Vulgar, egotistic junkman Harry Brock has come to a swanky hotel in Washington to make crooked deals with government big wigs. He has brought with him the charming but simple ex-chorus girl Billie. The young, idealistic magazine reporter Paul Verrall is interested in Brock’s activities and agrees, for a salary, to educate Billie. He finds Billie has a natural honesty and frankness, and she begins to learn about history, politics, and what Harry really is and what he wants.

When Billie rebels against being merely a tool in Harry’s crooked schemes and readies herself to leave, Harry’s reaction takes the only form he knows: Physical violence. Just before Billie leaves, she helps Paul get hold of incriminating documents which will result in scandal and disaster for Harry and will let the new couple strike out on their own. This famous comedy enjoyed one of the longest Broadway runs in history.—Concord Theatricals

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Garson Kanin was a 20th century renaissance man: musician, burlesque comedian, actor, stage and film director, writer, and raconteur. Best known for Born Yesterday, he wrote plays, essays, screenplays, short stories, novels, memoirs, songs, and a libretto; he directed plays, musicals, an opera, documentaries and films.

Kanin was a clarinet-playing bandleader, then a comedian in the Catskills before making his Broadway debut as an actor in 1933. At 24, Kanin directed his first Broadway play, which led to Hollywood where he directed feature films. While working at RKO Studios, he was drafted into the US Army’s Film unit to direct training and patriotic films. After the war, Kanin experienced a creative explosion that continued for decades. His play Born Yesterday opened on Broadway in 1946, running for four years. With Ruth Gordon, Kanin co-wrote four screenplays, three of which were nominated for academy awards.

In 1955 he directed the Broadway premiere of The Diary of Anne Frank. His first short story was published that same year. Throughout the next four decades, Kanin wrote many short stories, six novels, and essays as well as five nonfiction books. His theatre credits included the musical Do Re Mi, adapted from his novella. For television, he created the series Mr. Broadway, and a miniseries based on his novel Moviola was broadcast in 1980. Ruth Gordon died in 1985; Kanin married Marian Seldes in 1990.

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Dramatist's Play Service
• Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 1, 1951
• Edition ‏ : ‎ Acting ed.
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 89 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0822201364
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0822201366
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.25 x 0.5 x 8 inches