Living in a city where indictments and cronyism are crowding the headlines, there's something really satisfying about spending the night at the theater and rooting for the nerdy, idealistic Washington journalist to keep his integrity, get the girl and take the system down a peg in the process.

But that's not the only reason to check out Arena Stage's polished production of Born Yesterday, which opened last night. Another is the staging. The entire play is set in a posh 1940s hotel room, and the rich, satiny red furniture, glittering chandelier and jazzy soundtrack capture this nicely. Fichandler Stage's in-the-round setup can prove challenging for a dialogue-heavy production, but this one uses it well - each side of the audience gets a different perspective of particular characters' facials and reactions, just as someone would if he or she was in the room. Though a handful of stage scuffaws are a bit clumsy, the actors do a nice job with the physical comedy the various roles require.

The main players in Born Yesterday are the intellectual New Republic writer Paul Verrall (Micahel Bakkensen), the uncouth junkyard tycoon Harry Brock (Jonathan Fried), his bubbly but vacant girlfriend Billie (Suli Holum), his now-corrupt lawyer (Rick Foucheux) and the Senator he has in his pocket (Terrence Currier). Brock has come to D.C. in order to bribe away the legislation regulating his industry, but realizes his gilfriend's crassness and stupidity won't really fly in D.C.'s inner circles (he neglects to notice his own boorishness in the process). He hires Verrall, who has been pushing to do a Brock profile piece, to pull a Henry Higgins on Billie and teach her about politics and class.

Billie's sex appeal and upfront manner disarm the cynical reporter immediately, and Billie finds herself drawn to Verrall's passion and brilliance, enough to want to impress him with her newfound literary zeal. Holum is absoulutely endearing as she becomes more and more intellectually inquisitive while still keeping her frank nature, and the pair's growing attraction is believable and satisfying (never has correcting grammar seemed so hot!). Bakkensen's ever-present smirk is at first a little unnerving, but he does a good job bringing earnestnest to some of the script's clunkier lines, and charge to his scenes with Billie. Fried's Brock shines the most during his buffoon-like moments, as the character's more volatile moments can occasionally seem over-the-top (though certainly forgivable on account of the broad nature of the piece).

Prepare to be charmed by Born Yesterday, particularly if you're like DCist: a sucker for fedoras, banter, guys in glasses and His Girl Friday-style scripts. If you aren't, you'll at least enjoy the screwball comedy and the good-natured satire of your own rather notorious place of residence.

The play runs through Nov. 6. Tickets range from $46-$60, with discounts for students and groups. Attendees 25 years old and younger can purchase a limited number of $10 tickets on the day of the performance. More details available here.