TUTS' The Secret of My Success offers a terrifically fun night of theater at the Hobby Center. tutshouston hobbycenter
Fankhauser’s Brantley is all bright-eyed exuberance and optimism, which can only briefly be tamped down when he’s sentenced to the temp pool in Prescott’s dungeon. Brantley is too earnest, too curious, to be broken by the Big City, and Fankhauser manages to keep the character endearing despite his goofy “dance like no one’s watching” personality. Fankhauser is also an immensely talented vocalist, and it shines through in numbers like “Pull It Off” and “Success!” at the end the first act.
As Vera Prescott, Sally Wilfert is a commanding presence on stage. She’s someone who sells herself as a confident relationship expert and businesswoman during the great “You Can Have It All,” which is cleverly framed as a TED talk. Also, how can you not like a number that name checks Beyoncé, Lizzo, and RBG among other great women. But Wilfert’s best moments are those where she shows how much of an act it is, but still puts on a brave face in the face of her imperfect life.
Also in the temp dungeon you’ll find members of the ensemble, which features some of the city’s most recognizable faces. One of those faces is Holland Vavra, and is there a scene Vavra can’t steal? Aside from Vavra, the ensemble does a lot of good work, particularly in a silly turn as The Spreadsheets, the band that plays the shareholders meeting in the second act and sings about office life, like the problem of having too many tabs open.