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Comedy explores office politics

Mission's Opening Nite Theatre Society is presenting this satirical farce that pokes fun at the corporate world.
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Su Wolfe passes a revealing document to colleague David J. Bodor in Opening Nite Theatre’s comedy The Death of Zukasky.

The Death of Zukasky, a comedy about office politics and just how far some folks will go to get promoted, opened this week at Mission’s Opening Nite Theatre.

This satirical farce pokes fun at the corporate world where the boss is always right, you never trust anyone who says “trust me” and people who count don’t make coffee.

Middle manager Theodore Zukasky (played by Chuck Alp) has just died and his underlings can’t scramble over his corpse fast enough to jump up the corporate ladder.  Zukasky’s untimely end unleashes a back-stabbing power struggle amongst some recognizable office stereotypes.

There’s the hard working but under-appreciated office drone, Annie Desmond (Su Wolfe), struggling to gain a foothold in the “Old Boys’ Network,”  the brown-nosing yes-man, Barry Mills (Andrew Wood), who keeps rising to his level of incompetence and the scheming go-getter, A.C. Tattums (David J. Bodor), able to manipulate and pit his insecure colleagues against one another.

Overseeing the troop is the big boss Harry Marlino (Nathan Drury) with a fondness for pointless metaphors and lacking insight into who really runs the office.  You wouldn’t want to work here but it’s fun to watch.

The Death of Zukasky, by Richard Strand, is directed by Kathy Yewell and produced by Mahara Sinclaire. The show runs March 6 to March 22 (Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. at Opening Nite Theatre, 33223 Railway Aven. in Mission (across from the West Coast Express Station.)

Tickets are $15 and are available at openingnitetheatre.com  or ontstickets@hotmail.com or 604-826-6687 or at the door 45 minutes before showtime.