‘How to succeed’ takes its own advice

Last year at this time, Golden West College was enjoying the success generated by its revival of the musical “Guys and Dolls,” with book by Abe Burrows and music by Frank Loesser.

This year, the college is reuniting with Burrows and Loesser for another revival of a musical set in the Big Apple. It’s the satirical “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying,” opening May 5 for a two-weekend engagement.

“How to Succeed” succeeded quite nicely when it first hit the Broadway boards in 1961, winning the Pulitzer Prize for its pointed attack on corporate America.

Martie Ramm, who’s directing and choreographing the show for Golden West, believes not much has changed in the 45 years since the show premiered.

“Today, just as in 1961, Americans hold corporate executives up to a rather high standard, and as stockholders, we expect results,” she says. “Lately, many CEOs have let us down.

“‘How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying’ reminds us that the more it looks like business has evolved and changed, the more it actually has stayed the same,” Ramm explains. “Flattery, chicanery and just a touch of treachery are still alive and thriving in corporate America. This musical helps us laugh at it all.”

For those unfamiliar with the show, “How to Succeed” focuses on a window washer, J. Pierpont Finch, and his meteoric climb from the bottom of the food chain to the top of the corporate ladder, where, as its director notes, “honesty is the worst policy. Power, sex, ambition and greed are all in a day’s work.”

Ramm cites a number of reasons why tackling “How to Succeed” is such a pleasure. “The script is so sharp. It cuts quickly and decisively straight to the laughs,” she comments, adding, “Not all musicals have books that can stand on their own, but this musical does.”

There’s also a sentimental factor. “How to Succeed” was the first show Ramm choreographed “way back when I was in college,” she says. “I loved it then and continue to find it inviting now.”

When the musical opened on Broadway in 1961, New York Herald Tribune critic Walter Kerr called it “crafty, conniving, sneaky, cynical, irreverent, impertinent, sly, malicious and lovely, just lovely.”

Ramm is betting that her audiences will come away with the same feeling.

“How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying” will be presented Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m. May 5 to 14. Tickets are $20 for general admission and $18 for students and senior citizens. Call the box office at (714) 895-8150 or go to www.gwctheater.com for more information.dpt-titus-CPhotoInfoEO1Q395G20060420h3hei2kfNo Captionhbi.20-titus-C.1PhotoInfo8I1Q47LG20060420ixxy4vnc(LA)