To purchase the Broadway Revival Cast Recording of HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING, click on the image above.

It’s Double Take December at Musical Cyberspace! Every musical pretty much has something one likes and something one doesn’t in it. This month I’ll be listing one of each for a range of musicals, a different one each day.

How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying

Something I Like: I really love “Brotherhood of Man”. It is one of Frank Loesser’s most memorable numbers and I adore too the rearranged version from the 1990s revival of the show.

Something I Don’t Like: What was perhaps sharp satire in 1961 is less so now. What was once Pulitzer-worthy is now simply pleasant. (Does that mean that in fact it was perhaps not Pulitzer-worthy in the first place? Or does it mean that the worth of a Pulizter is only transient?) Anyway, the point is that office life has changed a great deal, parituclarly in the past decade with the rise of the digital age. Sure there is still relevance in Abe Burrows, Jack Weinstock and Willie Gilbert’s book, but some of the satire is dated because that which is satirised no longer penetrates the general public consciousness. This is perhaps why the current revival of the show has had to depend on its star player to keep things running. It’s probably wise to remember that without Daniel Radcliffe in the central role, the revival might never have happened in the first place.

Feel free to share your “double take” on How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying in the comment box!