Daniel Radcliffe is so adorable in his Broadway musical debut, you just want to pinch his cheeks. It’s not just his youth — the “Harry Potter” star is 21 — but the endearing amount of dedication and enthusiasm he pours into steering the new revival of “How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.”
“This boy is the eagerest beaver of them all,” observes a secretary named Smitty (Mary Faber). She’s talking about Radcliffe’s character, J. Pierrepont Finch, but she might as well be describing the actor. He really exerts himself as an ambitious, manipulative striver who, contrary to the title, climbs the corporate ladder by trying hard — at outwitting the competition.
After “Equus,” Radcliffe aims to establish himself as a quadruple threat: He acts, sings, dances and delivers a perfectly fine American accent. The effort put into the performance is noticeable — you feel the hours of rehearsal, especially during the dance numbers — and
it’ll be interesting to revisit the show in a few weeks, when he’s relaxed into the role.
Rob Ashford has surrounded his novice lead with a zesty production of Frank Loesser’s tuner. After “Promises, Promises,” the director-choreographer returns to the 1960s with tighter results. The dancing is both lively and ingenious — in the mambo “Coffee Break,” caffeine-deprived employees stagger like horror-movie zombies.
Derek McLane’s modular, cell-based set suggests a modernist hive in which worker bees battle each other for promotions. The more incompetent they are, the sneakier they act to please the big boss, J.B. Biggley (John Larroquette, making a swell Broadway debut). The worst of the lot — and Finch’s envious rival — is Biggley’s nephew, Bud Frump (the wickedly funny Christopher J. Hanke).
While the men buzz about self-importantly, the women provide support as secretaries and girlfriends — this isn’t a feminist kinda show, and unfortunately, the female leads overcompensate.
As Rosemary Pilkington, who sets her cap for Finch, Rose Hemingway is overly brash, as if to prove she’s no pushover, even as she sings “Happy To Keep His Dinner Warm.” Meanwhile, Tammy Blanchard plays foxy airhead Hedy La Rue as if she were permanently tipsy, swaying in an invisible breeze.
Happily, it’s not long before Radcliffe is back, front and center. His glare, fixed in concentration, adds an interesting menace to “I Believe in You,” and it’s giddy fun to watch him shake his little tush in “Brotherhood of Man.”
Welcome to the wonderful world of musicals, Daniel. We hope you’ll stick with it.
elisabeth.vincentelli
@nypost.com