxes (Intiman Theatre,Seattle); The Cherry Orchard(American Players Theatre,Spring Green, WI); A Kiss forCinderella and Dr. Jekyll & Mr.Hyde (The Cleveland PlayHouse); Woody Guthrie’s Ameri-can Song (Willamette RepertoryTheatre); As You Like It and TheBacchae Revisited (Portland Cen-ter Stage); Ma Rainey’s BlackBottom, The Rivals, Seven Gui-tars, The Last Yankee and UncleVanya (Denver Center TheatreCompany); Old Wicked Songs(San Jose Repertory Theatre);The Underpants and The Caine

Mutiny Court Martial (CincinnatiPlayhouse in the Park); Stones inHis Pockets and Arcadia (Reper-tory Theatre of St. Louis); KingLear and Much Ado about Noth-ing (PCPA Theaterfest, SantaMaria); and The Ship of Fools(Mannes Camerata Opera, NY).He has a MFA from New YorkUniversity and a BFA from Web-ster University, St. Louis.

FRANCES KENNY (Costume De-sign) designed the costumes forSCR’s The Last Night of Ballyhootwo years ago and is pleased toreturn with Warner Shook forBorn Yesterday. Some of her fa-vorite design projects include thePulitzer Prize-winning The Ken-tucky Cycle which had produc-tions on Broadway, at the MarkTaper Forum and the KennedyCenter; the West Coast premiereof Edward Albee’s The Goat orWho is Sylvia? at ACT in Seattle;The Mandrake Root written byand starring Lynn Redgrave,which premiered at the LongWharf Theatre and San JoseRepertory; and Angels in Ameri-ca at the Intiman Theatre inSeattle. Other credits include LaJolla Playhouse, Seattle Reperto-ry Theatre, the Oregon Shake-speare Festival, the Denver Cen-ter, Actors Theatre of Louisville,Honolulu Theatre for Youth,Seattle Children’s Theatre andthe Arizona Theatre Company.She is also the resident costumedesigner for the Pat GraneyDance Company. When notdoing theatre, Ms. Kenny stylesand designs wardrobe for com-mercials, print shoots and relatedmedia.

YORK KENNEDY (Lighting De-sign) has designed for theatresacross America and Europe in-cluding Berkeley Repertory,Seattle Repertory, American Con-servatory Theatre, The Old


Globe, The Alley Theatre, DallasTheater Center, Yale Repertory,Brooklyn Academy of Music andthe Whitney Museum in NewYork. His awards for theatricallighting design include theDrama Logue, San Diego DramaCritics Circle, Back Stage WestGarland, Arizona Theatre Awardand the Bay Area Theatre CriticsCircle Award. In the danceworld he has designed andtoured with Malashock Dancethroughout Eastern Europe andthe United States. As an archi-tectural lighting designer, he hasdesigned lighting for numerousthemed environment, themepark and museum projects allover the world including theSony Metreon Sendak Playspace(2000 I.E.S. Award) in San Fran-cisco, Warner Bros. Movie Worldin Madrid, Le Centre de Loisirs inMorocco and The LEGO Racers4D attraction in Germany, Den-mark, England and the U.S.A.His recent theatre projects in-clude The Shakespeare Festivalthis summer at The Old Globe inSan Diego and a revival of themusical Amore at GoodspeedMusicals. A graduate of the Cali-fornia Institute for the Arts andthe Yale School of Drama, Mr.Kennedy lives in Berkeley, CA.

