Playbill of The Week: How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying

15/53

This week's review should be named Harry Potter and the Broadway musical, because this week I'm talking about the revival of How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying which starred Daniel Radcliffe. Oh wait, and Nick Jonas and Darren Criss. A revival of a revival of an original show. A classic musical, with big tap numbers, dancing men in suits and a scheme to end all schemes. One of those shows that everyone knows, whether you want to or not.

If you aren't familiar with How To Succeed the show is basically about a young man who is trying to climb his way to the top of a company with minimal effort. He reads a book that insists if he follows the instructions it will help him succeed. Based on Shepherd Mead's satirical novel of the same name from 1952 it's a fun, hilarious and bold show that's great for the whole family.

I ended up seeing this revival twice. Once with Daniel Radcliffe, the original J. Pierrepont Finch in this production, and then a second time with Darren Criss. The two coincidently both got their fame by playing the role of Harry Potter. Daniel Radcliffe in the movie versions of the book series, and Darren Criss in his theatre companies comical production of A Very Potter musical. And to be completely honest I think I enjoyed Daniel Radcliffe's performance a bit more than Darren Criss, who is trained in musical theatre. Daniel brought a charm to him that can only come from inexperience. Not saying that that is a bad thing at all. It works for the character, since he's a window cleaner with really no idea in what he's doing. Following in the footsteps of Matthew Broderick, he has a similar quality to him onstage. He's naive, confident and captivating. You couldn't help but smile when he was performing. I was so impressed with the amount of work that he did to prepare for the show. One of my biggest pet peeves is when they cast celebrities for shows and they don't put in the work that is involved with a production. But Daniel worked his butt off to deliver a great performance. Watch him at the Tonys and you'll see.

Darren also served a fantastic performance. With a lot more training than Daniel Radcliffe, you could see it came more naturally to him, he shined when he was onstage. It was easy to see how much he loves to perform. I just don't think this was the right show for him. And luckily we've gotten to see him take on other roles such as Hedwig in Hedwig and the Angry Inch, which is bold, brash and larger than life. I honestly love watching Darren perform. He loves what he does, and anytime you get to see that passion radiate out of someone, it's a treat.

My favourite performance in the show came from Christopher J. Hanke who played Bud Frump. The arrogant nephew of J.B Biggley who only got the job because he's family. He plays the perfect villain, that you love to hate. He's rude, lazy and entitled. He acts like a child whenever he doesn't get his way, and uses his family ties to his advantage. Everything he does in this show is obnoxious and perfectly timed. A character like Bud can be extremely difficult to get right. If you do too much it will be over the top and unbelievable, but he finds the right balance, and has perfect comedic timing. I laughed my butt off every time he was on stage, even when he wasn't doing anything. He made use of the quiet moments and played up the background, sometimes stealing scenes with his facial expressions. We need more for Christopher J. Hanke to do please Broadway!

This show was entertaining and delightful. Exactly what you want from classic musical theatre. I love the days of big tap numbers, bold and bright costumes, and light and breezy storylines. There are times when I don't want to walk out of the theatre with mascara running down my face. I want to go and relax and have my face hurt from smiling too much, and my stomach hurt from laughing too much. I had a wonderful time at the theatre seeing this show. Each time I saw it, it was with good company who made it even more enjoyable. And to be completely honest the first time I saw it Jonathan Groff was in the audience and my friend had to keep telling me to watch the stage. We all know I'm crazy, I embrace it now let's move on. I will always enjoy revivals of the joyously fun musicals of the past, so keep em coming and I'll keep going.