Knowledge is power in APT's ‘Born Yesterday'

By Aaron R. Conklin, Madison Magazine | June 30, 2018

Watching Colleen Madden play a ditzy, soon-to-be-empowered ex-showgirl in American Players Theatre’s production of Garson Kanin’s 1940s-era comedy “Born Yesterday,” it’s easy to recall a line she delivered a few years ago, as a different character in a different production by a different theater company:

“You have never seen the likes of me before.”

Madden delivered the line while playing a very unorthodox version of the Ghost of Christmas Present in CTM’s 2016 of “A Christmas Carol.” In the context of “Born Yesterday,” the line doesn’t quite ring true. There are plenty of theatrical examples of less-educated women triumphing over doubters and adversity with determination and some assistance (think Eliza Doolittle in “My Fair Lady” or Elle Woods in “Legally Blonde”).

But in the context of Madden’s acting career (at APT and in Madison), it’s dead-on. Madden has never rocked a character quite like this before. As Billie Dawn, Madden bends her acting skills in impressive new directions, and they help make “Born Yesterday” the best and funniest of APT’s first wave of shows this season.

Read the rest of the review here!