This irresistible, Players On Air ‘original’, I’m seeing tonight! ‘Specially for them! Okay, okay, so it’s not an “original”, as they didn’t write it— that’s Music & Lyrics by Frank Loesser with Book by Abe Burrows, Willie Gilbert, and Jack Weinstock— but it is their very first time putting it on the main stage! And they are indeed succeeding when it comes to their production of How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying. Directed by Laura Wonsala, with Musical Direction by Matt Lamb, and Choreography by Justin Patterson, this zany comedy takes you back to the early 1960’s of big corporate office life. Players On Air is doing big business with this satirical superstar, giving it all the corporate comedy one could hope for in this rarer Frank Loesser gem.
While the setting is simplistic— a blue cubist backdrop that looks a little like fancy windows or maybe even a nod towards the “future of business” looking a bit like virtual video screens— the Scenic Artistry Team comprised of Laura Harrison, Jessica Cheeks, Emma Fronheiser, Chris Fronheiser, and Kayla Logue creates a nifty slide-apart elevator with the World Wide Wickets logo on the doors, as well as clever little stacking boxes that say things like “Personnel” and “Gatch”, the head of one of the departments. (This also has a spin-around component for when that department head changes!) It’s a nifty job keeping the set simple yet effective. One has to roar with laughter, however, at Finch’s first office. There’s a whole slapstick comedy bit about just how tiny of a rolling cubicle it really is!
The show’s costumes— by way of Aesthetics Manager Alicia Vogt— which are all appropriate for the era, are wonderfully saturated in bright hues and varying patterns. There’s some lovely World Wide Wickets’ emblazoned aprons for everyone who works in the mail room, in eye-blinding yellow and there’s even a towel in buttercup cream yellow with the exact same logo for that scene where Heddy comes out of the shower in JB’s office. There’s polka dots, checker-plaid, and all the ladies’ dresses are of the era and underlaid with little petticoats. The “Paris Original” dresses just scream garishly gorgeous in their flavor of bubblegum shock pink and some of the suits— particularly the ones that just pop right off of Bud Frump, really give the gentlemen an extra hint of flare.
Choreographer Justin Patterson really works some energetic routines into the performance, particularly when it comes to the larger group numbers like “The Company Way” which features full-circle spinning from all of the ensemble on stage. There’s a really slick tango (featuring Rachel Jancarek and Devon Pauline) during “Coffee Break”, which is a number that is otherwise dominated by melodramatic zombie shuffling and bodies crying out in the sheer agony of caffeine deprivation. Pauline, along with Patterson (who plays Bud Frump) and Matt Lamb (as Mr. Bratt) can be seen leading some fabulous moves during “A Secretary Is Not A Toy.” And all of Patterson’s whole-company efforts are really put to the test, and pass, during “Brotherhood of Man”. There is a lot of high-energy, and musically stylized choreography featured in this production. Patterson even has some fleet-footed fancy footwork that he adds to the Bud Frump character every chance he gets. When he’s living it up during “Been A Long Day (Reprise)” it’s like watching Fred Astaire doing a Red Bull commercial; that boy’s feet has got wings!
The show has a few struggles with some of the textual delivery and pacing; it’s early in the final dress rehearsal process so this may yet tighten up, but a lot of the zippy one-liners from the tertiary characters sort of flop into place rather than slice through the scene. And this isn’t a huge detraction from the show as a whole, but given that this is an old-school musical in the sense that it stretches on past the modernly-acceptable playtime of two and a half hours with the intermission simply because of when and how it was written, the pacing becomes instrumental in keeping the audience invested. But what the show lacks in pacing (and could easily correct in a day or two’s time) the company, under the astute direction of Laura Wonsala, easily makes up for with enthusiasm and character quirks. There is a lot of caricature hamming going on in this production and it is well suited for the dated nature of what happens in office culture of the 1950’s and 60’s.
There are so many ‘principal’ types running around in this production (I think the role count is something like 18 plus ensemble) and they all find their little niches of humor. Steve Lebischak as chairman of the board Wally Womper has that gruff, window-washer attitude that you’d expect from a self-made mob-boss type. John Ferarra as Mr. Twimble, the quarter-of-a-century-man may not be the most polished when it comes to delivering spoken lines (he’s got a great scene partner in Ben Azat as leading man J. Pierrpont Finch to help him out!) but he lights up like a real Joel Grey type when he bursts out into his feature song “The Company Way.” And while we only see BBDO aka Mr. Ovington (J.P. Marcotte) for a few moments, his antics and overly zealous expressions are quite humorous and well worth the wait.
Of course all the named players— like Mr. Matthews (Charles Martin) and Mr. Tackaberry (Jayden Frisby), who not only double up in the ensemble but double up as the elevator bellhops (meticulously pulling the doors open to create the illusion of a functioning elevator), also round out the vocally powerful ensemble with little quirky ad-libbed lines that are liberally peppered throughout the production. It’s a true ‘team effort’ inside the World Wide Wicket corporation and the same is true for this production; everyone is pulling their weight and making the audience laugh and enjoy the talent they are presenting.
