BROADWAY CENTER STAGE @ KENNEDY CENTER

Michael Urie

WASHINGTON — The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts presents How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, produced as a part of Broadway Center Stage—a Kennedy Center–produced series of musicals in semi-staged concerts, conceived and executive produced by Jeffrey Finn.

Skylar Astin And Betsy Wolfe

The Tony Award® and Pulitzer Prize–winning musical lampooning life on the corporate ladder stars Skylar Astin (Pitch Perfect) as J. Pierrepont Finch, Betsy Wolfe (Waitress, Falsettos) as Rosemary Pilkington, Michael Urie (Ugly Betty, Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Hamlet) in as Bud Frump, John Bolton (Anastasia, A Christmas Story) as Mr. Bratt, John Michael Higgins (Pitch Perfect, Best in Show) as J.B. Biggley, Joaquina Kalukango (The Color Purple) as Smitty, Tony Award® winner Michael McGrath (She Loves Me, Nice Work If You Can Get It) as Mr. Twimble and Wally Womper, Becki Newton (Ugly Betty) as Hedy La Rue, and D.C. favorite Nova Y. Payton (Ragtime at Ford’s Theater, Caroline, or Change at Round House Theatre) as Miss Jones. The ensemble features Darius Barnes, Sean Bell, Lawrence Clayton, Colin Cunliffe, Kaitlyn Davidson, Casey Garvin, Eloise Kropp, Harris Milgrim, Shina Ann Morris, Kristin Piro, Katerine Popacostas, Tally Sessions, Diana Vaden, and Vishal Vaidya.

With direction by Marc Bruni (Beautiful), choreography by Denis Jones (Holiday Inn, Honeymoon in Vegas), and music direction by Todd Ellison (An American in Paris), How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying runs June 6–10, 2018 in the Eisenhower Theater.

A tune-filled comic gem, How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying boasts an exhilarating score with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and a delightfully funny book by Abe Burrows, Willie Gilbert, and Jack Weinstock. The show follows the rise of J. Pierrepont Finch, who uses a little handbook called How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying to climb the corporate ladder from lowly window washer to high-powered executive. Winner of both the Tony Award® for Best Musical and the Pulitzer Prize in drama when it debuted in 1961, it has since received Tony Award®–winning Broadway revivals in 1995, starring Matthew Broderick, and 2011, starring Daniel Radcliffe.

The design team for this semi-staged concert production includes set design by Scott Pask (The Band’s Visit, The Book of Mormon), lighting design by Peter Kaczorowski (Beautiful, The Producers), costume design by Amy Clark (Chaplin), and sound design by Brian Ronan (Beautiful, The Book of Mormon).

How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying concludes the inaugural season of the Broadway Center Stage series, which began with starry sold-out runs of Chess and In the Heights. In the 2018­–2019 season, Broadway Center Stage will feature Little Shop of Horrors; Meredith Wilson’s Tony Award®–winning classic, The Music Man, starring Norm Lewis; and The Who’s Tommy, the Tony Award®–winning musical. The Broadway Center Stage series will also expand to include three one-night-only readings of some of the greatest classic American plays featuring stars in roles they have always dreamed of playing.

Ticket Information

Broadway Center Stage: How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying will be performed Wednesday, June 6–Sunday, June 10, 2018 at 8 p.m. with matinees at 2 p.m. on Saturday, June 9 and Sunday, June 10. For more information please visit the Kennedy Center website, in-person at the Kennedy Center box office, or call (202) 467-4600 or (800) 444-1324.

Photos By: Teresa Wood / KENNEDY CENTER