[1] Because of Weisenger's overpowering and often illogical nature, the workers quickly learn that their salary and aspirations of promotion come at a heavy cost.
The series includes Cinephillia (lust), Bachelorette (gluttony), Assistance (greed), Surfer Girl (sloth), Reverb (wrath), The Accidental Blonde (envy), and Cult of Love (pride).
Their disorganized antechamber, filled with folders and numerous, constantly ringing phones, is adjacent to Weisinger's luxurious office.
The stage directions tell us that Vince is a “slick frat boy” who is going places, while Nick is a “goofy guy with a genuine wit and charm.” The play opens up with Nick and Vince answering phone calls while mocking Daniel behind his back.
After messing up on her first day by putting Daniel on hold, Nick takes the brunt of his boss's insults.
Well, now that we’ve been people briefly we can go back to being assistants.” In the first interlude of the play, Vince expresses his sexual desire to an anonymous person on the phone.
Vince makes the extra effort to explain his motto,“Better to look good than feel good.” It is 11 PM and Nick and Nora are hard at work typing and answering phone calls.
Heather is having trouble ordering books for Daniel and is unsure whether she can take off from work for her uncle's funeral.
BECAUSE I WANTED YOU TO SAY AT PARTIES THAT I’M DANIEL WEISENGER’S ASSISTANT AND BE PROUD OF ME!” The scene opens with Nora and Jenny working in the office.
Nora says, “The only thing keeping [Daniel] from being a full-on homeless person is the four of us.” She says this in a sense of desperation.
He comes to the conclusion that he does not need his therapist anymore and would rather continue to work for his unsympathetic boss, saying, “I’ve seen greatness, I’m next to brilliance every day.
She says her goodbyes and leaves as Nick takes a call from Daniel, but he puts him on hold and runs after Nora to kiss her and to say, “Don’t ever come back here.” At the end of the play, drunk and dismantled Jenny tap dances wildly around the office and destroys the workspace.
Her extraordinarily elegant tap dance is a work of art mixed with hate because she despises what the office stands for.
The LA Weekly praised Headland's “scathingly taut dialogue.” Annie McVey directed the production, which starred Adam Shapiro (Nick) and Katie Lowes (Nora).
Headland may intend to establish how forcefully a man (or woman) can exert psychological control over his underlings without much personal contact, but after a while it’s like watching The Devil Wears Prada with the Anna Wintour character snipped from every scene.” His main criticism of the production is that there are “no dramatic fireworks.” Isherwood still said that the cast, directed by Trip Cullman, did the best work they could with their “fairly circumscribed roles.” Michael Esper (Nick) and Virginia Kull (Nora) were the leads in the production.
David Kennedy directed the production starring Kate Czajkowski (Nora) and Kevin Meehan (Nick).