Local playwrights banking on work comedy

"We're looking forward to being on Broadway," says Mike Rosenbaum, quickly throwing in a qualifier, "intersecting at Clark Street."

That's typical of the off-beat humor he and co-author Dave Brimm incorporate in their first play, a comedy called "Pitching Penguins," opening Feb. 7 at the Victory Gardens Theater in Chicago.

The play is two days inside a struggling public relations firm that takes such marginal clients as the Penguin Council, trying to sell penguin as "the next black and white meat," to survive until its back on top.

The story revolves around the head of the agency, Bud Brooks, who banks his future on one important pitch, the cell phone company Cellphonetics. But he's put his inept son, Billy, who flunked out of bartending school, in charge of the account.

Brimm, who in real life runs a successful PR agency in Deerfield, and Rosenbaum, a veteran financial planner from Buffalo Grove, worked in offices across the hall from one another for years.

At first they joked about how their experiences would make a great play. But once they got serious, they completed the first draft in three days. Eight months of re-writing later, the production was ready.

Rosenbaum said for years all his creative energy went into explaining how to do impossible things.

"Earnings reports and financial stuff can't be funny," he said. "The SEC has no sense of humor."

The characters they invented are composites, based on actual clients they've both known.

"If we used the real clients, you wouldn't believe it," Brimm said.

The play will appeal to anyone who works in an office and has done work that goes unappreciated or is claimed by others, he said.

Once the play was finished, the duo went theater hunting. The 190-seat Victory Gardens had an open slot from Feb. 7 to March 16.

They got to know the theater community quickly.

"Allan Chambers (associate artistic director at the Theater Building in Chicago) has been our mentor," Brimm said. "He helped us find a director, a lighting director, and a stage manager; held a casting call, and we found five cast members who are all experienced actors."

Buffalo Grove High School librarian and artist Sue Katte created the poster.

The men, financing the play themselves, won't say what they've invested but Rosenbaum compares it to buying a fixer-upper.

"If we had anticipated all costs, we might not have done it," he admitted, but added both wives have been "very supportive."

Working almost around the clock at their regular jobs and producing the show, the two agree on one thing.

"When we get home after rehearsals, we are not just exhausted," Brimm said, laughing. "We're totally fried."

If you go

What: "Pitching Penguins" an original comedy, at Victory Gardens Greenhouse Theater, 2257 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago

When: 8 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays; 5 and 8:30 p.m. Saturdays; 3 p.m. Sundays Feb. 7 to March 16

Tickets: $38 ($43 for 8:30 p.m. Saturday)

Call: (773) 871-3000 or visit victorygardens.org