HOW TO SUCCEED's Pulitzer Prize

[morosco]

Posted: 9/27/06 at 7:04pm

What was the significance of the original production that caused it to be honored with the Pulitzer Prize?

[Jon]

Posted: 9/27/06 at 8:28pm

It was a brilliant comic satire of corporate America. It would have been a hit even without the songs and Bob Fosse dances.

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 9/27/06 at 8:32pm

And now it just falls flat.

[best12bars]

Posted: 9/27/06 at 9:08pm

And, very likely, so will your favorite show in time...

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 9/27/06 at 9:09pm

Of course. All shows fall flat once they become dated. To make H2$ relevent now, they'd have to make it an Enron-like collapse.

[Sondheim Geek]

Posted: 9/27/06 at 10:02pm

The problem with H2$ is that they could make it a period piece, but it would even be irrelevant like that... fantastic music though.

[allofmylife]

Posted: 9/27/06 at 10:13pm

Read the original book by Shep Mead. It's hilarious and very, very short, like a brochure, actually. Even more cutting and wicked (and actually still appropriate in many ways).

The play was actually very fresh and daring for 1962. Remember this was the year men stopped wearing hats (does anyone...). A satire on office politics and SEX was a big thing back then. Making an orgasm out of drinking coffee was very daring. It hauls its water for the time period, but is probably now about as relevant as Top Banana.

But what a great score. I'd take it any day over everything on Broadway save for Shaiman and Sondheim.

[Jazzysuite82]

Posted: 9/27/06 at 10:30pm

Really? Over anything on Broadway? I find that show long, boring and rather sexist.

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 9/27/06 at 10:50pm

Its supposed to be sexist. That is part of the satire.

[nobodyhome]

Posted: 9/27/06 at 11:40pm

Thank you, Michael Bennett. Sexist attitudes were such an unquestioned, pervasive fact of life in the corporate world in 1961 that any satire of that world would have to have characters who expressed, indeed embodied, those attitudes. Since those characters are pretty much fools in the show, I don't think the show can be viewed as espousing sexism; rather, it is satirizing it (though I doubt the creators consciously thought they were satirizing it).

As for why the show won the Pulitzer, it was a fairly weak season for American plays. The best American play of the season, according to the Drama Critics' Circle, was The Night of the Iguana. I love that play but it's not usually regarded as one of Williams's absolute best. Also, the play doesn't really deal with American life, which Pulitzer plays are theoretically supposed to do, though there have been exceptions. And Williams had already won two Pulitzers; the committee might have felt like spreading it around a bit.

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 9/27/06 at 11:53pm

I don't think all shows will become "dated." Some are period pieces and will transcend the times they are performed in. OKLAHOMA, CAROUSEL, THE SOUND OF MUSIC, SHOWBOAT, THE MUSIC MAN, THE KING AND I, MY FAIR LADY, WEST SIDE STORY, BYE BYE BIRDIE, KISS ME KATE, etc.

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 9/28/06 at 12:01am

But by definition, doesn't a show have to at one time be "timely" in order to become "dated?" If that is the case, you could make an arguement that BYE BYE BIRDIE and WEST SIDE STORY are dated, though perhaps the strength of their material or in the case of WSS - their source material render them still timely. They are the only shows on your list that were written as commentary on current events. Updated On: 9/28/06 at 12:01 AM

[allofmylife]

Posted: 9/28/06 at 12:25am

and BTW, I meant I'd take the SCORE over anything else, with my noted exceptions. I love the show's overture, I love "Coffee". I REALLY love "I Believe in You" and all the other, jazzy, saxophone-rich numbers.

Updated On: 9/28/06 at 12:25 AM

[nobodyhome]

Posted: 9/28/06 at 12:41am

A lot of shows set in the present go through a period of seeming dated when mores change sufficiently or sometimes for other reasons. In time, if the show is good enough, things may turn around and it may start to seem classic. WSS certainly seemed dated at one time.

