Broadway alum and Olivier winner Tracie Bennett (Hangman, Follies, End of the Rainbow) is starring as the traditionally male J.B. Biggley in Southwark Playhouse's gender-swapped revival of Frank Loesser's Tony- and Pulitzer-winning How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying through June 17. Get a first look at the reimagined revival below.
Bennett shares the stage with Gabrielle Friedman (Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends) as J. Pierrpont Finch, another traditionally male role; along with Annie Aitken as Hedy LaRue, Taylor Bradshaw as Mr. Bert Bratt, Allie Daniel as Rosemary Pilkington, Elliot Gooch as Bud Frump, Grace Kanyamibwa as Miss Jones, Danny Lane as Mr. Twimble/Mr. Wally Womper, Milo McCarthy as Mr. Milton Gatch, and Verity Power as Smitty.
RuPaul's Drag Race judge and West End alum Michelle Visage is voicing the narrator.
See production shots from the show below:
Elliot Gooch in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
Gabrielle Friedman in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
Tracie Bennett in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
Allie Daniel and Gabrielle Friedman in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
Gabrielle Friedman and Tracie Bennett in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
Annie Aitken in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
Cast of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
Tracie Bennett in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
Cast of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
Cast of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
Grace Kanyamibwa in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
Danny Lane and Gabrielle Friedman in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
Cast of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
Allie Daniel in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
Cast of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
Elliot Gooch and Company of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
Tracie Bennett in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
Elliot Gooch and Verity Power in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
Verity Power in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
Cast of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
Verity Power and Company of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
Gabrielle Friedman in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
Milo McCarthy and Elliot Gooch in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
Gabrielle Friedman in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
Gabrielle Friedman in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
"Our approach to this wonderful show is to trust the brilliant original and let the satire shine," Rankcom previously said about the production and the casting of West End and Broadway alum Bennett. "To find the best possible company to tell this story, we expanded our ideas of who can play and embody these roles. When you’re looking for someone with the charisma and power to be the high-powered boss with a flare for the occasional musical number, Tracie Bennett quickly becomes the top choice. I’m honored and excited to be working with her on bringing this new version of How to Succeed to the stage.”
Based on Shepherd Mead's satirical novel, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying follows young and ambitious J. Pierrepont Finch as he quickly climbs the corporate ladder from window washer to chairman of the board at the World Wide Wicket Company. With a score by Loesser and a book by Abe Burrows, Jack Weinstock, and Willie Gilbert, the musical premiered on Broadway in 1961, winning the 1962 Tony Award for Best Musical and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. A film adaptation was released in 1967, and the show was revived on Broadway in 1995 and 2011. The Southwark Playhouse production is the musical's first major London run since the 1963 original West End production.
Joining Rankcom on the creative team are choreographer Alexzandra Sarmiento, musical director Natalie Pound, set and costume designer Sophia Pardon, lighting designer Lucía Sánchez Roldán, sound designer Joshua Robins, and orchestrator Stuart Morley. Waverley Moran stage manages, with Misha Mah as production manager. Casting is by Peter Noden, and Jodee Conrad serves as general manager and producer. The production is presented by Big Con Productions and The Grey Area.
This production of How to Succeed... is presented by arrangement with Music Theatre International.
Visit SouthwarkPlayhouse.co.uk.
