PicksInSix Review: THE SECRET OF MY SUCCESS Paramount Theatre
PARAMOUNT THEATRE’S “SUCCESS” HAS MANY MOTHERS!
When the new musical “The Secret Of My Success” opens on Broadway at some date in the future–and I have no doubt that it will open on Broadway at some date in the future as it is this|close to being a smashing success all its own—I’d suggest that the date be closer to Mother’s Day than Father’s Day: The depiction of so many strong women in this show seemed to resonate more completely on the side of the mothers, daughters and sons, many of whom nodded their heads in unison during the world premiere on Friday at Paramount Theatre in Aurora. It’s that kind of show. Mother’s always know best, particularly when they are telling you to watch out for yourself or “The secret is to change your expectations.”
Proof of this is embodied by Christy Lockhart—beautifully portrayed by the phenomenally talented Sydney Morton—a corporate whiz bang and single mother whose only fault is falling in love; in Christy’s bedrock-values mother Rose, a feisty and endearing turn for Melody A. Betts; the widowed mother Joanne, a priceless, plain-talking Barbara E. Robertson; and, by powerhouse corporate icon Vera Prescott, a commanding performance by Heidi Kettenring. You’ll find these wonderful performances so refreshing and natural that their importance may not resonate until long after you have left.
What these women say and do in one way or another help to pave the way for the successful rise of the humble, lovable and flawed Brantley Foster—a terrific performance by the multi-talented Billy Harrigan Tighe—an ambitious corporate analyst who assumes an alter-ego to grab a seat of his own at the company table. Tighe is perfect as the gutsy guy we can root for to come out on top, even when he is exposed as a fraud.
The large-scale production is produced by Universal Theatrical Group, directed by Gordon Greenberg (who also wrote the book with Steve Rosen based on the 1987 film), with music and lyrics by the team of Michael Mahler and Alan Schmuckler, and choreographed by Amber Mak. The all-star creative team includes scenic designer Jeffrey Kmiec, costume designer Mara Blumenfeld, lighting designer Greg Hofmann, sound designer Adam Rosenthal and projection designer Mike Tutaj, with orchestrations by Charlie Rosen and music supervision by Ian Weinberger, and performed by a 12-piece orchestra all under the music direction of conductor Tom Vendafreddo.
It begins when upwardly mobile Brantley moves from St. Cloud, Minnesota to New York City and a job at Prescott Industries, the company run by CEO Piers Johnson (a scheming Jeremy Peter Johnson), who is married to board chair and company heir Vera (Kettenring). Brantley, enamored of Johnson’s high-profile model of wealth and power, will do anything to get a job at Prescott, which includes pivoting after learning his job was cut and making a bold proffer to Piers, which lands him in the temp pool run by a maniacal supervisor, Garth Portnoy (diabolically played by Ian Michael Stuart). Brantley makes one real friend, Lester Mann (Gabriel Ruiz at his comic best) and, desperate to break out and up the corporate ladder, concocts a deceptive and preposterous scheme to get there. It all might have worked out, too, if he hadn’t fallen so hard for Christy.
The memory of Brantley’s father ultimately serves him well when he teaches Christy’s son Ernie Lockhart (Kai Edgar) a thing or two in “Tie Your Shoes,” a beautiful little song, and one of many in the rich, tuneful score by Mahler and Schmuckler, which also includes Morton’s “Get It Done,” and Tighe’s “Hidden Value,” “Pull It Off” and “That’s Business.” Kettenring’s rousing “You Can Have It All,” the first-act closer “Success!” and Ruiz’s “You’re a D-Bag, Brantley Foster” are all crowd-pleasers. We will talk about standout performances in the Morton/Kettenring duet “(I Think I) Like You,” and Morton and Tighe in “A Ferry Ride,” all framed in lush scenes of New York’s Times Square—replete with digital ticker crawlers and state-of-the-art projections, on the bow of the Staten Island ferry, in the garden of the posh Prescott home in Connecticut and at imaginative points in-between.
PHOTOS|Liz Lauren
THE PARAMOUNT THEATRE
presents
THE SECRET OF MY SUCCESS
through March 29, 2020
23 East Galena Boulevard
Aurora, IL 60506
WEBSITE
TICKETS
(630) 896–6666
For more reviews, visit: Theatre In Chicago