VIDEO: Get a First Look at Skylar Astin, Betsy Wolfe, and More in HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING

By: Jun. 18, 2018
Enter Your Email to Unlock This Article

Plus, get the best of BroadwayWorld delivered to your inbox, and unlimited access to our editorial content across the globe.




Existing user? Just click login.




The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts presents How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, produced as a part of Broadway Center Stage-a Kennedy Center-produced series of musicals in semi-staged concerts, conceived and executive produced by Jeffrey Finn.

Get a first look at the cast in action in the video!

The Tony Award® and Pulitzer Prize-winning musical lampooning life on the corporate ladder starred Skylar Astin (Pitch Perfect) as J. Pierrepont Finch, Betsy Wolfe (Waitress, Falsettos) as Rosemary Pilkington, Michael Urie (Ugly Betty, Shakespeare Theatre Company's Hamlet) in as Bud Frump, John Bolton(Anastasia, A Christmas Story) as Mr. Bratt, John Michael Higgins (Pitch Perfect,Best in Show) as J.B. Biggley, Joaquina Kalukango (The Color Purple) as Smitty, Tony Award® winner Michael McGrath (She Loves Me, Nice Work If You Can Get It) as Mr. Twimble and Wally Womper, Becki Newton (Ugly Betty) as Hedy La Rue, and D.C. favorite Nova Y. Payton (Ragtime at Ford's Theater, Caroline, or Changeat Round House Theatre) as Miss Jones. The ensemble featured Darius Barnes, Sean Bell, Lawrence Clayton, Colin Cunliffe, Kaitlyn Davidson, Casey Garvin, Eloise Kropp, Harris Milgrim, Shina Ann Morris, Kristin Piro, Katerina Popacostas, Tally Sessions, Diana Vaden, and Vishal Vaidya.

With direction by Marc Bruni (Beautiful), choreography by Denis Jones (Holiday Inn, Honeymoon in Vegas), and music direction by Todd Ellison (An American in Paris), How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying ran June 6-10, 2018 in the Eisenhower Theater.

A tune-filled comic gem, How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying boasts an exhilarating score with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and a delightfully funny book by Abe Burrows, Willie Gilbert, and Jack Weinstock. The show follows the rise of J. Pierrepont Finch, who uses a little handbook called How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying to climb the corporate ladder from lowly window washer to high-powered executive. Winner of both the Tony Award® for Best Musical and the Pulitzer Prize in drama when it debuted in 1961, it has since received Tony Award®-winning Broadway revivals in 1995, starring Matthew Broderick, and 2011, starring Daniel Radcliffe.

The design team for this semi-staged concert production included set design byScott Pask (The Band's Visit, The Book of Mormon), lighting design by Peter Kaczorowski (Beautiful, The Producers), costume design by Amy Clark (Chaplin), and sound design by Brian Ronan (Beautiful, The Book of Mormon).

How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying concluded the inaugural season of the Broadway Center Stage series, which began with starry sold-out runs ofChess and In the Heights. In the 2018­-2019 season, Broadway Center Stage will feature Little Shop of Horrors; Meredith Wilson's Tony Award®-winning classic, The Music Man, starring Norm Lewis; and The Who's Tommy, the Tony Award®-winning musical. The Broadway Center Stage series will also expand to include three one-night-only readings of some of the greatest classic American plays featuring stars in roles they have always dreamed of playing.

For tickets and information, visit www.kennedy-center.org.



Videos