Jason Sudy, Joe Liles, Casey May.jpg From l-r, Jason Sudy as Dougan, Joe Liles as Mike, and Casey May as Skipper, from OGP's production of Bootstraps by Ben Clawson. Photo by Natalee Brown.

I’m sure most people have had that shitty job they just worked until something better would happen along. For co-workers Mike, Loudjack, and Skipper, they not only get the privilege of working that shitty job, they also have to put up with Dougan, a major dick of a boss.

Joe Liles plays a somewhat lost Mike. Recently dumped by his girlfriend Lucy because he “wasn’t moving fast enough in the right direction,” he hears about a job opening in his company. The Corporate Rep for Branchhill Industrial Supply Co. A magical position that will lift him out of the depressing state his life has become and into a place where his life will become awesome. A Cake Job.

Unfortunately, his coworker Loudjack, played by John Kuhn, has also heard of the position. His life is also crummy and he also dreams about the magical position of Corporate Rep that will make his life something worth living.

Kuhn and Liles do a fine job as the coworkers who work well together, and are able to be friends while making digs and somewhat sabotaging each other at the same time. They know only one person will be getting the promotion.

They both lament about their current lives and excitedly talk about what the job of Corporate Rep would mean to both of them in front of Skipper, their dimwitted coworker played by Casey May.

May’s bumbled and slower thinking is funny at first, but wears a little thin. The verbal abuse he gets from his coworkers and boss is a bit much, although it does not seem to bother him. He probably thinks he deserves it.

Sudy is great as playing a total jerk of a boss, but the moments he had where he was just talking to the guys were much stronger. But perhaps I’m just not a fan of yelling all the time.

The main jobs of Mike and Loudjack are to acquire things that are had to find, attune to the company motto, “Nothing we can’t get.” Sometimes that means illegal activities are performed to acquire these items, and by sometimes, I mean all the time.

A job comes in where they need to get a file of a person who is a member at a YMCA. Skipper is not usually invited to the jobs, but for this particular one, Dougan tells him to go. Chaos and panic ensue. Doubts and questions of Skipper’s character begin to set in. Mike and Loudjack get stranded. Everyone makes it back to the warehouse and it is discovered who the real villain is.

Jason Sudy and Natalee Brown have designed a set that looks great as a dusty warehouse, where most of the play is set. Brendan Michna adds in lighting for a convincing pool scene during the YMCA job.

Bootstraps asks the questions about what people will do for survival, and what exactly survival means in a 21st century America. I’ll tell you. It’s mostly about money. But how are you going to get it? By stomping all over others, or by respecting them?

OGP’s first full length show is the Ohio premiere of Ben Clawson’s Bootstraps. Showtimes at 8pm Friday January 10, Saturday January 11, Friday January 17, Saturday January 18, Friday January 24, and Saturday January 25. Tickets are $12. Free parking is available. For more information, visit MadLab.net.