Remember all those how-to guidebooks? In the satirical musical How to Succeed In Business Without Really Trying, the hero manages to climb the corporate ladder from lowly window washer to high-powered executive by following the simple rules detailed in a book of the same name.
“How to apply for a job, advance from the mail room, develop executive style, commute in a three-piece suit: this book is all that you need to succeed.”
The 1961 multi-award-winning classic satire by Frank Loesser and Abe Burrows is this year’s production by Israel’s veteran English-language musical theater group, LOGON (the Light Opera Group of the Negev). Power, lust, ambition, and greed are just part of another day at the office in this gleeful parody of big business.
The wacky Broadway musical, which has had multiple revivals, follows the rise of J. Pierrepont Finch, who swiftly moves up in the company with the help of that how-to book. On the way the comic hero confronts the “company man,” the office party, backstabbing coworkers, caffeine addiction, and, of course, true love. The score includes “Brotherhood of Man,” “The Company Way,” “I Believe in You,” and the naughty warning “A Secretary is Not a Toy.”
LOGON HAS been performing for 42 years, the oldest English-language theater group in Israel, and the only one that stages shows around the country. Its annual shows (barring pandemics) usually take place in March, but when the war broke out, everything was put on hold. Late in the year the decision that “the show must go on” was made, with performances beginning June 17.
One of LOGON long-standing members, Luis Har, together with his family, was among those taken hostage on Oct. 7. In December current and past cast members performed in “Hostages Square” in Tel Aviv in support of his family. In February Luis and his brother-in-law were rescued from Rafah by IDF troops.
LOGON to preform in Ofakim
For the first time, LOGON will be performing in the southern city of Ofakim, 30 kilometers east of the Gaza Strip border. On Oct. 7 it was attacked by Hamas terrorists, losing 50 people in the five-hour siege.
“Opening there is our way of showing that not only are we from the South, but we want to honor our greater community,” says LOGON’s producer Deb Lebman.
The question of whether to mount the production now was painful, says LOGON’s longtime stage director Yaacov Amsellem, whose family lives in one of the many Gaza border communities that were forced to evacuate following Oct. 7.
“My first instinct was to think that this is no time for shows or celebrations,” he comments. “But then I realized that the only way we have to confront this insane, horrible situation is through culture. It’s good that this year’s choice was a comedy. If we can make a few hundred people laugh and enjoy themselves wherever we perform, to breathe a bit, then as performers we’ve done our job the best that we can.”
(Amsellem is a veteran actor and director of the Negev Theater, a professional theater company based in the Eshkol region, all of whose communities were evacuated in October. Since then, the ensemble has been performing around the country.)
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying is admittedly dated, reflecting the reality of the early 1960s, particularly in its portrayal of female characters, almost all of whom are secretaries (think Mad Men).
“The difficulty in this show, because it’s a period piece, is the relationship between the men and the women, the bosses and their secretaries,” explains director Amsellem. “We had to decide how to present the numbers, to cut some of the lyrics, but still retain the show’s comic aspects.”
The characters are, of course, all parodied clichéd types: Mr. Biggly, the cranky boss with a secret dalliance; his sycophantic and arrogant nephew Bud; the would-be bombshell Hedy LaRue, and Rosemary, the lovelorn secretary.
How to Succeed’s title is its spoiler; the audience knows what’s going to happen, but still wants to know how.
“I think the subject is still relevant because in every situation, everyone wants a shortcut,” says Amsellem.
Founded in 1981 in Omer near Beersheba, LOGON (the acronym far predates the Internet age) draws participants from the south of the country. It began originally by performing Gilbert & Sullivan operettas. Then, when it had exhausted the G & S repertoire, it began producing Broadway musicals.
Beginning June 17 in Ofakim, performances will take place in Modi’in, Jerusalem, Ra’anana, Netanya, and Beersheba. The production is in English with Hebrew surtitles. Tickets: www.negevlightopera.com
