It's sleek and chic and magnifique
May. 5th, 2011 11:16 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
chocolatepotHow to Succeed ... was absolutely amazing. I was in the front row, at the left end of the middle section, and there were a lot of times when actors stood right in front of me - this is a terrible seat if you just want to see the show, but a great seat if you want to be ten feet from Dan Radcliffe. The dance numbers are brilliant and perfect and "Brotherhood of Man" was wonderful and it is basically the best show I've ever seen on Broadway, possibly? Promises, Promises did have the "it's made of owl" lady who is unmatched in anything else I've ever seen anywhere, but the songs are just way better in How to Succeed. I was actually amazed at how much I liked all of the songs, because in my memories of being obsessed with the Robert Morse version there were definitely a few I skipped. The guy playing Bud Frump was absolutely fantastic as well.
(Here's the preview on YouTube.)
The one difficult issue with the show is Rosemary's storyline. Her only ambition is to marry Finch and settle down; while "So Happy to Keep His Dinner Warm" is an excellent song in terms of music, lyrics, and humor, it presents her as someone who's perfectly happy to be ignored by her husband just so long as she's got a nice house in New Rochelle. And she never changes her mind. However, this is mitigated (in my opinion) by two things: 1) historically speaking, there probably were a lot of secretaries in the '50s and '60s that wanted to get married and get out in the long term, as there weren't opportunities for advancement and that marriage and jobs were mutually exclusive, and 2) I definitely prefer marriage being her goal to her being awesome at work and then rewarded with marriage (and leaving work) in the end, if you know what I mean. When she came in at the end with the little Jackie Kennedy outfit on, it definitely read as more of a victory for her than a reward. In some ways, she's a bigger and more sympathetic character than Finch.
I couldn't help but compare it to Mad Men, too. Rosemary and Peggy map onto each other pretty well as opposites, and then there's Hedy LaRue, who is curvy and red-haired and stupid and a terrible secretary, who works very well as a foil for Joan. I don't know if the Mad Men writers thought about the show when they were coming up with their cast of characters, but it's interesting.
***
Reading about Candace Wheeler for my Modern Textiles project and came across how she wanted all of the women's stuff at the Chicago World's Fair to be in the Women's Building, and some of the other female artists felt it would be better for the best of them to show alongside the male artists. It's just kind of frustrating, you know? To know that the arguments about what's the best way to do feminism have been going on forever and will probably continue to go on forever.
(Here's the preview on YouTube.)
The one difficult issue with the show is Rosemary's storyline. Her only ambition is to marry Finch and settle down; while "So Happy to Keep His Dinner Warm" is an excellent song in terms of music, lyrics, and humor, it presents her as someone who's perfectly happy to be ignored by her husband just so long as she's got a nice house in New Rochelle. And she never changes her mind. However, this is mitigated (in my opinion) by two things: 1) historically speaking, there probably were a lot of secretaries in the '50s and '60s that wanted to get married and get out in the long term, as there weren't opportunities for advancement and that marriage and jobs were mutually exclusive, and 2) I definitely prefer marriage being her goal to her being awesome at work and then rewarded with marriage (and leaving work) in the end, if you know what I mean. When she came in at the end with the little Jackie Kennedy outfit on, it definitely read as more of a victory for her than a reward. In some ways, she's a bigger and more sympathetic character than Finch.
I couldn't help but compare it to Mad Men, too. Rosemary and Peggy map onto each other pretty well as opposites, and then there's Hedy LaRue, who is curvy and red-haired and stupid and a terrible secretary, who works very well as a foil for Joan. I don't know if the Mad Men writers thought about the show when they were coming up with their cast of characters, but it's interesting.
***
Reading about Candace Wheeler for my Modern Textiles project and came across how she wanted all of the women's stuff at the Chicago World's Fair to be in the Women's Building, and some of the other female artists felt it would be better for the best of them to show alongside the male artists. It's just kind of frustrating, you know? To know that the arguments about what's the best way to do feminism have been going on forever and will probably continue to go on forever.