Lisa Matthews, as the stalwart Miss Jones, may only have a few interactions with Finch but she really gets a chance to belt it out during “Brotherhood of Man” and finds her footing in the character, completely with little red-bow-buckle pumps, easily. Jessie Dugan, as Smitty, finds herself in a similar vein. Except with Dugan’s Smitty, the song is “Cinderella, Darling” and she gets a chance to put her vocal prowess on display, leading the female ensemble (Debbie Brengle, Haley Blankenship, Abi Culkin, Emma Fronheiser, Sarah Fronheiser, Rachel Jancarek, Kaylin Rock, Bry Hession, Allie Logue, Heather Skinner) through that Act-II opener, with lots of pluck and gusto.
Mr. Bratt (Matt Lamb) whose deadpan approach to living life in the office is rather quirky and humorous (though not without those completely inappropriate ogling stares that were commonplace for the era). Lamb, who gets to lead “A Secretary Is Not A Toy” and later gets put in charge of the ‘WWW Treasure Hunt’ giveaway TV program (his character is none-too-pleased as he’s foisted into a pirate costume), is an essential component to this production, given that he’s also the show’s musical director, responsible for those amazing harmonies and blends that come out of the talented cast. But his shenanigans and sardonic antics during “The Yo-Ho-Ho” (which features Lamb as the pirate man, and Sammi Azat, Haley Blankenship, Emma Fronheiser, and Sarah Fronheiser as pirate lasses) are to die for.
J.B. Biggley (Tom Rendulic) is the big man in power. So it seems hilariously fitting that Laura Wonsala has found a short-statured actor to play opposite the lamppost-heighted actor she’s picked for Finch (the physical comedy of ‘the big boss’ being of diminutive stature when standing beside the protagonist is not lost on anyone.) While at times Rendulic slips up with his textual delivery, he really lays on the humor and hilarity when he delves into “Grand Old Ivy” a silly-nonsense duet with Finch and finds a hint of sincerity for “Love From a Heart of Gold” a duet he shares with Heddy.
As for Miss Heddy LaRue (Sammi Azat) well she’s turning all the heads when she shows up at World Wide Wickets. Azat is really selling the heightened caricature of this character, everything from the tawdry trashy accent to the over-exaggerated physicality when she mince-walks and when she bends over to pick things up off the floor. The vocal affectation that she applies to the character is flawless and fits right in when she starts singing (which isn’t often because Heddy just isn’t given a bunch of songs, and that’s a shame because Azat really has some pipes!) Playing up the stereotypical bimbo-character who trades on her looks and sexuality, Azat is slaying in this role.
The polar opposite of the Heddy type of character is milquetoast little Rosemary Pilkington (Sara Michaels.) The gooey-eyed ingenue could not be more delicate, but Michaels finds a way to make her humorous (it’s a show of its times so all the ‘delicate frail female’ characteristics and tropes are well in-play here.) Michaels drifts through “Happy to Keep His Dinner Warm” with a lightness that is akin to meringue, sweet and fluffy. She even effects a funny little French sounding accent for certain bits of “Paris Original” and her meet-cute chemistry with Finch is adorable. They have well-blended voice, particularly during “Been A Long Day”.
Justin Patterson, the show’s exuberant choreographer, has strapped little rockets to Bud Frump’s feet and derriere for as much time as both of the character’s assets are spent flipping, flying, and flinging about in the air. This is a sassy, fierce Frump the likes of which you’ve seen. Patterson has a powerful voice (which almost feels wasted on the Frump character because, despite having one third of the Act I finale trio number “Finale Act I”, you don’t get much of his singing) but he makes the character such an over-the-top level of camptastic that you are squealing in the delight the whole production through. (Seriously, if I start listing out all his antics you’ll spend days reading through his shenanigans instead of seeing them in person.) Patterson is just something else; wholly indescribable in the best way possible in his approach to tackling this role. And he gets his dance on (and his leap on too) every blessed chance he gets. His physical antics and comic shenanigans are second only to Finch himself in this production.
Ben Azat is comic gold in the role of J. Pierrpont Finch. Saving scenes when some lines slip awry, cheating that smarmy-hilarious grin and wink out to the audience as often as he can get away with (it’s scripted, don’t worry) and just owning the role in the most hilarious way possible, Azat is bringing a breath of fresh air to the character. His expressive physicality, especially when slinking into or slipping out of scenes, is uproarious and you won’t be able to stop laughing at him. Except he’s also got an incredible voice, which really gives full vocal support to numbers like “I Believe In You” and he carries “Brotherhood of Man” with such gusto that you can’t help but clap along as he sings. The improvisational nature of the character is like a second skin to Azat; watch him closely when he’s making things up as he goes along in scenes with Biggley (again it’s all scripted but he does such a great job of making it look like he’s creating it on the fly that you almost forget it’s directly scripted!) Azat is the perfect fit for this cheeky, wheedling business charlatan with a true heart of gold.
How to— how to— succeed in having a good time at the theatre this weekend? Involves getting tickets to Players On Air’s How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying and you don’t need an instructional booklet to tell you that! s
Running Time: Approximately 3 hours with one intermission
How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying plays through July 24, 2022 as a Coppermine Presents: Players On Air production in the main auditorium of the Panthers Performing Arts Center— 1400 Panther Drive in Hampstead, MD. Tickets are available at the door or in advance online.
