“How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying” opens next week at Arts Center of Coastal Carolina. Fresh off a smash-hit Broadway revival, the show features proverbial mad men tackling 1960s corporate America. With the aid of a trusty self-help book, wily window washer J. Pierrepont Finch enjoys a riotous rise up the corporate ladder. Can he get the promotion, the corner office and the girl? The show, featuring great big musical dance numbers, is one of the most popular and funniest of all time, winner of 10 Tony Awards and a Pulitzer Prize.

Music and lyrics are by Frank Loesser and book by Abe Burrows, Jack Weinstock, and Willie Gilbert, based on Shepherd Mead’s 1952 book of the same name. The story concerns young, ambitious J. Pierrepont Finch who, with the help of the book How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, rises from window washer to chairman of the board of the World Wide Wicket Company. The musical, starring Robert Morse & Rudy Vallee, opened at the 46th Street Theatre on Broadway in October 1961. The show won seven Tony Awards, the New York Drama Critics Circle award, and the 1962 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. In 1967, a film based on the musical was released by United Artists, with many of the original cast recreating their roles. A 1995 revival was mounted at the same theatre as the original production, and starred Matthew Broderick and Megan Mullally. A 50th anniversary Broadway revival directed and choreographed by Rob Ashford and starring Daniel Radcliffe and John Larroquette opened on March 27, 2011, at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre.

When: April 25 – May 27th
Where: Arts Center of Coastal Carolina
Tickets: Adults: $50-$55; Children: $35-$39 (Group discounts available)
https://tickets.artshhi.com
Box office: 843-842-ARTS or toll-free 888-860-2787