SALINAS
– There’s still time to catch the Western Stage production
of
”
How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying,
”
which shows through Nov. 16 at the Hartnell College Performing
Arts Center.
Western Stage produces Broadway hit play
Special to The Dispatch
SALINAS – There’s still time to catch the Western Stage production of “How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying,” which shows through Nov. 16 at the Hartnell College Performing Arts Center.
Based on the Shepard Mead bestseller, “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying” is a rollicking, fun-filled musical satire of 1950s Madison Avenue.
In the play, J. Pierpont Finch is a window washer with big dreams. He is tired of being on the outside looking in. With the help of a popular self help book, Finch tosses away his squeegee and climbs the proverbial corporate ladder from mail room to executive suite.
It is a mad-cap ascent filled with laughter, romance, intrigue, scandal and show-stopping music. Featuring the songs “I Believe in You,” “Brotherhood of Man,” “Rosemary,” “The Company Way,” “Grand Old Ivy,” “Been a Long Day,” and “Coffee Break,” it garnered the Pulitzer Prize for drama.
The play opened in New York on Oct. 14, 1961, and took the city by storm. Robert Morse as Finch led the gray flannel troupe, which included Charles Nelson Reilly, Rudy Vallee, and Bonnie Scott. It was one of the hottest tickets on Broadway. As with the recent production of “The Producers,” tickets had to be purchased months in advance. It ran a total of 1,417 performances at the 46th Street Theatre.
In 1995, “How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying enjoyed a revival” at the old 46th Street Theatre (now renamed the Richard Rogers Theatre). This time, Mathew Broderick led the cast of corporate clowns to yet another staggering box office success. However, like many other revivals, the reaction to the story revealed the many differences and similarities between the culture of the 1950s and the 1990s.
Although many things change, some remain painfully the same. In this post-Enron era of corporate scandal, the cynicism of corporate America depicted in “How to Succeed in Business” has never seemed timelier.
In recent years, the moral murkiness hidden behind the picture perfect facade of 1950s America has inspired film makers to take a deeper look at this highly mythologized period in history.
“How to Succeed” plays at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays. Go to WesternStage.com for complete information or call (831) 755-6816.
