Frank Loesser's HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING (or `H2$' as it came to be known thanks to this revival), is one of the top Broadway musicals, winner of the Pulitzer Prize in 1961 with the original production, and immortalised on screen with its original star Robert Morse. In 1995, H2$ came back to Broadway in a snappy new revival, starring Matthew Broderck in a Tony-nominated turn as J. Pierrepont Finch, the window-washer with dreams of making it in the world of big business. Megan Mullally (pre-'Will and Grace') makes for a thrilling and endearing Rosemary Pilkington, while Victoria Clark (TITANIC) plays Smitty and Luba Mason is Hedy La Rue, the office bombshell. Matthew Broderick is a warm and winning `Ponty', and his performance alone is worth the investment of this cast album.
Megan Mullally can belt it with the best of them, as evidenced in her numbers "Happy to Keep His Dinner Warm" and "Paris Original". Victoria Clark is a lovely Smitty (too bad they dropped "Cinderella Darling" which Clark would have turned into a showstopper). Jeff Blumenkrantz is a campy and suitably-slimy Bud Frump, and Ronn Carroll is fantastic as the pompous J.B. Biggley. Lillias White makes the most out of the role of Miss Jones (commanding center-stage during her "Brotherhood of Man" solo). As an added delight for this revival, every time Ponty opened his `How to Succeed..' book, the voice of Walter Cronkite would be heard as the Narrator! Later on in the run, Matthew Broderick's wife Sarah Jessica Parker would replace Mullally as Rosemary. If you've already purchased the original cast album (w. Robert Morse) I would recommend you also buy this version.
