Golden Apple takes a period musical with book and score as fresh as today and demonstrates How to Succeed in (Show) Business -- with an exclamation point! Seldom have a cast been so uniformly right for their "jobs," led by appealing comer Finch (Larry Raben, like his role, a star at whatever he does). You agree as he sings to himself, "I Believe in You." What fun to watch Finch climb the corporate ladder, while nepotistic nemesis Bud Frump keeps sawing away at the rungs. (Looking like Phil Silvers with horn-rimmed glasses but always smirking, Tommy O'Donnell is the epitome of the guy you come to hate but love to see pitfalling via pratfalling.) No closet knitter ever outfitted himself for golf in brighter plaid sweater than Ian Sullivan as company President Bigley. His tribute with Finch to alma mater "Grand Old Ivy" deserves an A+. He's also well on key sharing "Love from a Heart of Gold" with mistress Hedy.
Poured into slit-skirted, low-cut dresses, Jillian Johnson sounds like Lina Lamont, but Hedy's dumb-blonder and more amiable. Donna Reed couldn't have made a nicer wife-to-be for Finch than Susie Roelofsz's Rosemary, who's one sweet-soprano secretary as well. Pencils in hair, Kyle Ennis Turoff as steno Smitty alternates sarcasm with realism and leads a hilarious "Coffee Break" reaction to a broken percolator. Jay Strauss' countenance and voice conform cannily to doing things "The Company Way," whether as head of the mail room or (doubling) as board chairman.
Richard Bigelow's voice is another asset, especially warning "A Secretary Is Not a Toy." Certainly not exec secretary Sharon Scott, who gets top laughs as she ends a party parade of coworkers, each wearing what she thought would be a "Paris Original." Scott's scat improvisations incorporate a powerful sisterhood into the businessmen's already booming "Brotherhood of Man."
Director Will Mackenzie never lets the pace slacken, effectively blending action, tableaux, overvoicing, and off-stage scenes. Music is ample and effective. If the Dow tracked dinner theater productions, Golden Apple's would send it soaring.