Some shows that are set in the past at the time of their writing do come to seem dated, at least to some people. Carousel would be an example.

Anyway, I don't think there's a score currently on Broadway that's even close to being in a class with the score for How to Succeed.

[allofmylife]

Posted: 9/28/06 at 2:18am

Hear, absolutely, hear

[Jon]

Posted: 9/28/06 at 9:20am

I agree that the shows that become "dated" are those that atempt to be "timely" whan they are first presented - to reflect current events. Rodgers & Hammerstein's most successful shows were all "period pieces" - even South Pacific came out several years after the war had ended.

[Pippin]

Posted: 9/28/06 at 11:05am

I've said before I don't understand the notion that a show seems dated. All shows are dated. if they take place during a date, then they have been dated. it doesn't change the quality of the piece. to me, it makes it better because it allows me to see what the atmosphere of thought was back in the time that it was written. the only shows that aren't dated are the ones with universal themes that everyone can connect with, and the program says the time in which it takes place in is "today"

my ap english teacher would always rebuke us while reading "the canterbury tales" or "the prince" and would say that we are "applying a 20th century mind to a 17th century piece" or whenever said piece was written. I think that is true of the thoughts on here about shows. people need to research the time period the show takes place in, and the time period in which it was written to fully understand why and what is being said.

if you apply a 1960's mind to a 1960's piece, you will understand "How to Succeed"'s genius and why it won the pulitzer in the first place.

[best12bars]

Posted: 9/28/06 at 3:23pm

"if you apply a 1960's mind to a 1960's piece, you will understand "How to Succeed"'s genius and why it won the pulitzer in the first place."


Absolutely!

...But that would require some imagination and an understanding of history and historical perspective.

And for some people, that's asking too much, apparently.

[JohnBoy2]

Posted: 9/28/06 at 3:29pm

It doesn't fall flat with me. Although, the revival did; but that was because they made, unnecessary changes and had rather flat direction. HTSIBWRT, for me, is the greatest musical ever written.

[Pippin]

Posted: 9/28/06 at 3:49pm

I love you, Best 12!!!

[maybethistime]

Posted: 9/28/06 at 4:18pm

It reprenents perfectly the time of which it is a product. However, another Pulitzer winner, "Of The I Sing" is FFFFFAAAAAAAARRRRRR more dated and bizarre. I'm betting in 50 years, "Rent" will be, too.

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 9/28/06 at 4:18pm

I'm just saying that someone like "BELLS ARE RINGING" is not dated in the same way that something like "THE MUSIC MAN" is.

BELLS ARE RINGING is dated and out of fashion in everything from it's score to it's book to it's story line. It's still an enjoyable musical, but it's obviously a product of days gone by.

THE MUSIC MAN is definitely old fashioned, but it's so strong that it transcends time. A story about a traveling con man is easier to digest than a story about an answering service - something that hasn't existed for YEARS.

[Jon]

Posted: 9/28/06 at 5:22pm

JohnBoy - don't you know that the proper abbreviation is "H2$"?

Actually, I hate that abbreviation- and the logo art from the revival.

We didthe show a couple of years ago. Music Theatre International licenses the revival logo art for $50. We decided to create our own logo instead. Our audiences probably woldn't have understood what the hell the H with the little 2 and the dollar sign meant.

[Danielm]

Posted: 9/28/06 at 5:44pm

Thank you nobodyhome, I remember when nobody wanted to do Carousel because it was considered so dated and schmaltzy, then the revival happened and everyone was saying how brilliant it was. I think what makes shows feel dull is often unimaginative staging or indifferent performances. Many shows that are dated can still be enjoyable if done well.

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 9/28/06 at 5:46pm

Yes, absolutely.

BELLS ARE RINGING could succeed now if it was a strong, creative production. Tina Landau's production was just horrible, though. I enjoyed Faith Prince, however. But she's no Judy Holliday.