Golden West gets down to ‘Business’

Golden West College may be deep into rehearsals for its classic tragedy “Medea,” opening March 3, but the college’s musical theater faction is getting ready to conduct a class in “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.”

Auditions for the revival of this 1967 musical spoof of the corporate world will be conducted at 7 p.m. Monday and Tuesday in the college’s Mainstage Theater. The show is scheduled to open May 5 as a replacement for the umpteenth local version of the originally slated “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.”

“How to Succeed,” which inspired a movie version starring its Broadway headliner, Robert Morse, follows his character, window washer J. Pierpont Finch, up the corporate ladder of a huge New York company known as World Wide Wickets. Michele Lee and Rudy Vallee also were featured in the original company.

Starting from the mail room, Finch rises to vice president in charge of advertising, using sneaky and dubious ways so that the person above him gets either fired or moved to another section of the company. He also starts slowly falling in love with secretary Rosemary Pilkington.

Meanwhile, the president of the WWW, J.B. Biggley, tries to have an affair with the gorgeous bubblehead Hedy LaRue, but she becomes a weapon used by both Finch and Bud Frump, Biggley’s brattish and annoying nephew, who specializes in comic villainy.

“How to Succeed” was created by Frank Loesser (“Guys and Dolls”), who wrote both the music and lyrics. At Golden West, the show will be directed by Martie Ramm with musical direction by Bruce Bales.

All roles are open, the directors emphasized, with no appointment, preparation or experience required to audition.

“How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying” will be presented May 5 to 14 in Golden West’s Mainstage Theater. Additional information may be obtained by contacting the theater at (714) 895-8772 or online at www.gwctherater.com.

* TOM TITUS reviews local theater for the Independent.

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