Reprise’s ‘How to Succeed in Business’ casts female leads -- and the voice of Ed Asner

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

Ed Asner has had a lot of practice being heard and not seen lately, having provided the voice of grumpy old Carl Fredericksen in Pixar’s Oscar-winning 2009 film ‘Up.’

Asner’s vocal talents will get another chance to shine in Reprise Theatre Company’s revival of ‘How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying,’ which will run May 12-23 at UCLA’s Freud Playhouse.

The seven-time Emmy winner will play the Voice of the Book, the offstage narrator who guides aspiring executive J. Pierrepont Finch on his journey up the corporate ladder.

Reprise today announced the casting of Asner and the show’s female leads -- Nicole Parker, who will play Rosemary, Finch’s love interest, and Melissa Fahn, who will play office bombshell Hedy LaRue.

Parker, who appeared as Elphaba in ‘Wicked’ on Broadway last year, spent six seasons as an actor and contributing writer on Fox’s ‘MADtv.’

Fahn, who understudied ‘Wicked’’s Glinda on Broadway and in Los Angeles, is a local and regional musical theater regular.

They will join a previously announced cast that includes Josh Grisetti as Finch, John O’Hurley as Finch’s boss, J.B. Biggley, and Simon Helberg as Finch’s rival, Bud Frump.

The production will be directed by Marcia Milgrom Dodge, who created the recent slimmed-down version of ‘Ragtime’ on Broadway.

‘How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying’ has a score by Frank Loesser and a book by Abe Burrows, Jack Weinstock and Willie Gilbert. It opened on Broadway in 1961 and won the Pulitzer Prize for drama and seven Tonys. A 1995 revival starred Matthew Broderick, who received a Tony for playing Finch, and Megan Mullally.

A new production with Daniel Radcliffe will open on Broadway next spring.

--Karen Wada

Related:

Reprise Theatre Company announces director and cast for ‘How to Succeed in Business’ Daniel Radcliffe to star in ‘How to Succeed in Business’ on Broadway next spring