Southwark Playhouse – until 17 June 2023
Reviewed by Claire Roderick
4****
How to Succeed is crammed with dodgy stereotypes and attitudes, but this satire about the ethics of big business is a gem in the safe hands of the team behind last year’s wonderful production of Anyone Can Whistle. Director Georgie Rankcom lends their colourful and playful touch to another classic.
Everyman window cleaner J. Pierrepont Finch (Gabrielle Friedman) rises rapidly from a job in the mailroom to vice-president of the company with the help of a handy How to… book (voiced by Michelle Visage). As Finch climbs the corporate ladder through luck, subterfuge, quick thinking and being polite to secretaries, the nephew of the chairman vows vengeance as he finds that nepotism cannot stop Finch’s rise to the top.
Frank Loesser’s music and lyrics are catchy and memorable. Sophia Pardon’s set and costumes are bright and cartoonish, complementing the cartoonish buffoonery and outdated attitudes that were being lampooned back in 1961 when the musical premiered. The set also has a gameshowey vibe, with the relationships between the secretaries and the men feeling like The Dating Game at times. Rankcom has introduced gender fluidity in the cast, with Tracie Bennett’s hilariously physical performance as J.B. Biggley making the old guy even more ridiculous than he is written. Gabrielle Friedman plays Finch as a basically good soul, with flashes of ruthless ambition and an unwavering determination to succeed. The entire cast are at the top of their game, with exuberantly joyful and silly performances. Elliott Gooch is the perfect comic villain – with touches of the deviously inept Hooded Claw, Verity Power is brilliantly OTT as Smitty and Grace Kanyamibwa almost steals the show with her astounding vocals in the best number of the show Brotherhood of Man. The star of the show is the incredible Allie Daniels as lovelorn secretary Rosemary. With exquisite comic timing and able to make the audience howl with the raising of an eyebrow, Daniels is a joy.
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying is a blast – a wonderful cast and a show full of fun.