JIM RAGLAND (Composer/SoundDesign) has been based in Seat-tle since 1985, where he hasworked on over a hundredshows. He is, to his delightedsurprise, the recipient of TheaterPuget Sound’s 2005 Gregg FallsAward for Outstanding Contribu-tion to The Theater. His Seattlecredits include Angels in Ameri-ca, The Kentucky Cycle, Hamlet,Ghosts, Betrayed, Molly Sweeny,The Royal Family , and FaithHealer at The Intiman; JuliusCaesar, Beauty Queen ofLeenane, The Cider House Rulesand Seven Guitars at Seattle Rep;

Alice in Wonderland at SeattleChildren’s Theater; Our Coun-try’s Good and Fuddy Mears atACT; Marisol at The Group; InPerpetuity Throughout The Uni-verse and The Rocky HorrorShow at The Empty Space; Djinnand Sub Rosa with House ofDames; The Tooth of Crime andThe Unseen Hand at New CityTheater, where he was a found-ing company member. Othercredits include the Broadwayproduction of The KentuckyCycle, Hartford Stage’s Electra,Reckless at Berkeley Repertory,and Jitney at Houston’s AlleyTheatre. He has also scoredthree feature films, and works asa producer, arranger and back-up musician for singer-songwrit-ers. He teaches audio recordingand guitar at Seattle University.Recently Ragland launched anew career as a country bluessinger, songwriter and recordingartist under the appropriatename Slim Chanse. His first CD,“Slim Chanse: Greatest Hits - TheSecond Fifty Years” will be re-leased this fall on New CanaryRecords. Along with his wife,Sonya Joseph, he is the founderof SongLab, a Seattle based non-profit organization dedicated tothe advancement of the art andpresentation of songwriting.

*RANDALL K. LUM (Stage Man-ager) begins his 16th seasonwith SCR. Last season he stagemanaged Brooklyn Boy, HabeasCorpus, Vesuvius, Princess Mar-jorie and made his Argyros StageManaging debut with On theMountain. The previous seasonhe worked on Safe in Hell,Antigone, Terra Nova and TheLast Night of Ballyhoo. Duringhis long association as one ofSCR’s resident stage managers,he has worked on more than adozen world premieres and hasbeen associated with over 75

productions. In 1997, Mr. Lumstage managed the AIDS BenefitHelp is on the Way III at thePalace of Fine Arts in San Fran-cisco. Other stage managementcredits include the AmericanConservatory Theatre in SanFrancisco, The Old Globe in SanDiego, Berkeley Repertory The-atre, San Jose Civic Light Opera,VITA Shakespeare Festival, Pacif-ic Conservatory of the Perform-ing Arts, Long Beach Ballet, SanFrancisco Convention Bureauand Kawasaki Motorcycles. Hewould like everyone to take amoment to remember all thosewho have lost the battle and allthose still suffering and fightingthe AIDS epidemic.

*CHRISSY CHURCH (AssistantStage Manager) is very pleasedto return to SCR for the 05-06season. Previous credits at SCRinclude the world premieres ofMr. Marmalade, Getting FrankieMarried—and Afterwards, Mak-ing It and Nostalgia and produc-tions of Pinocchio, The LittlePrince, A Christmas Carol, Inti-mate Exchanges, La PosadaMágica, Anna in the Tropics andProof. She has also had thepleasure of working on Clutter:The True Story of the CollyerBrothers (world premiere) at theColony Theatre, La Perichole andSeven Small Operas at LongBeach Opera, The Spitfire Grill atLaguna Playhouse and The Kingand I, Chicago, Ragtime and SheLoves Me at Maine State MusicTheatre.

DAVID EMMES (Producing Artis-tic Director) is co-founder ofSCR. He has received numerousawards for productions he hasdirected during his SCR career,including a Los Angeles DramaCritics Circle Award for the di-rection of George BernardShaw’s The Philanderer. He di-


rected the world premieres ofAmy Freed’s Safe in Hell, TheBeard of Avon and Freedom-land, Thomas Babe’s Great Dayin the Morning, Keith Reddin’sRum and Coke and But Not forMe and Neal Bell’s Cold Sweat;the American premiere of TerryJohnson’s Unsuitable for Adults;the West Coast premieres of C.P.Taylor’s Good and Harry Kon-doleon’s Christmas on Mars; andthe Southland premiere of TopGirls (at SCR and the WestwoodPlayhouse). Other productionsinclude the West Coast premieresof Three Viewings by JeffreyHatcher, The Secret Rapture byDavid Hare and New England byRichard Nelson; and Arcadia byTom Stoppard, The Importanceof Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde,Ayckbourn’s Woman in Mindand You Never Can Tell byGeorge Bernard Shaw, which herestaged for the Singapore Festi-val of Arts. His producing re-sponsibilities involve the overallcoordination of SCR’s programsand projects. He has served as atheatre panelist and onsite evalu-ator for the National Endowmentfor the Arts, on the ExecutiveCommittee of the League of Res-ident Theatres, and as a panelistfor the California Arts Council.After attending Orange CoastCollege, he received his BA andMA from California State Univer-sity, San Francisco, and his PhDin theatre and film from USC.

