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J. Pierrepont Finch climbs World Wide Wicket's corporate ladder rapidly, while managing to win the heart of Rosemary Pilkington, in Scripps Ranch Theater's production of Frank Loesser and Abe Burrows' perennial hit, How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying. Director Raylene J. Wall, musical director Karmi Fossen, and choreographer Alisa Williams deserve accolades for giving audiences a delightful production. And what a cast! Frank Remiatte's Finch, a character trying and succeeding in crashing the corporate party, is a perfect balance of brazenness and innocence. Remiatte's interpretation in dialogue, song and dance gives Finch a loving personality, even as he brashly breaks all the rules.
His nemesis, Bud Frump, is amusingly played by a very agile Bob Himlin. The boss, J. B. Biggley, pompously amusing, portrayed by Don Harmon, is a constant challenge. Cameron Williams plays his backer, Mr. Bratt, convincingly. Greta Wassermann (we hope to see a lot more of her) is a delightfully demure (sometimes) Rosemary, Finch's romantic interest. What a voice! What a smile! What a stage presence! We don't see enough of Jodie Weiss in her delightfully comedic role of Hedy LaRue, J. B. Biggley's special "lady."
Then there's Teri Brown as the properly correct Miss Jones. In the song, "Brotherhood of Man," Brown exposes her talents as singer/dancer in an absolutely riotous solo verse, dancing and singing atop her office desk. Karina Montgomery, as Trudy Smith, M. Susan Niemann, as Miss Daphne Krumholtz, and Andy Andrews, as Gus Twimble, handle their diverse characters with aplomb. Many of the cast, including David Ainsworth, Kevin Swint, Tisha Coull, Adriana Zuniga, Dawn Himlin, Renee Levine, Bonnie Nicholls, Deborah Dalva, and Eric Gonzales perform double roles.
Raymond Harris' voice booms out as the Narrator, commanding everyone's attention. Lastly, there is one David Rivas who plays three completely different roles quite convincingly. His "TV Host" gives new meaning to the phrase "bad television." His Benjamin Ovington is hilarious, and his Dick Peterson is, well, almost normal.
Much of How to $ucceed In Business Without Really Trying is ensemble work. Kym Cree and Karen Bucey (stage manager and assistant) must have been excellent traffic cops, being sure each of the 21 talented performers enter from the correct location, which even includes the two theater entrances. Wall and Rick Carlson's set design uses multi-levels, hot colors, and is very "showy." Mitchell Simkovsky's intensely colored lighting designed complements the set and adds even more glitz. Ann Savage's costumes are perfect for the period (1960s). With the addition of a second follow spot, a working elevator-floor indicator, and the completion of the scheduled five-week run, this production should move on to a downtown stage. Don't make the mistake of missing it.
