Everyone’s favorite boy wizard is flying again. Just not on a broomstick this time. Instead, Daniel Radcliffe takes to the Broadway stage in his musical debut as a window-washer hoisting (literally!) his way up the corporate ladder. How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying chronicles the adventures of J. Pierrepont Finch as he attempts to make it big in the business world. Following the advice of a how-to-guide book (voiced by eveyone’s favorite journalist Anderson Cooper), Ponty (as he tells everyone to call him), takes a job in the mail room at the World Wide Wicket Company in 1960s New York. Although immediately catching the attention of secretary Rosemary Pilkington who would be “happy to keep his dinner warm”, Ponty only seems to notice himself and his need to succeed.
Once in the mailroom, Ponty quickly consults his book which informs him that the mailroom is not the place to stay, and he must continue to work his way up. Competing against his clueless co-worker (and the head of the company J.B. Biggley’s nephew!), Ponty must outwit him and charm his boss in order to win the coveted position of head of the mailroom in a cute number “Company Way” featuring envelope stuffing, stamping, and acrobatics.
After managing to deceive everyone, convince himself that “he can,” and fire others along the way, Ponty still manages to severely lack a heart.
But the decision to cast a younger Ponty (Radcliffe who is only twenty-one as opposed to Matthew Broderick from the 1995 revival who was in his early thirties and Robert Morse from the original Broadway cast in 1961 who was also thirty) seems to be working to the producers’ advantage. Not only are throngs of Harry Potter fans flocking to the Al Hirschfeld to see the boy who lived sing and dance (highly successfully – after years of solo training on set of Harry Potter!) live on stage, but the audience also seems to find themselves rooting for Finch, even though it is clear you should not want to: each time Finch deceives someone else the lights dim, a spotlight is cast on Radcliffe, and he grins impishly at the audience (quite similar to Ashford’s staging of Sean Hayes in Promises, Promises).
As the boss J.B. Biggley, John Larroquette (“Night Court” “Boston Legal”) brings a certain likeableness to his character, even though it is clear that he is having an affair with the comedic office bombshell Hedy La Rue (Tammy Blanchard – Gypsy) who he hires into the office and then sends any employee seen flirting with her to Venezuela. Rose Hemingway, who makes her Broadway debut as Rosemary Pilkington is adorably charming as the secretary who set her sights on Ponty and she brings both innocent naivety and sophisticated wit to her role.
Director Rob Ashford does an amazing job brining the musical numbers to life including “Coffee Break” a comedic ode to the businessman’s favorite beverage,
“Paris Original” in which all of the secretaries arrive at the big office in party in the same “one-of-a-kind” dress, and “Pirate Dance” a seemingly random number that winds up really binding together the action of the musical. But by far, two of the biggest crowd-pleasers are “Grand Old Ivy,” in which Finch and Biggley cheer on Biggley’s alma mater’s football team, complete with muddy football players who lift and toss Finch around the stage and the second-to-last number “Brotherhood of Man” where Finch gives his fellow co-workers a pep talk about what it means to work together and support each other. The bright boxy, retro 1960s stage set adds a fun element to the show, proving it to be an entirely great “success” on Broadway!
Photos Courtesy of Ari Mintz