Have you ever heard the saying, “If it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is?” Well, in this year’s musical “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying,” that concept doesn’t apply.

Taking place in the 1960s, the play tells the story of J. Pierrepont Finch, a window washer with big dreams and even bigger ambitions. Through manipulation, his own cleverness and the help of a book, Finch climbs his way up from the mailroom to chairman of the board for the World Wide Wicket Company in a matter of weeks. Along the way, he rubs shoulders with the president of the company, tries to outwit his boss’s conniving nephew, and falls in love with a spunky secretary.

“It’s a show based on big business in New York City,” said Ed Brazo, the director of the play and associate professor in musical theatre. “It emphasizes that people could sit on the bottom and climb their way to the top.”

The character Finch is played by Ryan Ritter, a junior and theatre arts major. “Finch is a lot of fun to play,” Ritter said. “He’s not very heroic, but you end up cheering for him despite yourself.”

Abe Burrows, Jack Weinstock and Willie Gilbert wrote the script for “How to Succeed,” with the music and lyrics created by Frank Loesser (who is perhaps mostly known for creating the songs in the 1950 hit musical “Guys and Dolls”). Ritter said some older audiences might recognize the play’s signature songs, such as “Brotherhood of Man” and “I Believe in You.”

“It’s an early musical that has the potential to be so much more than what is on the page,” said Dan Demers, senior theatre arts major. “In other shows like ‘Beauty and the Beast,’ what you see in the script is what you get onstage. With this one, there’s so much more underneath.”

Demers plays the president of the company and Finch’s boss, J.B. Biggley, a character who has “a very gruff nature,” and uses people’s fear of him to get what he wants. “Ryan’s character makes me look good – almost too good,” Demers said.

One of the people to bring “more” to the play was Sac State alumnus Larry Shuman, who helped design the set. The set is layered with large backdrops – a painted cloth hung across the stage to create the scene – that include outside the company building, a lobby with a set of working elevator doors and inside the offices. Brazo thinks that this, as well as other factors, will remind the audience that 1961 was almost 50 years ago, and hopes they’ll wonder if that’s what life really like back then.

The director admits that despite the time difference, things like business stay the same. “Some things don’t change. They only change in intensity,” he said.

For Ritter, working in a period piece is part of the fun. “It makes you appreciate things that haven’t been talked about in years,” he said.

Senior theatre arts major Stephanie Zito, who plays Finch’s love interest Rosemary Pilkington, says she likes shows that take place in the 1960s for a reason that most people today can appreciate.

“It’s such a flirtatious and powerful time,” she said. “And with this play, it encompasses the change that woman were going through at that time.”

In the show, her character appears to be a part of that change. “She knows her stuff and the way of the company,” Zito said. “She’s sassy and powerful, but she would like the picket fence life. Finch immediately fascinates her.”

Opposite Rosemary’s competence is Biggley’s nephew Bud Frump, Finch’s company rival, played by Brad Bong, junior theatre arts and English major.

“Bud is extremely confident in his abilities – whether they exist or not,” Bong said.

With such a diverse cast of characters to bring to life, wild musical numbers to choreograph and a set to help design, it takes a strong director to put it all together. A role the cast believes Brazo fills.

“Ed is a very creative, visual director,” Demers said. “He’s brilliant at working his hand to make she show visually special to people.”

Bong said that working with Brazo has given him more than experience. “I’ve learned so much from him – how to improve comedic timing, how the staging for this kind of show works. It’s been great.”

Brazo said that as a director, part of what makes this job work is the wide number of talented students on stage. “It’s been a thrill to work with this cast. Working with actors is what I love most about directing,” he said.

Some people might call the timing of the play’s opening as almost ironic. For the first time since the 1960s, musicals are becoming more popular to audiences, not only demonstrated in play ticket numbers, but with movies like last year’s “Mamma Mia!” and 2007’s “Sweeney Todd” topping the box offices.

Last weekend was the show’s first opening, and already it’s receiving praise. “What I liked about the show was the energy,” said senior photography major Maria Carwell said at Saturday’s performance. “The cast had lots and lots of energy.”

“People don’t want to see a show where they have to think so much,” Brazo said. “They just want to be entertained and leave reality for a little while.”

“How to Succeed” was nominated to the Theatre Department’s season planning committee three times before finally winning approval. Brazo admits that the play is the perfect show to match what the world is today.

“I think the audience will look at it with a sense of humor,” he said. “The businesses are all the same – it’s a little bit of a game play. It’s not a show to depict angry people, it’s just meant for families to go and have a laugh.”

Kyrie Eberhart can be reached at [email protected]