Checking in on the Cast of ‘How To Succeed’ During Quarantine

It’s been almost two months now since the opening of Strauss Theatre Center’s production of How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying was delayed by the COVID-19 outbreak. After weeks of hard work, the cast and crew were only a week away from opening when we all realized we would have to postpone the show. Since then, social distancing restrictions have prevented them from gathering for rehearsals, but they’ve still been hard at work rehearsing on their own while we wait for restrictions to be lifted. We decided to ask some of our cast members what they’ve been doing to prepare for the eventual opening of our show while on lockdown. Here’s what they had to say:

“Bud has been relaxing by the pool at the country club, yelling at the wait staff and not tipping. Benjamin has been in a depressive spiral sprinkled with panic attacks and the occasional manic episode.” -Ben McQuillin (“Bud Frump”)

“I’ve been working hard on my Gatch ‘stache. I’ve also been running line my lines in my head. I want to make sure I remember them and continue to work on my accent.” -Scott Asa Stone (“Mr. Gatch”)

“I’m already ready for How To Succeed! What I HAVE been doing, to appease the theater nerd demon that dwells within, is teaching myself the tap dance from 42nd Street. I’ve also been working very hard trying to learn ALL the lyrics to Hamilton (poor Scott Asa Stone haha). So if we want to have Hedy LaRue rap about ‘the ten-dollar, founding father without a father’ and then break into a show stopping tap number then I guess you could say I’ve been spending my quarantine getting ready for H2$. Also, I’ve been working, because I’m essential yo.” -Moira O’Connor (“Hedy LaRue”)

“To keep everything fresh in my mind, I’ve been mentally going through my lines, acting out the scenes in my head while going about my day. It has led to a couple of awkward occasions of me breaking out in singing ‘A Secretary is Not a Toy’ at random while at work, but my coworkers don’t seem to mind. Although, some of them do seem to be socially distancing themselves from me by a lot more than six feet lately.” -Glenn Williams (“Bert Bratt”)

“I’ve been singing the entire track in front of the mirror while styling my hair. So far my best song is Paris Original.” -Blane Evans (“Mr. Tackaberry”)

“I’ve binged a few episodes of ‘The Office’ to hone my pompous ignorance. I’ve also broken out the crochet hooks to keep calm. My songs run through my head pretty much on a constant loop, but line refreshers are the next step for me.” -Mickey Cannon (“J.B. Biggley”)

So there you have it! Our cast looks forward to bringing you How To Succeed whenever this pesky pandemic starts dying down. We’ll keep monitoring the situation and let you know as soon as the new show dates have been determined. Stay tuned!