Publication (4.24

Newspapers in Education and The 5th Avenue Theatre Present SUCCESS, SATIRE, and SCENERY A GLIMPSE INTO THE WORLD OF HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING LIVE ON STAGE AT THE 5TH AVENUE THEATRE JANUARY 21 – FEBRUARY 28 The musical How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, is a satire first performed in 1961. It is set in the urban offices of a fictional corporation called the World Wide Wicket Company and tells the story of J. Pierrepont Finch, a window washer who works his way up the corporate ladder with the help of a dastardly self-help book. BUILDING A SET, CREATING A WORLD In creating an original set for How to Succeed, designers Tom Sturge and David Sumner hoped to create a world that evoked the 1960s. In their designs, they’ve used elements from classic “International” style of architecture and elements from the art of Piet Mondrian. Buildings designed in the “International” style dominated new construction in the 1950s and 1960s and the art of Piet Mondrian found mainstream popularity during the same time period. Like visual art, a set can be described in terms of colors, textures (soft, rough, smooth), space (open, closed, far, near), lines (straight, curved, broken), and shapes. How would you describe this set in regard to these elements? If a part of your life story was turned into a play or musical, what would the set look like? At The 5th Avenue Theatre, stagehands install a newly designed set for How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. $18 STUDENT MATINEE TICKETS AND DISCOUNTED GROUP TICKETS AVAILABLE CALL (888) 625-1418 OR VISIT WWW.5THAVENUE.ORG FOR MORE INFORMATION How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying is sponsored by 2015/16 SEASON SPONSORS OFFICIAL AIRLINE PRODUCTION SPONSOR RESTAURANT SPONSOR THE 5TH AVENUE THEATRE – RESOURCES FOR TEACHERS CONNECTION TO HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING SOCIAL SCIENCE SYMBOLS OF SUCCESS “You’ve been an outstanding mailroom head and we want you to choose your In the musical How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, the protagonist, Finch, successor. And we want you to choose is “anxious to rise quickly and easily to the top of the business world.” In some ways, he him on merit. On merit alone.” represents American ambition—a trait that many consider to have helped build our country. Many will say that the character of Finch (like many protagonists) is symbolic. -Twimble, Act 1, Scene 4 But Finch is just one of many symbols that are carefully placed on stage. When we analyze How to Succeed in SYMBOL – an object, animate or inanimate, that represents or stands for something else. Business, there are two key concepts from social science that we should SYMBOLISM, SYMBOLIZE – the use of symbols to represent an idea or meaning. also understand: SOCIAL MOBILITY – The ability of individuals or groups to move upward Musical theater, like so many other art forms, relies on symbolism to communicate ideas and to help tell a story. or downward in status based on wealth, Every element of a musical has the potential to be symbolic: words that are spoken, colors, set elements, props, occupation, education, or some other melodies, costumes, lighting, sound effects. Every aspect of a musical is designed to help tell the story and social variable. communicate specific ideas. In American society, there is a prevailing belief in upward social Theater artists strive to make every instance of symbolism intentional—regardless of whether or not every symbol mobility as a reward for one’s personal will be consciously noticed by an audience. Often, symbols are layered on top of one another: achievements. This belief is the basis for the concept of… The script for How to Succeed describes a We see Finch and other characters use MERITOCRACY – A government or high-rise office building as the story’s setting. elevators to move between floors. Describe society in which citizens who display List examples of things that a high-rise how an elevator represents aspects of Finch’s superior achievement are rewarded building can represent: story. What other things can an elevator with positions of leadership. In a represent? meritocracy, all citizens have the opportunity to succeed based on their abilities and accomplishments. IN YOUR OWN WORDS... What are examples of social mobility and meritocracy that you see in the world? Do you think that these concepts accurately describe the world we live Sponsored Newspapers In Education Content in? Support your opinion with specific | examples. How do the authors of How to Succeed treat these concepts? Does Finch’s story support these two concepts? PUTTING IT TOGETHER Support your answer with specific Throughout a play or musical, we frequently see an increase in what is at stake for a character. examples from the musical. For Finch, it becomes more and more crucial that he succeeds as the story progresses. How are symbols and symbolism used to reinforce what is at stake in Finch’s story? “social mobility” and “meritocracy.” The American Heritage® What dangers are associated with high-rises and elevators? New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition. SUNDAY, JANUARY 24, 2016 Houghton Mifflin Company, 2005. 