★★★☆☆
Bounding out of the time vault and onto the Hayes Theatre stage comes LPD Productions’ How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, directed and choreographed by Cameron Mitchell.
Based on a 1952 satirical self-help book by Shepherd Mead, the musical version of How to Succeed was first performed in 1961 and became a huge Tony and Pulitzer-winning hit. It constructs a conceit that incorporates Mead’s self-help book into the musical’s book/script – here voiced mellifluously by Tony Sheldon – and which is populated with names that wouldn’t look out of place at a White House cabinet meeting.
J. Pierrepont Finch (Jake Speer) is a twenty-something window washer going nowhere who finds a book – an instructional manual – on how to ascend a corporation with little effort and a lot of cunning. Finagling a job with the World Wide Wicket Company, Finch naturally, for this is the 1960s, starts in the mailroom, where he is taken under the wing of mailroom boss, Twimble (Wayne Scott Kermond).
Twimble provides him with the secret to a successful career: don’t be ambitious; follow “The Company Way.” When anointed as new head of the mailroom, Finch takes the book’s advice (never get stuck in the mailroom) and declines. Quite bizarrely, this is seen as an act of selflessness, and of course Finch is promoted to a vice president role.
Thus begins Finch’s inexorable rise through the ranks of gormless corporate flunkies. This is not Succession, however. It’s froth and bubble, an easy-going satire of corporate and gender politics with characters – really caricatures – we all recognise, coated with the thinnest veneer of irony.
Though the women are generally shown to be smarter than the men (with the exception of Finch, who manipulates everyone), they are still largely operating within a restrictive gender role, and as a result their conception of success or life goals is similarly circumscribed. The book by Abe Burrows, Jack Weinstock, and Willie Gilbert lightly plays up this disparity, and Mitchell’s direction emphasises the point through facial expression and sharp choreography.
Still, I’m not entirely buying it. The stuff that has dated is kind of glossed over. Some of the jokes have dated very badly and fall flat, and there’s a missed chance or two along the way to update. “A secretary is not a toy” is a case in point. Although Frank Loesser’s lyrics were satirical for the time, we are now living post-#MeToo, and this number deserved a much better treatment that stresses today’s reality. Role or gender reversal, perhaps?
One thing this show makes abundantly clear is that Jake Speer is a damn good musical theatre performer. His charmingly roguish presence keeps Finch on the right side of the audience’s affections. Simon Burke (sounding a lot like John Lithgow) is equally as good, making J B Biggley endearingly daft. They had the chemistry that was sadly lacking between Speer and Georgia Laga’aia as Rosemary.
Unfortunately for Laga’aia, such is the strength and sweet clarity of her voice that the miked amplification was unnecessary and did her no favours. Sound was a problem generally, because at other times the balance between band and vocals was weighted too much to the former.
The minor characters are generally well-played. Lucy Lalor as Hedy LaRue delivers the sass, and Noni McCallum as Miss Jones does a great line in sarcasm. Max MacDonald plays up the Snidely Whiplash side of Bud Frump in a broad-brush approach typical of the production.
In a musical that indulges too many reprises, sustaining energy does become an issue. Noticeably, the rapid scene changes required towards the end of Act One slow a momentum that was already beginning to struggle. It’s quite a long stint in uncomfortable seats.
The production’s big strength is Mitchell’s choreography. In such a small space, the large ensemble’s movements are pinpoint accurate. The ‘zombie dance’ of Coffee Break is inspired, and Brotherhood of Man, paying homage to Bob Fosse, is a show-stopper.
Christine Mutton has had one hell of a day out designing the costumes. From skirt suits, through hideously funny knitwear, to the glamour of Paris ‘originals’, they nail the colourful craziness of the 60s.
As if to reinforce the idea that the past is a foreign country, the set from Dominic Foffani comprises a building that unseams, folding back as two wings to reveal the building’s interior, drawing the audience into the musical’s 1960s milieu.
And, for better or worse, that’s where we are. Mitchell has deliberately chosen to respect a 1960s time capsule. To be fair, Loesser’s music is jaunty, the choreography first-class, and the cast gives it a good rip. So, step back in time if you will.
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying is presented by LPD Productions in association with Hayes Theatre Co. It runs to 27 September at Hayes Theatre Co. 19 Greenknowe Avenue Potts Point NSW 2011.
Tickets: https://hayestheatre.com.au/event/how-to-succeed-in-business-without-really-trying/
Website: https://hayestheatre.com.au/
Socials: https://www.instagram.com/hayestheatreco_official/
Photo credits: John McRae
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