From the writers of Guys And Dolls, Frank Loesser and Abe Burrows, this satirical comedy was once the longest-running musical on Broadway. It follows the travails of J Pierrepont Finch, a young man weaseling his way up the corporate ladder through flattery and perfect timing in the 1960s.

For this production, director John Hall and musical director Mike Thompson are working together for the first time. John, a long-time leading man on the York stage, directed Rowntree Players' productions of Move Over Mrs Markham and On A Night Like This last year. Mike has been musical director of the former Rowntree Musical Theatre Company since 1988.

CHARLES HUTCHINSON asks John Hall how to succeed in the business of staging this New York hit in York.

How did York Stage Musicals secure the York premiere of How To Succeed?

"The show has always been available for release, but because of the set and the number of men needed it's very difficult to stage.

"Scenery hire companies do not do the show so you have to build it yourself. A recent revival with Mathew Broderick in 1995 and another at the Chichester Festival gave it a new lease of life, and my co-designer, Robert Readman, saw that version and loved it. So How To Succeed has been on the York Stage Musicals list of shows to do for quite a while."

What are the most striking characteristics of this show, and what gave it the oomph to be the longest-running musical on Broadway at one time?

"It's a satirical comedy that has a definite early Sixties feel. Not Carnaby Street but American. It's a spoof on big corporate American business showing that by taking advantage of situations, with the help of simple instruction from an encouraging Book Voice, you can achieve anything.

"The music is very catchy - dance band sound and swing - with show stoppers such as Company Way, Brotherhood Of Man and I Believe In You."

What challenges does this show throw up - apart from finding enough male performers?

"The cast format is on the lines of Guys And Dolls, with 18 men and eight women (in fact Guys And Dolls has fewer parts for the girls), but it requires strong characters to make the script come to life. It's situation comedy at its best.

"With the merger of Rowntree Youth Theatre and Shipton Theatre Company 18 months ago, we've gained quite a large, talented membership of more than 120 people. York Stage Musicals are arguably the largest amateur group in York now, doing three shows a year at Rowntree Theatre and one a year at the Grand Opera House."

How is your production partnership with musical director Mike Thompson shaping up in your first show together?

"In reality, we've done almost 30 shows together, me as performer and Mike as musical director, so we have a working relationship that's already established. As this is my first musical as director, Mike's experience has been very valuable and I think this will not be the last Thompson/Hall production, because we're both very pleased with the finished result!"

If the set makes the show difficult to stage, how have you and Robert Readman settled on a design?

"When I first read the script, I couldn't believe the number of different office scenes required.

Starting in the mail room, the men's wash room, back-lit shower sequences, right up to the chairman's office, there some 18 in total plus corridors, executive suites and roof gardens? and of course the exterior of a skyscraper with a window-washing cradle.

"Robert and I have both done original set design at the York Theatre Royal and produced some of the best sets in York over the last 15 years at the Rowntree Theatre. Being able to work together on such a difficult set has been very productive.

"Our first meeting set the ball rolling and we both agreed on a simple but very effective design.

With a double-level set of multipurpose offices (think Blankety Blank and Top Of The Pops! ), moving desks that turn into a kaleidoscope of different uses, old-fashioned typewriters, and rotating elevators, it should be a fun set. It's being built at Bubwith at the moment and it's definitely worth seeing."

Which qualities made you select 18-year-old Luke Adamson, from Brayton, for the role of Book Voice in his York Stage Musicals debut?

"At the read-through for the show, I got Luke to read one of the executives. He has a very distinctive voice and intonation. I was very impressed in his ability to interpret a character from first reading.

The Book Voice is an important part and runs through the show adding comedy and instructions; it's a recorded part, so I cast Luke and also gave him the part of Jenkins, one of the junior executives. A budding Laurence Olivier in the making, in my opinion."

York Stage Musicals present How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, June 5 to 9, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee.

Tickets: £8 to £10, ring 01904 623568 or email boxoffice@yorktheatreroyal.co.uk