Hayes Theatre, September 2
7/10
Don’t you hate it when the career seas seem to part for some people, and they glide from pinnacle to pinnacle, with no fear of drowning in drudgery or obscurity? J Pierrepont Finch is such a person. While washing windows for a New York corporation, he reads a book called How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, and, following it step by step, rises inexorably to be chairman (this being the early ’60s) of the board. He also gets the girl, of course, and evades any consequences for shafting others along the way.
Stopping us from hating him are Frank Loesser’s music and lyrics, Abe Burrows, Jack Weinstock and Willie Gilbert’s book (based on a satirical manual by Shepherd Mead) and Jake Speer’s performance. Although Finch is both cunning and lucky, the actor has to add the third, endearing dimension: being a goofy ingenue. So we cheer him as we might a hurdler who, with a shambling action, not only clears all the jumps, but wins the race.
When the musical first aired in 1961, it cleaned up the Tony Awards, and even won the Pulitzer Prize for drama. That, presumably, was because of the keen blade it inserts between the ribs of corporatism and capitalism. Nonetheless, the competition must have been thin because it would struggle to make many people’s top 30 musicals, and most of those didn’t win Pulitzer Prizes.
Director Cameron Mitchell (for LPD Productions) has done everything possible to ensure the show glistens. His casting is shrewd, and the nifty set by first-time designer Dominic Foffani enchants. Christine Mutton’s costumes are like walking into a lolly shop, and Mitchell’s choreography is dazzling. Coffee Break, for instance, is a modest enough song in itself, but the dancing is a double-shot caffeine hit.
Other performances to shine include that of Simon Burke, who keeps crafting an ever-greater breadth of characters. Here he’s JB Biggley, the company CEO, who, beyond promoting Finch, is primarily preoccupied with golf, knitting and adultery – not necessarily in that order. Then there’s the effervescently youthful Wayne Scott Kermond, playing two roles including Womper, the company chairman, and his dancing still stands out amid a classy ensemble.
Georgia Laga’aia is Rosemary, the sweet pea who falls for Finch for no apparent reason, but clings on as he rises, and Lucy Lalor has fun with the lascivious Hedy LaRue (the role that helped catapult Nancye Hayes’ career all those years ago). Noni McCallum amuses as the prim Miss Jones, as does Stacey Thomsett playing Smitty, and Max MacDonald is a suitably slimy Frump.
The singing is sound, matched by the work of a quintet directed by Kim Gilbert on songs that while being clever, don’t rate among Loesser’s finest work. So, is the star-rating stingy? To my mind, the dancing, design and performances outshine the actual show.
Until September 27.