How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
Rating: ★★★
Venue: Southwark Playhouse
Cast: Tracie Bennett, Gabrielle Friedman, Allie Daniel, Annie Aitken

It doesn’t matter where you start if you persevere you can succeed in business. Or you can do it without really trying.

How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying is a comic gem that took Broadway by storm in 1961, winning both the Tony Award for Best Musical and a Pulitzer Prize. It was revived twice on Broadway in acclaimed productions starring Matthew Broderick and Daniel Radcliffe.

reviewed by: Dani Gabrielle (she/they)

How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying is a musical adaptation of the book of the same name by Shepherd Mead. This production is under the direction of Georgie Rankcom, book by Abe Burrows, Jack Weinstock and Willie Gilbert and with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser. This production is currently on at the Large at the Southwark Playhouse until 12 June 2023. 

Let’s get into this shall we? Upon walking into the theatre space, I immediately was thinking fringe and black box theatre, and was very intrigued on how a musical would play out on this type of stage. The stage design is simple yet effective in putting audiences into the story. I was amazed with how brilliantly the cast utilised the space. As an audience you felt up close and immersed in what you were watching. 

The show centres around J Pierrepont Finch, a window washer who reads a book: How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. Upon the advice of the book enters the building of the company World Wide Wicket company eager for a job. 

Finch is incredibly portrayed by Gabrielle Friedman (she/they). Gabrielle took this iconic role and made it their own. At first Finch is dismissed by the big boss, J.B. Biggley, portrayed by Tracie Bennett (she/her). Tracie embodied corporate America extremely well. From her portrayal to her outstanding vocal talent, I was mesmerised. 

A standout for me was Allie Daniel’s (she/her) portrayal of Rosemary Pilkington. From comedic moments to the sincere moments, Allie was sensational. "Happy to Keep His Dinner Warm Reprise" in act two broke my heart. A beautiful performance through and through. 

Whilst the talent is unmatched and takes you on a journey, the show had a slow start and took a bit to build up. I didn’t really like the pacing of the story. However, this show having had previous productions, there wasn’t much that could be done. Besides that, as an viewer I was still engaged and entertained. 

The comedic moments blended so well with the more serious moments giving it a perfect balance of funny and raw. After all, it’s about climbing that corporate ladder whilst dealing with your life outside the office. 

All in all, having not seen this show before and only knowing very little, I was surprised by what was played out before me. It is a well put together show combining comedy and real life, along with life during the job. 

As I felt it did start off slow, it picked up throughout and by act two the pacing improved. I found myself gravitating and rooting for Rosemary with her finding and getting the love she wanted. The whole cast was phenomenal. The comedic moments hit well with the audience and didn’t fall short of laughter. An amazing show worth going to see.