The problem with this production is that Colin’s Kit is none of the things described. She looks like she’s read some good books but it’s a stretch to believe she’s written any. She’s certainly attractive, and she has a rueful, worldly-wise appreciation of the absurdities of friendship, love, and the literary scene. But Colin hasn’t connected with the magnetic life force that someone like Kit should give off, the unmistakable aura of not just an active mind but a passionate soul.

It didn’t help that at the preview performance I attended she seemed a bit uncertain of her lines, but Colin’s Kit was tentative where she should have been dynamic. This especially hurt her scenes with Rudd Kendall (Corey Stoll), the attractive man ten years her junior who proposes marriage in the first act. You might buy that he’s in love with her (or at least infatuated with her celebrity), but her general disconnection from the character makes it seem that there’s little at stake whether the two marry or not.

Colin has done good work elsewhere, and Kit would seem to be well within her range. Perhaps faced with a co-star like Harris, for whom More is More and Too Much is Never Enough, Colin decided to underplay her role. Perhaps she was having an off night; perhaps director Michael Wilson hasn’t helped her find Kit’s essence. Whatever the reason, Old Acquaintance will be out of balance until and unless she steps up.

It’s too bad, because the play itself has its interesting points, about the persistence of, and need for, female friendship, despite the distractions of men, motherhood, and career. While no one would call this a feminist play, it was kind of modern to have both lead characters be successful career women in 1940. Van Druten also had a keen ear for the comic absurdities of book publishing, New York, and Hollywood that are dated but not out of date. He was a skillful play constructor, so even if this production is not totally satisfying, it’s rarely dull.

But Harris is the real reason to see Old Acquaintance. Besides all her other gifts, including her comic timing and her willingness to display the least attractive (and therefore funniest) aspects of her character, she’s a riotous physical comedienne. Don’t ask me how, but in the second act, a bit tipsy and stung by betrayal, she manages to fall up a flight of very steep stairs. Join her fan club for real — you’re already a member, you just don’t know it.

Officially opens June 28 for a limited engagement at the American Airlines Theatre (227 W. 42nd St., NYC). Tickets at the theatre's website or call 212-719-1300.