Tyler Ravelson, Matthias Austin and John Keating in Porchlight’s ‘How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying’

When the hit musical comedy How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying premiered in 1961, it was geared toward those weary businessmen who attended the theatre after a long, hard day at the office. A rollicking good time, H2$ is both nonsensicle fun while offering a dark commentary on the follies of big Corporate America.

We have a fascination with duping the “cold corporate setup.” I haven’t met a single person who sits in a cube who hasn’t smirked when the movie “Office Space” is mentioned. “The Office” and “Man Men” also capture our attention because they riff on cutthroat office life, both now and then.

H2$, the precursor to those hit shows, strikes that sweet spot between cutting and comedy. Consider this most satisfyingly scathing lyric between the corporate ladder-climbing J. Pierrepont Finch, who charms his way to the executive wing, and Mr. Twimble, the nebbish head mailroom clerk at the perfectly plausible World Wide Wicket Company:

Finch: When they want brilliant thinking
From employees
Twimble: That is no concern of mine.
Finch: Suppose a man of genius
Makes suggestions?
Twimble: Watch that genius get suggested to resign.
Finch: So you play it the company way?
Twimble: All company policy is by me OK.
Finch: You’ll never rise up to the top.
Twimble: But there’s one thing clear:
Whoever the company fires,
I will still be here.

This lyric shows us why H2$ was so far ahead of its time. Before the age of massive layoffs and agressive outsourcing, loyalty was synonymous with stability. But, as is well known, it’s every man for himself, and Finch is well ahead of the curve.

Porchlight Music Theatre’s rollicking production of this jazzy show is everything I wanted on a drizzly Tuesday night. Director Rob Lindley certainly knows his way around this classic musical comedy, and has cast it with a bevy of delightful character actors who make up this wacky wicket world. The compact Tyler Ravelson, as unassuming go-getter Finch, smartly underplays Finch’s drive to great affect. As his equally driven love interest Rosemary, Elizabeth Telford is a clear-eyed presence with a bright and pleasing voice.

Every good musical comedy needs a dastardly foil, and as Bud Frump, the CEO’s weasely nephew, John Keating delights in fruitlessly thwarting Finch’s corporate climb. And just when you think he’s stolen the show, Iris Lieberman, as stuffy executive secretary Miss Jones, lets her hair down and the production elevates into the stratosphere.

Brenda Didier demonstrates yet again why she’s Chicago’s go-to choreographer, tapping into the colorful dance styles of the period, while Jeffrey D. Kmiec’s set design is a pop of pink, teal and tangerine.

“How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying” plays through June 1 at Stage 773. More info here >