Did this for fun and the value shows in the textfield but not as the plain variable. Also tried removing the double quotes surrounding $app{'first_name'} in textfield().

Tr(
    [
        td(
            [
                b('First Name:'),
                textfield(-name=>'first_name', -size=>'40', -maxlength
+=>'40', -default=>"$app{'first_name'}")
            ]
        ),
    ]
),
Tr(
    [
        td(
            [
                b('First Name:'),
                $app{'first_name'}
            ]
        ),
    ]
);
[download]

Those users sure better appreciate not having to re-type form data... :-)