"How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying"

June 30, 2016 — I love the rusticity of this little theater, the rafters so low I instinctively duck as I walk in (although actually there's plenty of clearance), the rough, uneven floor boards, and the cow bell they ring to alert patrons the show is about to start, and again when it resumes after intermission. This year is the 84th anniversary of the New London Barn Playhouse. It's the oldest continuously operating summer theater in New Hampshire and it's on the New Hampshire Registry of Historic Sites.

The Barn, in the years I've been attending their shows, has been particularly good at staging musicals. Tonight's show was not among its best efforts in my opinion, but overall it was a pleasing show and an appreciative audience responded enthusiastically. "How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying" opened on Broadway in 1961 and won eight Tony Awards and a Pulitzer Prize. With songs by Frank Loesser and libretto by Abe Burrows, it ran for 1,417 performances. Having spent the last twenty years of my career as a middle manager in a business environment, I can attest to the fact the 1961 play is still relevant today. The politics and rivalries haven't changed that much.

J. Pierrepont Finch (Daniel Schwartzberg), starting out as a window washer, follows the steps in a tutorial on how to move up in the business world as he climbs the corporate ladder at the World Wide Wicket Company. The powerful-voiced Ethan Watermeier portrays company president J. B. Biggley. Michael Hornig does a nice comic turn as Biggley's conniving nephew and Finch's main rival. Rosemary Pilkington (Allsun O'Malley) is Finch's oft-neglected love interest. Kelsey Seaman is perfect in the role of the flamboyant, sexy Hedy LaRue. I won't attempt to name the entire cast of more than twenty here, but all did a commendable job. Some of the solos were a bit uninspiring, and the orchestra at times sounded like an off-speed recording. The show was at its best in the big production numbers involving the entire cast, particularly near the end of the show.

Maggie Burrows directed this performance for the Barn. Jonathan K. Parks was the music director, and choreography was by Mike Kirsch. Jordan Janota designed the colorful set, and the performers moved their own props in and out between scenes.

"See you on the porch" is the Barn's well-known invitation, and I'll be seeing them at least a couple more times this season at this, one of my favorite New Hampshire theaters.