There is much to admire about I Can Get It for You Wholesale, the 1962 musical about Depression-era strivers in New York City’s Garment District, but it’s a hard show to fully embrace. There’s an admirable Jewishness to the material, from the characters who seek their fortunes in the clothing business since so many other industries have shut their doors to them to a Harold Rome score that draws on Yiddish folk music for its lilting rhythms and motifs. For director Trip Cullman’s spare but stirring revival by Classic Stage Company, which opened Monday, longtime Sondheim collaborator John Weidman has updated the book by his father, Jerome (an adaptation of Jerome’s 1937 novel) to highlight the all-too-timely antisemitism faced by Harry “Heshe” Bogin, his family and his business partners.
But you can only wring so much sympathy for Harry, a ruthless, ahead-of-his-time antihero who proves willing to betray his friends, his family and even the girl, Ruth, who has both pined for him and financially backed him from his early days as a low-level shipping clerk. Santino Fontana exploits his natural charm and likability to try to keep us from turning on Harry, and even addresses the audience to try to smooth over his latest treachery (“I know what you’re thinking but…”). But even his mother (played by the redoubtable Judy Kuhn) sees through Harry’s smooth-talking deceit while quietly lobbying him to do better over homemade blintzes. In short, Harry Bogin is no J. Pierrepont Finch, the similarly ambitious young man who finagled his way up the corporate ladder in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, another musical from the 1961-62 season that enjoyed much greater success (including seven Tony Awards and two hit Broadway revivals).
Unlike Frank Loesser and the team behind How to Succeed, who boost Finch with an actual love story and a zippy score that makes their hero’s ascent a kind of caperlike fairy tale, Weidman, Rome & Co. make no effort to soften Harry’s rough edges — or to even give him a full villain’s comeuppance in the end. He’s an absolute heel to his sweetheart Ruthie (Rebecca Naomi Jones) and isn’t much better to his gold-digging actress-singer girlfriend (Joy Woods, blessed with a powerhouse voice), though she at least gets presents of jewelry (if not the engagement ring she craves). And he’s even worse to his business partners (Greg Hildreth and Adam Chanler-Berat), embezzling company funds for his own private use and lamely trying to justify his actions while setting others up to take the fall.
It’s easy to see why the original production was considered too cyncial for the time and ended its run after just 300 performances. The show’s lone Tony nomination went to a 19-year-old Broadway newcomer in a small supporting role as Harry’s put-upon secretary, Miss Marmelstein: Barbra Streisand, who turned her comic number into a showstopping stunner. Julia Lester, the High School Musical The Musical The Series alum who scored a deserved Tony nomination last year as Little Red in Into the Woods, proves that star turn was no fluke. She flashes charm and native comedic timing to deliver a spotlight-grabbing performance, and follows her signature “Miss Marmelstein” number with a similarly grabby turn in the harder-edged Act 2 showcase “What Are They Doing to Us Now?”
Cullman’s cast is exemplary, with standout moments for Kuhn’s wistful mother and Woods’ avaricious girlfriend — though it’s a shame that her brassy belt overpowers Rebecca Naomi Jones’ more plaintive voice in their second-act duet. Jones fares better in her kiss-off number with Fontana, “A Funny Thing Happened,” where she finally gets to unleash her pent-up feelings of frustration after being strung along for so long. Yes, Wholesale has its moments. But on the whole it remains a show with some contradictory messaging, particularly when it comes to building sympathy for a long-suffering Jewish community tarred with stereotypes and mistruths and conspiracies that a character like Harry Bogin only seems to reinforce.
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