How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying

Back when it premiered How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying was The Book of Mormon of its day. Wall-to-wall satire that hadn’t been seen since the Gershwin’s Of Thee I Sing in 1931, which also, like Succeed, won the Pulitzer Prize.

Although the subjects are different, Mormon skewers Religion while Succeed gets its claws stuck into ‘big business’, the aim is the same. Succeed’s satire may have dated, but it still packs a powerful barbed punch as Sherryl-Lee Secombe’s production for Savoyards proved. Times and attitudes may have changed – it won’t win any awards from the feminist movement – its picture of corporate 60s life has delicious spin. This was the period when men could wolf-whistle a girl and not get slapped with a sexual harassment suit, and irony could be warm and affectionate and not ruthlessly vindictive as in the Sondheim era.

These characters are OTT, lovable, and very funny. The verbal and sight gags still work splendidly, and Frank Loesser’s score is a lesson in how to write a commercial, yet witty, musical. In many respects it surpasses his work on his masterpiece Guys and Dolls.

This production was a slice of 1960s heaven. Well executed chorus work, a set that worked for the shallow proscenium arched stage it sat on, and a set of principals whose timing was a joy.

Newcomer Joel O’Brien was an excellent J. Pierrepont Finch singing with clear ringing tones and dancing nimbly throughout it was an endearing performance. A graduate of the Griffith Musical Theatre Course, O’Brien took hold of the show from the beginning and never let go until his coup d’etat finale. Sarah Copley as Rosemary, his better-half, was also a delight bringing spunk and sass to a traditional female role not written like a traditional female role. Together they were perfect and massively appealing.

Rod Jones was a funny and pompous J.B. Biggley, while Jessica Ham flamboyantly sashayed sex-appeal into an art. Savoyards stalwart Warryn James, did well in the twin roles of Mr. Twimble and Wally Womper. Others to be noticed included Julie Eisentrager’s Smitty, Jacqui Cuny’s Miss Jones, Ian Moore’s Mr. Bratt and Kyle Fenwick’s Bud Frump.

It’s hard to individually single out best numbers as there were so many highlights, but “Brotherhood of Man” has to be up there near the top. Costumes all looked very sixties – vibrant colours for the girls and slim-line suits with bow ties for the boys. I don’t know why all the girls weren’t wearing the same style of dress and colour in “Paris Original.” Choosing to have only some of them in the “Paris Original” dissipated the impact of the gimmick.

Desney Toia-Sinapati’s choreography was spare, but with nice clean lines. Geoffrey Secombe’s orchestra came up a bit scrappy during the “Overture” and “Entr’acte,” but the original orchestral charts of Robert Ginzler are not easy to negotiate, otherwise they accompanied with verve, if not finesse.

Peter Pinne

Images: The company; Joel O’Brien; Sarah Copley; Jessica Ham and Warryn James. Photographer: Christopher Thomas