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DHT
Andy Montague, as J. Pierrepont Finch, lies and fudges his way
to the top of the corporate ladder in "How to Succeed in Business
Without Really Trying," while impressing the women around him.
He's pictured with Hillary Jovi, who plays Rosemary.

Decades old musical
a modern success

By John Berger
Special to the Star-Bulletin

HOW to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying" is a musical from the '60s that was based on a book from the early '50s, but the characters and carryings on make Diamond Head Theatre's production as timely and topical as tomorrow's corporate battles.

The plotting is thin but the show is also a fine directorial debut for Mary Gutzi at DHT.

J. Pierrepont Finch (Andy Montague) is the ambitious ex-window washer who uses Shepherd Mead's 1952 satirical guide to the corporate world of button-down minds and gray flannel suits as his blueprint for success at World Wide Wickets.

Finch sucks up to his superiors, sabotages his rivals. fakes his credentials and qualifications, speaks in corporate platitudes, piles it higher and deeper -- and succeeds in fooling or intimidating almost everyone he meets on the way up.

ON STAGE "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying": Diamond Head Theatre 8 p.m. Thursdays to Saturdays and 4 p.m. Sundays through March 5. Tickets: $10-$40. Call 734-0274

Getting close to company president J.B. Biggley (Howard Bishop) requires dealing with the smaller sharks in the corporate tank: Bratt (Greg Howell), Gatch (Braddoc De Caires), Jenkins (Wil Thomas Kahele), Matthews (Gary Masuoka), Peterson (Agaton S. Pasion Jr.) and Tackaberry (Christopher Boswell).

Finch's first target is the obnoxious Bud Frump (Jesse Michael Mothershed), whose sole qualification for employment is the fact that he is Biggley's nephew.

Finch and Frump face off for the first time over a promotion in the mail room. Finch knows from reading Shepherd that the mail room is a dead end and so insists "for the good of the company" that Frump get the promotion. He then finesses his own promotion out of the mail room.

Montague exudes phony charm with a skill that would make Eddie Haskell proud. He also brings an engaging and believable presence to key musical numbers.

Bishop seems a natural as the harried corporate alpha male who secretly knits in his office to relieve the stress and finds that hiring his mistress, Hedy LaRue (Katie L. Shriver), for the corporate steno pool, only adds to the pressure.

Mothershed, last seen as male romantic lead in DHT's "Here's Love," does a terrific job as comic foil while playing key roles in two of the best musical numbers.

Shriver fills out a stereotypical role in fine style even though the committee that reworked Shepherd's great book into a formula Broadway musical didn't write female characters comparable to the corporate types he described. Hedy LaRue is a 39-22-38 figure who wants to be respected as a person.

Meanwhile, Rosemary (Hillary Jovi) falls in love with Finch on first sight and pursues him with single-minded ditziness thereafter. Miss Jones (Lisa Konove), Biggley's veteran executive secretary, falls under Finch's spell the first time he utters few words of flattery and gives her a flower; she immediately starts feeding him inside information.

Jovi rises above her two-dimensional role the first time she sings "Happy to Keep His Dinner Warm." She reinforces that great first impression with "Been A Long Day."

Michael Beard has a small but solid role, and a good musical number with it, as an unambitious soul proud of his 25 years in the mail room. Howell and Mothershed share the lead spot in "A Sec-

retary is Not A Toy," while Bishop displays his comic side in "Grand Old Ivy" and "Love From A Heart of Gold."

Act I runs long but never loses its momentum. Act II is one dance number too long. "The Pirate Dance" adds nothing to the story and serves only to give some cast members something to do.

Choreographer John Rampage creates color and dramatic highlights elsewhere. "Coffee Break" and "Paris Original" are great interludes in Act I. Mothershed and Jennifer Cleve (Smitty) are the sparkplugs in "Coffee Break" and get a silent assist from Aleksandr Pevec as the hapless vendor who runs out of the titular beverage.

Jovi, Cleve, Konove and Kristi Kashimoto share the spotlight in "Paris Original" as the secretaries unwittingly turn up for an important company party wearing the same garish "original" dress.

Set designers Paul Guncheon and Joel Savoie share credit for the nicely retro corporate environment. Dawn Oshima (lighting) punctuates key moments. Credit Kurt Yamasaki (sound) with perfect opening night sound.

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