By Kelsey Givens

Opening night for the Otterbein Theatre Department’s production of Born Yesterday will take place on Oct. 14 at 7:30 p.m. This is the first of five plays to be performed for the 2010-2011 theatre season at Otterbein.

Born Yesterday, which originally opened in 1946, is a comedy about a corrupt business tycoon, Harry Brock, who goes to Washington D.C. with his fiancée, Billie Dawn, as he tries to make a business deal with an “ethically-challenged senator.” Once they arrive in D.C., Brock realizes that Dawn needs a few lessons and a makeover in order to fit his new image in town. Brock decides to hire a D.C. journalist to help re-educate and refine the seemingly dim-witted blond, and hilarity and true love ensue.

This will be a production of the original 1946 play, performed as it was originally intended to be, says Elizabeth Saltzgiver, Audience Services Director of the Otterbein Theatre Department.

Born Yesterday will run Oct. 14-17 and Oct. 21-23 in the Fritsche Theatre at Cowan Hall which is located at 30 S. Grove St. For more information or to order tickets, call 614-823-1109 or at www.otterbein.edu/artscene

Through the Guest Artists program in the department, the lead role of the corrupt business tycoon, Harry Brock, will be filled by local professional actor Mark Mann. Saltzgiver says this program takes a role from each play, which calls for someone a bit older or more skilled as an actor, and brings in a professional local actor to play it. The program not only gives more depth to the play, but also gives student actors the chance to interact with and learn from a professional in their field.

The rest of the acting roles and production crew positions will be filled by students majoring in theatre at the university.

Overall this classic American play will appeal to both people old enough to have seen the original theatre production and those too young to have ever seen the story before. For those who were alive in 1946, the play will bring about a feeling of nostalgia, and for those who have never seen it before, the play will be very relatable to modern day politics, Saltzgiver says.

At the end of the opening night show, there will be an artists’ reception, which is open to the public. Saltzgiver says this is a time for patrons to come and meet the actors and stage crew who have been working on this production since the beginning of September.