In wake of the anniversary of the Sept. 11 tragedies, Garson Kanin's play "Born Yesterday," running at the John Waldron Arts Center through Sept. 22, sends the audience a powerful message about the ideals upon which America is founded.
The play, set in Washington D.C. in 1947, focuses on the efforts of a horribly rich, self-absorbed, and avaricious tycoon named Harry Brock to refine his incredibly naive mistress, Billie Dawn, through education, but he gets more than he bargained for. His mistress' tutor, Paul Verral, instructs her not only in grammar and etiquette, but also in the ideas and beliefs of America's founding fathers. It is through these that Billie sees her lover's immoral business practices and personal cruelty, and so she frees herself from his oppressive grasp.