Work

"Work," as we all know, is a four-letter word. For writer/star James O'Reilly it is, apparently, the four-letter word. In this dramatic monologue with scene changes, O'Reilly plays Jim, a writer of advertising jingles, whose latest mini-opus has been dismissed by his client's wife as not "zippy" enough (a difficult trait to achieve in a rustproofing commercial, one suspects). In a series of flashbacks, Jim relives a handful of menial jobs he held on his way to the white-collar top: a waiter, a meat processing plant worker, and a sewer...um...technician, maybe (I'm not sure). Jim gradually realizes that he's still a rat on someone else's treadmill, which is why (and this is pure speculation), Jim--who clearly doesn't like working for others--becomes James O'Reilly, writer. But, like I said, I'm merely guessing. Work has some funny bits: it's hard to go wrong with excrement jokes (at least with me) and Jim's stab at writing rustproofing haiku is pretty humorous, but O'Reilly lacks the stage authority of a master monologist such as Spalding Gray, and the whole piece feels somewhat forced. Optional. Aud: C, P. (R. Pitman)