Every now and then when one goes to the theater to see a musical, there are moments when one can be transported out of the audience and into the action onstage. You and the actor and the music become one. Such was a moment in the Walnut Street Theatre’s flawless production of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. When Jeremy Morse as J. Pierpont Finch was singing, Rosemary, I was no longer listening to an actor sing a well-known song or watching him perform intricate choreography. I was seeing a young man in love. Finch was in heaven and so was I – theater heaven.
Garnering seven Tony Awards, a Pulitzer Prize for Drama and New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Musical, this 1961 Broadway musical boasts music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and a book by Abe Burrows, Jack Weinstock and Willie Gilbert. The 1967 film version of the musical starred Robert Morse as J. Pierpont Finch who came from the original cast on Broadway. (People may see Mr. Morse today on TV in “Mad Men” as the crusty Mr. Cooper.)
Based on the book by Shepherd Mead, our hero, J. Pierpont Finch, starts out as a humble window washer who employs the advice of a book entitled, “How to Succeed in Business” to help him up the corporate ladder. Adhering strictly to its dictates, Finch rises effortlessly from a lowly mail room clerk to head of the company. Though there are pitfalls along the way, (the boss’s nephew who’s out to get him, the boss’s girlfriend who’s out to get him) and distractions such as falling in love with Rosemary Pilkington, our hero somehow manages to emerge above the fray. With such songs as I Believe in You and Brotherhood of Man, it’s easy to see why this has remained such a popular show and has had a revival in 1995 with Matthew Broderick and a 50th Anniversary production in 2011 with Daniel Radcliffe.
Kudos must firstly go to the director, Casey Husion and the choreographer, Michelle Lynch who seemed to be of one mind. These two women worked so beautifully in tandem with each other (as if where one’s thoughts ended the other’s began). Secondly, Jeremy Morse, a total triple threat, possesses all of the youthful ebullience, charm and comedic timing needed to successfully embody the character of J. Pierpont Finch, the engine that makes the show hum. Becky Gulsvig stands out as Rosemary Pilkington, the sweet yet savvy secretary who falls for Finch. Amy Bodnar gives a wonderfully comedic rendition of Hedy La Rue, the dumb, dumb bombshell who drives men wild, especially the boss, J. B. Biggely, wryly portrayed by Mark Jacoby. Ed Romanoff does double duty as Mr. Twimble, head of the mail room (delivering a great version of The Company Way) and as Chairman of the Board, Wally Wamper. Cary Michele Miller is a delight as Smitty, Brian Shepard gets guffaws as the nerdy, nefarious nephew, Bud Frump and Joliet F. Harris as Miss Jones finally gets to let loose her vocal pyrotechnics in Brotherhood of Man at the end of the show.
The set by Robert Andrew Kovach is a sleek lobby of a skyscraper that transforms into many different spaces: the mail room, the office typing pool, junior offices and the executive suite. The executive washroom scene, where Finch sings, I Believe in You to himself in the mirror, is especially striking – with a simple square frame of white neon serving as the mirror. Costumes by Lisa Zinni are very Mary Tyler Moore on fire.
From the deep, booming voice of the narrator (Jeffrey Coon who
also plays Bert Bratt) at its opening, to the last strains of the
Finale, this seamless production seems to have succeeded without really
trying. Don’t miss it.