End of The Day Left, Morgan Hayes ‘12, and Louise McDonald ‘12, during the ‘Been a Long Day’ reprise where Hayes threatens Mr. Biggley in order to get a promotion. “I’ve loved working with everybody,” McDonald said. “We have a really tight cast.”

03•18•10musical 14-15soundtrack: “Brotherhood of man” How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying Cast

Public Embarassment When asked to recall this moment, Morgan Hayes ‘12, who played Bud Frump, had to go scream in the bathroom to release his frustration. After, he described this as, “the worst moment of my life.” Hayes was having trouble with his solo part in ‘Company Way Reprise’ and Dale had him stand on stage by himself and sing it over and over. “I was feeling extreme embarassment,” he said. “I could hear people gossiping from the wings, and the pit was the worst. I feel the alone time to have me learn it was necessary, but not in front of the entire cast.” “I really felt bad for him,” said cast member Ian Kelsall ‘10.

Funny flamboyance Morgan Hayes ‘12, and Sean Kovacs ‘10, both used this musical as an opportunity to explore how far they could take their characters, Bud Frump and Mr. Jones. “I’ve had the opportunity to play a very zany, flamboyant character,” said Hayes. “I get to be me and let loose with my comic talent. I’m pretty unpredictable on stage and I want to see who is going to crack [and laugh] on opening night.” Kovacs also made the decision to have his character be very flamboyant. He played Mr. Biggely’s secretary, a part originally written as a female role, and decided to make the character as ridiculous as he could. On opening night when he entered for his solo in the finale number, ‘Brotherhood of Man,’ the audience burst into cheers. “I was really surprised and pleased [by the audience reaction],” he said. “I frankly didn’t know that people would like it that much. It’s my favorite part of the show and it’s always the most fun for me. The choreography is so out there and the song is so big, and there you go; you have the perfect ingredients to make a Sean Kovacs song.”

Keep ‘em laughing Morgan Hayes ‘12, center, said that he was going to make somebody crack on opening night. In this scene, before he is dragged away from the company, he caused Joe Toves ‘11, in the back on the left, to laugh when he came up to him, wrapped a leg around him and said, “Remember the fun... the dates.” The next night during pre-show warm ups, Dale led the cast in a game of, ‘Make Joe Toves laugh.’ Several of the actors came up to him and said and did anything they could to make him laugh, until he was ready to keep a straight face on stage. “I cracked up at first,” Toves said, “but when I warmed up I kept a straight face.” The next night AJ Hilzer ‘13, back right, laughed during the same scene.

An older soul Freshman AJ Hilzer’s charac-ter, Alfred Davis, had only a few lines in the show, but he made the most of them. “I just talked in this old voice and had a lot of energy, and Dale told me to take it down and be an old man,” Hilzer said. He ended up having a cane, an old man voice, and some serious back problems. Even when he wasn’t singing, he personified this older character. “ It fit perfectly,” said cast member Guillermo Arribas ‘10, “and it added to the craziness of the show.” During the reception scene, Hilzer danced with Aubrey Eggett ‘12. “He pulled me in with his cane when we dance[d],” said Eggett. “And I helped fix his broken back.” “He [chose] the best interpretation and made the most of his role,” said Morgan Hayes ‘12.

No coffee! During the number ‘Coffee Break,’ many of the chorus members had their chance to show their acting range, and do crazy and goofy things. In the left picture, Matt Hopkins ‘12, and Dylan Webb ‘11, pretended to play games in the background while they wait for their break. “I like to have small parts because you just get to improvise in the back of a scene and do whatever you want,” Webb said. “We’re pretending to play Mario Kart on stage before coffee break,” In the middle, Webb, Joe Toves’ 11, Aimee Schnebeck ‘13, and Quinn Kennedy ‘13, crowd the empty coffee pot. “During this song, I try to think of the coffee as Dr. Pepper,” said Schnebeck, “because I absolutely love Dr. Pepper, and in that song I try to get lost in the moment, and go crazy!” On the right, Hopkins is acting as if he is going through caffeine withdrawals. “I pretty much get to sit on stage and freak out as much as I want,” Hopkins said. “It is never too much because I am a complete coffee addict. It’s good to be able to just go crazy because I’m not allowed to do that in most shows.”

All photos and reporting by Alex Rowe

Opening night Ben Hilzer ‘10, and Madeline Gardner ‘11, both had their first lead roles in “How to Suceed,” so opening night was extra special for them. “I was scared out of my mind in the beginning,” said Hilzer, “but as soon as I said the first line, the rest was the most fun experience I had in high school. “ “[Opening night] was so much fun,” Gardner said. “I’ve never had such a rush in my life. I was on stage doing what I love, which is perform. I love the Act I finale, because I can channel my anger into the song and it makes it more fun to perform. I put way more emotion into my songs than I do into my acting.”

I don’t think I hurt peoples ears Guill-ermo Arribas ‘10, has been in many plays, but has never considered himself a singer, and this was his first musical. “[This was] so much tougher than a regu-lar play,“ he said. “There are way more people to count on and a lot more work. You have to learn the singing, work with the pit, get the timing, and you have to depend on twenty other people to do the chorus work. “It’s a completely different type of theatre. Some of the story isn’t told through words, [but instead] through singing, so it’s different than a regular play. “The solo was sick. I didn’t know I could sing at all. I’m not a singer, but I don’t think I hurt people’s ears.”

Constant energy Louise McDonald ‘12, played Hedy LaRue, and didn’t find too much trouble embodying the character. “I love the character because I feel like I can relate to Hedy in a lot of ways. Everyone is so similiar to their own characters that it’s really fun to interact with everyone on and off stage.” “Louise makes my acting better,” said lead Ben Hilzer ‘10. “She has constant energy and it’s nice when you’re a beginning actor.”

Taking the stage, stealing the show

Tres sexy, n’est pas? The song ‘Paris Original’ is all about the outfit. “There was a big debate on which dress we were going to wear,” said Madeline Gardener ‘11. “The first was really short and poofy, and was actually a Miley Cyrus dress, and the other one looks like a tablecloth when it’s on, or drapes.” They ended up using the drapes. “I love my Paris original outfit,” said Sean Kovacs. “It encompasses Mr. Jones perfectly. It is a very fine line between man and woman.”