Chelsea Drama Club Schools Audience in "How to Succeed in Business"

What do Daniel Radcliffe, Darren Criss, Matthew Broderick and Nick Jonas all have in common?

They all answered to the name “Ponty” in Broadway’s How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.

The show centers on a young window-cleaner, J. Pierrepont Finch, who begins a meteoric rise from the mail room to vice president of advertising at the World-Wide Wicket Company. Finch's unorthodox and hilarious business
practices jeopardize not only his career but also his romance with Secretary Rosemary Pilkington.

Robert Morse created the leading role of  Finch in the show and played the part for the show’s successful first run from 1961 to 1965.

How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying stands up well over the years. What was once a current commentary of office politics in the 1960s is now a fun retro piece that, without intending to, shows how office politics haven’t changed all that much. People are still angling to get into top positions, there is a lack of effective communication, one hand may not know what the other is doing, and the secretaries often know more about the inner workings of the office than anybody else.

“The music is accessible, unique, on the jazzy side of musical theater fare, and memorable while the story is great and keeps you guessing all the way to the
end," Chelsea High School director Carrie Jay Sayer said.

Performance dates for Chelsea High School's production of How to Succeed will take place Nov. 16-17 at 7 p.m., and Nov. 18 at 3 p.m. All performances will be held at the Chelsea High School Auditorium. Tickets are $12 for adults $8 for students/seniors and are available at the Chelsea Pharmacy.