Pittsburgh Public Theater transforms into a swanky 1940s hotel next week when the theater presents its newest comedy production “Born Yesterday.” The 1940s play, by Garson Kanin, follows shady businessman Harry Brock (Ted Koch) as he travels to Washington with his entourage to conduct corrupt business deals. He is embarrassed by his glamorous girlfriend, the beautiful but uneducated Billie Dawn (Melissa Miller), who always says the wrong thing at the wrong time. To get Billie in touch with her new political environment, Harry hires journalist Paul Verrall (Dan Krell) to educate her. Through Paul’s teaching, Billie is empowered to find her own way, and discovers her true intelligence. Point Park University is well represented among the show’s cast.  Theater professor John Shepard plays Harry’s shady cousin, Eddie. Additionally, senior musical theater major Brandon Lambert and junior acting major Nic Duggan make their Public Theater debuts as bellhops.Both Lambert and Duggan use their debut roles as a chance to hone their physical comedy skills. “I only have one line, but it’s a very physical part to play,” Lambert said.  “It’s fun to convey things only through movement.”Lambert and Duggan are featured together in an unscripted scene in which they transition the set onstage while still entertaining the audience.   “It’s fun to do,” Duggan said.  “[Director Ted Pappas] made sure that we had stuff to do that we would enjoy.”  Both students enjoy the process of learning from the veteran actors in the cast. “Watching how [the leads] work and how they look at a script, and how they create a character and seeing how bold their choices are, is really, really cool,” Lambert said. Duggan also admires the actors and director he has the opportunity to work with.  “It’s been a great experience to learn from Ted Pappas, and they brought in a bunch of guys from NYC who have really good resumes,” Duggan said. “You learn so much just by watching them and watching the way Ted Pappas works. He’s a great director.”Dan Krell, one of the veteran actors in the cast, is a familiar face at the Pittsburgh Public Theater. Krell plays Paul Verrall, the determined journalist who is called on to educate Billie. Krell views his role as “the voice of the playwright,” and “the good guy” of the play.  However, because his role is written without many comedic character traits, Krell’s challenge is to make his character stand out among the other more exaggerated characters. “My character is not flamboyant,” Krell said in an interview at the O’Reilly Theater on Tuesday. “He’s not the big ignorant louse, you know, or the dumb girl who has all the funny lines.  Those kinds of parts are ironically easier to play because you have more to play with.  Where a role like mine, there’s less obvious things to play with so it’s more difficult to mine it.”  In order to study his role, Krell consulted the research binder that was provided for the cast by Garson Kanin’s estate. Since Krell’s character is a journalist for The New Republic, he also read the most up-to-date copy of the magazine.Despite the differences in time period, Krell maintains that the play remains appropriate for today’s audiences. “Unfortunately, it’s very relevant,” Krell said. “There will always be the bad guys, and they will always be trying to make it hit the jackpot… through corruption and bribery.”Lambert said that the play’s message of empowerment through knowledge has an even greater impact because of the upcoming presidential election.  “Ted did a great job bringing out the politics of it while still having a funny show everyone can enjoy,” Lambert said.  He also believes that “people, especially females, will really resonate with the heroine in [the play.]  She has the biggest transformation in the show, both hilarious and really powerful.”“Born Yesterday” opens with previews Sept. 27 and runs through Oct. 28 at the O’Reilly Theater.