Time was ripe for 'How to Succeed' at Playhouse on the Square

Jon W. Sparks/Special to The Commercial Appeal

Jordan Nichols (left) revives a role played by his father, Playhouse on the Square executive producer Jackie Nichols (right), in the latter's last acting gig in 1968.

Like father, like son? One might suspect there's a fine synchronicity in the upcoming Playhouse on the Square production of "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying."

Executive producer Jackie Nichols played the role of J. Pierrepont Finch back in 1968 when Playhouse was embryonic. Now his son, Jordan Nichols, is doing the role in the season opener that kicks off tonight and runs through Sept. 4.

Jordan is a rising star with scads of performing credits and a bright future on stage. But in that regard, he's not following dad's footsteps.

Says Jackie: "I use the phrase — which Jordan repeats — that I can act and sing and dance a little, but none of it very well." So after Jackie finished the run of "How to Succeed" more than four decades ago, he quit putting on the makeup and costumes and has not acted since.

Of course, he has remained one of the busiest theater people in town in every other regard. He would go on to take the still-unincorporated troupe and turn it into Circuit Playhouse Inc., which since 1969 has put on more than 744 shows.

But Jackie had long thought that Jordan playing that role would be a terrific thing to happen. And a series of events made it come about.

For one thing, the planned Broadway revival of "How to Succeed" meant that rights to the play would soon be withdrawn. Plus, there continues to be this fascination with the TV series "Mad Men" and, Jackie says, "the whole '60s look with businesses and the fact that people went to work and drank all day. Plus the way sexuality in the business world was approached at the time — you just roll your eyes. Today, everybody would be in court."

Finally, there was the fact of Jordan's availability — and the time just seemed right to book the show.

Jordan says the director, Kimberly Faith Hickman, wanted the show to reference "Mad Men," while keeping in mind that "How to Succeed" is much lighter fare.

"Coming off 'Crazy for You,'" says Jordan, who starred in that production in June at Theatre Memphis, "both characters have a lot in common. Both are opportunists who want to get ahead. One a Broadway star, the other a business success. Finch, though, is more conniving in that he's got this side that's like a devil — he'll lie and cheat with a smile on his face."

He also wants it all, and he wants it fast.

"'How to Succeed' is how most people want to live today, especially my generation," Jordan says. "I know how much hard work it is to get to a place in theater where you are successful and respected. But so many kids come to New York and expect to be famous and expect to be in a Broadway show. In their mind, they think they'll just show up and get to the top."

At one point in the show, the Finch character is told he needs to have patience. And he responds, "Patience? I've been here a whole week!"

Although it has ample comedy, "How to Succeed" is, as Jackie points out, "more than just a superficial, funny musical — it won the 1962 Pulitzer Prize for Drama."

The satire of the corporate world was a commentary on the time, Jordan says, but it still has relevance. "Now we roll our eyes at it, but women are still objectified, and men have their secret games — that's still around today."

'How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying'

Friday through Sept. 4. at Playhouse on the Square. Tickets: $15-$38. Call (901) 726-4656, or go to playhouseonthesquare.org/boxoffice.

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