'BELOW THE BELT' offers farcical look at the office from hell

If you answered yes to any of the above questions -- and who didn't? -- you can identify with Heller Theater's production of "BELOW THE BELT," an absurdist farce satirizing the corporate world, the climb up the ladder and greed -- in a very Kafkaesque manner.

"I think what makes this play so funny is that so much of it smacks of the truth, because if you've ever worked for a large bureaucracy, you know these situations," said director Scott Heberling. "It's like most anybody's office workplace, but the things they do to each other are extreme examples of things that people actually do to each other. You know, like making secret alliances behind people's backs, or bosses lying to employees to get them to do something for them.

"The Wall Street Journal -- which doesn't cover a lot of theater -- called it the best new play of that year (1997). They found it hysterical. For them, it was one big in-joke," said Heberling.

In Richard Dresser's fable, there are three characters: Dobbitt, the fresh-faced new guy; Hanrahan, the grizzled, bitter veteran; and Merkin, their manipulative superior who just might be certifiable. They're low-level suits, "checkers" working in an industrial compound for an unnamed corporation. They produce an unspecified product in an unknown country.

They labor all day, but they also work at trying to turn one against the other. They're isolated from the other workers. They're secure, if not happy. They know little else in their limited existence.

"When I first read it, I knew I had to do it," Heberling said. "It touches on environmental irresponsibility by corporations, greed, the immoral nature of things that can be produced by bureaucracy. Of course, we're doing all of this in the spirit of fun.

"Everyone can identify with this ... You've either been or met one of these characters in your life."

Past Heller veterans Craig Walter and Larry Latham portray, respectively, the disgruntled Hanrahan and boss-man Merkin. Dobbitt, the eager-to-please newcomer, is portrayed by Mark Miller, a newcomer to Heller.

"In this show, (Mark) is thrown in with two people who really know what they're doing," Heberling said. "That's a good way to start out, in a show that's not very large and with this kind of set-up.

"It's good to get new people involved. He's working hard, he's fun, and he's energetic," the director says, with a bit of a sinister laugh, appropriate with the play's tone. "But we'll beat that out of him after a few shows."

Michael Smith, World entertainment writer, can be reached at 581-8344 or via e-mail at michael.smith@tulsaworld.com.

Theater