Review by Paul Towers, 06/06/2023
How to succeed in Business .. without really trying
Directed by Georgie Rankcom
Produced by Big Con Productions
Runs 12 May til 17 June 2023
“a comic satire on big business”
How to succeed … etc, music and lyrics by Frank Lesser & Abe Burrows, was originally a smash hit Broadway show way back in 1961! Despite that it has so many parallels with modern life.
Written as a comic satire on big business, corporate-speak and self help books, How To Succeed has been recent showcases for the talents of Matthew Broderick and Daniel Radcliffe.
This new production by Big Con Productions and The Grey Area Theatre Company started off with the premise that any of the characters could be any sex/gender and still fit into the show. Therefore the casting has been gender blind. Normally I am not a fan as it can be very confusing but in this case the characters’ genders are very obviously drawn so there is no distraction.
The story is one of back-biting, obscuration and deviousness as new boy J Pierrepoint Finch (Gabrielle Friedman) claws his way up the corporate ladder under the tutelage of the book ‘How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying’, wonderfully voiced by Michelle Visage. Finch’s nemesis is Bud Frump (Elliot Gooch), nephew of company president JB Biggley (man-dragged by Tracie Bennett) who is secretly dating Jessica Rabbit lookalike Hedy LaRue (Annie Aitken) while avoiding his wife. Finch’s love interest Rosemary Pilkington (Allie Daniel) is used to highlight how 60’s women are battling to be treated as more than eye candy. The ensemble of six provide the other characters along with a live five piece band.
How To Succeed In Business … without really trying is at Southwark Playhouse Borough until 17th June 2023
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