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Recommended - 'How to Succeed...'

I don't know if we can call it a roll yet, but Marriott Theatre has definitely got some momentum when it comes to reviving 1960s-vintage Broadway musicals. Earlier this summer they staged a truly fierce Man of La Mancha. Now they're back with a How to Succeed that's not just fast and funny but brings out the musical's wry satirical edge in unexpected ways. A hit of the 1961 Broadway season, How to Succeed has always been known for mocking corporate culture with the tale of J. Pierrepont Finch, a window washer who follows the instructions in a self-help manual all the way to the top of Worldwide Widgets. Here, director Don Stephenson also makes sure we notice its caustic--you might even say feminist--take on a woman's role in marriage. Ari Butler has that sly sweetness essential to Finch, the rest of the company is wonderfully sharp, Melissa Zaremba's choreography for this very physical production is brilliant, and Catherine Zuber gives new meaning to the word "decolletage" with her costumes for Angela Ingersoll's Hedy La Rue, the quintessential doxy