MARTIN BENSON (Artistic Direc-tor), co-founder of SCR with hiscolleague David Emmes, has di-rected nearly one third of theplays produced here. He hasdistinguished himself in the stag-

ing of contemporary work, in-cluding William Nicholson’s TheRetreat from Moscow, HortonFoote’s The Carpetbagger’s Chil-dren and the world premiere ofGetting Frankie Married—andAfterwards , the critically ac-claimed California premiere ofNicholson’s Shadowlands, theSouthern California premiere ofMichael Healey’s The DrawerBoy; and the West Coast pre-mieres of Peter Hedges’ Good AsNew and Martin McDonagh’s TheLonesome West. He has won ac-colades for his direction of fivemajor works by George BernardShaw, including the Los AngelesDrama Critics Circle (LADCC)Award-winners Major Barbara,Misalliance and HeartbreakHouse. Among the numerousworld premieres he has directedare Tom Strelich’s BAFO andMargaret Edson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Wit, which he also di-rected at Seattle Repertory The-atre and the Alley Theatre inHouston. He has directed Amer-ican classics including Ah,Wilderness!, A Streetcar NamedDesire, A Delicate Balance and AView from the Bridge. Mr. Ben-son has been honored with theDrama-Logue Award for his di-rection of 21 productions and re-ceived LADCC DistinguishedAchievement in Directing awardsan unparalleled seven times forthe three Shaw productions,John Millington Synge’s Playboyof the Western World , ArthurMiller’s The Crucible , SallyNemeth’s Holy Days and Wit.He also directed the film versionof Holy Days using the originalSCR cast. Along with Emmes, heaccepted SCR’s 1988 Tony Award

for Outstanding Resident Profes-sional Theatre and won the 1995Theatre LA Ovation Award forLifetime Achievement. Mr. Ben-son received his BA in Theatrefrom California State University,San Francisco.

PAULA TOMEI (Managing Direc-tor) is responsible for the overalladministration of South CoastRepertory and has been Manag-ing Director since 1994. A mem-ber of the SCR staff since 1979,she has served in a number ofadministrative capacities includ-ing Subscriptions Manager, Busi-ness Manager and General Man-ager. She is the immediate pastPresident of the Theatre Commu-nications Group (TCG), the na-tional service organization forthe professional not-for-profittheater and serves as a memberof the Board. In addition, shehas served as Treasurer of TCG,Vice President of the League ofResident Theatres (LORT) andhas been a member of the LORTNegotiating Committee for indus-try-wide union agreements. Sherepresents SCR at national con-ferences of TCG and LORT; is atheatre panelist and site visitorfor the National Endowment forthe Arts and the California ArtsCouncil; served on the AdvisoryCommittee for the Arts Adminis-tration Certificate Program at theUniversity of California, Irvine;and has been a guest lecturer inthe graduate school of businessat Stanford and U.C. Irvine. Shegraduated from the University ofCalifornia, Irvine with a degreein Economics and pursued anadditional course of study in the-atre and dance.

The Actors and Stage Managers em-ployed in this production are membersof Actors’ Equity Association, the Unionof Professional Actors and Stage Man-agers in the United States.

The Scenic, Costume, Lighting andSound Designers in LORT theatresare represented by United ScenicArtists Local USA-829, IATSE.

The Director is a member of the Soci-ety of Stage Directors and Choreogra-phers, Inc., an independent nationallabor union.

presents born yesterday - south coast repertory bernhardt, once. and richard mansfield. what a star....

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