2 It takes many kinds of people to create a musical, but a show’s composer and lyricist is especially responsible for its character and legacy. The man who is responsible for the music and songs of How to Succeed also takes credit for many beloved songs that are still performed around the world—including a holiday song that you may have heard before… rank Loesser was a short, literature; and his older stepbrother, Broadway’s undisputed classics. pugnacious tough guy who a renowned concert pianist. Frank After a return to Hollywood to write F peppered his speech with was the outlier of the family — not the charming songs for the movie New York street slang and carried exactly a black sheep, but the son musical Hans Christian Andersen, himself like one of the lovable who chose a different path and Loesser wrote the score and the hoodlums from his own musical created a persona to match. book for The Most Happy Fella, a Guys and Dolls. Meeting him, you deeply-felt drama of near-operatic Loesser joined the Air Force in World might assume he was a lower-class scope, followed by a delicate War II, and wrote morale-boosting denizen of the outer boroughs, and now nearly-forgotten fantasy, songs like “Praise the Lord and Pass someone who had worked his way Greenwillow. In 1961 How to the Ammunition” — one of the first up the show-biz ladder driven by Succeed in Business Without Really hits for which he wrote both words hunger and chutzpah. Trying would round out his Broadway and music. Others would follow, career with another long-running But if Frank took you home to meet including “Baby, It’s Cold Outside,” a smash. The show went on to win the folks, you would enter a cultured song he had written to perform with seven Tony® Awards and the Pulitzer FRANK Manhattan residence and shake his wife at Hollywood parties. Prize for Drama. hands with his father, a well-known 1950 saw the debut of the long- professor of music; his mother, running Guys and Dolls, one of who gave lectures on modern LOESSER Sponsored Newspapers In Education Content by Albert Evans How to succeed in SATIRE ... “[FINCH] smiles out front. NOTE: This smile is the first of several that Finch uses throughout the show. These smiles are very important. They are communications between Finch and the audience. They tell the audience when Finch has successfully worked one of his ploys. The smile is a gentle, Mona Lisa smile. It should look like a cat that just swallowed a canary and is happy about it.” – Stage directions, Act 1, Scene 2 How to Succeed In Business Without Really Trying is based on a 1952 book SATIRE IN YOUR WORLD by Shepherd Mead. The book is written as a set of instructions to the reader What are other examples of satire that you can recognize in popular and it is meant to satirize self-help books. The musical adaptation of | How to culture (TV, blogs, movies, theater)? SUNDAY, JANUARY 24, 2016 Succeed in Business is also recognized as a satire. What does How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying satirize? DEFINING SATIRE What changes do the authors hope to see in society? Support your answer • A satire is a work of art that exposes human shortcomings (e.g. vices, with specific examples from the musical. abuses, injustices). • It usually makes extensive use of humor—including forms of ridicule, What kind of change do you want to see—in your community, society, irony, parody, and caricature. (Elliot, 2004) or our country? If you were asked to create a satire, what issue would • Many satires are written as a way to inspire social reform or to change you want to satirize? society in a positive way. Elliott, Robert C (2004), “The nature of satire”, Encyclopædia Britannica. • To satirize something is to attack or ridicule it through satire. 3 March 3-5, following the professional production, nearly 100 local students (ages 14-19) will present an all-student production of How to Succeed in Business PROGRAM MISSION Without Really Trying on the stage of The 5th Avenue Theatre. The Rising Star Project uses the resources and professional knowledge that exist at The 5th Avenue Theatre to help young people achieve a fulfilling career, a stronger sense The Rising Star Project production will be entirely performed by a student cast and of self, and confidence in their ability to inspire positive change in the world.

Load more