Tony Tuesday: HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING
This week on Tony Tuesday, we’re getting some tips on How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying!
This show has actually been featured more than once at the Tony Awards. Matthew Broderick led the 1995 revival cast in a rendition of ‘Brotherhood of Man’ at the 49th Tony Awards, and Daniel Radcliffe and the 2011 revival cast performed the same song at the 65th Tony Awards, 16 years later.
How to Succeed… is a 1961 musical with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser, and a book by Abe Burrows, Jack Weinstock, and Willie Gilbert. It is based on Shepherd Mead's 1952 satirical self-help book about office life in the USA, but the musical differs quite a lot from the source material!
The story follows the ambitious young man J. Pierrepont Finch, who uses the advice from the book How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying to help his career. Starting off as a window washer, Finch eventually rises to the position of chairman of the board at the World Wide Wicket Company.
The show opened at the 46th Street Theatre on 14 October 1961. It starred Robert Morse, Bonnie Scott and Rudy Vallée, and was directed by Burrows. The critics loved it and awards flooded in, with the show winning seven Tony Awards, as well as a Grammy Award for Best Musical Theatre Album, the New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Musical, and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
How to Succeed… came to London in 1963, opening on 28 March and running for 520 performances at the Shaftesbury Theatre. It was directed by Burrows and Bob Fosse, and starred Warren Berlinger and Billy De Wolfe. There was also an Australian production in 1963.
In 1995, the show was revived on Broadway, and again played at the 46th Street Theatre, which was by then renamed The Richard Rodgers Theatre. The revival played from 23 March 1995 - 14 July, 1996. It was directed by Des McAnuff and starred Matthew Broderick and Megan Mullally. Broderick and Mulllally were later replaced by John Stamos and Sarah Jessica Parker, but Broderick briefly returned so that he could star opposite his then-girlfriend (and now-wife) Parker!
How to Succeed… was revived again in 2011 at Broadway’s Al Hirschfeld Theatre. It ran from 26 February 2011 - 20 May, 2012 and was directed by Rob Ashford. Daniel Radcliffe starred as Finch, with notable replacements being Darren Criss and Nick Jonas.
You can get to know How to Succeed… better by listening to the cast recordings - one was produced for each of the three Broadway productions. You can also watch the 1967 movie version, in which many of the original cast reprised their roles!
FACTS:
Music: Frank Loesser
Lyrics: Frank Loesser
Book: Abe Burrows, Jack Weinstock & Willie Gilbert
Theatre: 46th Street Theatre
Run: 14 October, 1961 - 6 March, 1965 (1,417 performances)
TONYS:
Original Broadway production:
(NOMINATED) Best Composer - Frank Loesser
(WON) Best Musical, Best Author - Abe Burrows, Jack Weinstock and Willie Gilbert, Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical - Robert Morse Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical - Charles Nelson Reilly, Best Direction of a Musical - Abe Burrows, Best Producer - Cy Feuer and Ernest Martin, Best Conductor and Musical Director - Elliot Lawrence
1995 Broadway revival:
(NOMINATED) Best Revival of a Musical, Best Direction of a Musical - Des McAnuff, Best Choreography - Wayne Cilento
(WON) Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical - Matthew Broderick
2011 Broadway revival:
(NOMINATED) Best Revival of a Musical, Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical - Tammy Blanchard, Best Direction of a Musical - Rob Ashford, Best Choreography - Rob Ashford, Best Orchestrations - Doug Besterman, Best Costume Design - Catherine Zuber, Best Lighting Design - Howell Binkley
(WON) Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical - John Larroquette
Matthew Broderick & cast at 1995 Tony Awards:
Daniel Radcliffe & cast at 2011 Tony Awards: