STAGE REVIEW : ‘Yesterday’ Loses Power at Playhouse : * Neither the romance nor the political aspects are successful in the Costa Mesa production of Garson Kanin’s play, about the corruptibility of power.

More than a fluffy tale of love among the mismatched, Garson Kanin’s “Born Yesterday,” at the Costa Mesa Civic Playhouse through June 30, is a cautionary little fable about the corruptibility of power. Playwright Garson Kanin uses Harry Brock, a junkyard baron of voracious appetites who buys a U.S. senator, to show us what to be wary of in the democratic process.

The play does get preachy (a fault not shared by the 1951 film version with Judy Holliday). Still, Kanin was able to meld the serious with the silly; done well, “Born Yesterday” can crackle with both giddy romance and social responsibility.

The trouble in Costa Mesa is that director Marthella Randall doesn’t really give us a charged connection with either. The love that blooms between Harry’s ignorant-but-darling wife Billie and Paul, the brainy magazine writer Harry hires to smarten her up, is flat. And the subtext of influence-peddling, as Harry pushes ahead in his plan to form a cartel with the senator’s help, doesn’t carry the conviction, the moral indignation that it should.

As for the romance, it should be noted that Stan Wlasick took on the role of Paul only recently, after another actor pulled out. Maybe that’s why Wlasick didn’t seem comfortable during Thursday’s opening night show. In any case, his Paul had an appropriately studious veneer but lacked the lover’s vitality percolating just under the surface.

Pepper Hamilton tried to inject some fizz in the role of Billie, exhibiting good comic timing and making several cute faces. But what she really offered was a decent impersonation of Holliday. You’ll wish she’d do more.

The most effective turn is by Bob Kokol as Harry. The actor doesn’t do anything to make the character sympathetic--he plays him gruff and rough. This Harry is a glaring megalomaniac who considers everything a possession, including the people around him.

‘BORN YESTERDAY’

A Costa Mesa Civic Playhouse production of Garson Kanin’s play. Directed by Marthella Randall. With Pepper Hamilton, Bob Kokol, Stan Wlasick, Gene Meigs, Gordon Marhoefer, Lorraine Pasqualini, Damian Papahronis, Paul Bafford and Lisa DeGroot. Set by David Scaglione. Lighting by Eric Person. Sound by Jim Bell. Plays Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. through June 30 at 661 Hamilton St., Costa Mesa. Tickets: $8 and $9. (714) 650-5269.