Dan Dietz's absurdist comedy attempts to be both a coming-of-age story and a zany satire. The two intentions don't always mesh, but the piece is clever, provocative and great fun to watch. In rural Georgia, young Genny (Devin Sidell) is recruited to work as a chicken choker in her family's poultry business. The job preys on her mind, particularly when she discovers that all those she likes/loves come to grief. Convinced that she is a danger to anyone close to her, she flees to Seattle, where she becomes an office temp because it offers safe isolation. She goes to work for the bizarre Ithaca TechnoSolutions, a bomb manufacturer, and a company so impersonal that all temps are called either Jane or Jim. She's befriended by the current Jim (Liam Springthorp), who believes that only temping — and a stolen executive key card — offer real freedom and independence. He introduces her to the Jane's Revenge, a lethal bomb he's stolen from the lab and secreted in the subterranean file room. The loony tale is enlivened by Emily Weisberg's slick direction, and wonderfully engaging performances by Sidell and Springthorp, with solid support from Melli Vytlacil, John Schumacher as Genny's father, and Ted Jonas as a mad scientist. Art/Works Theatre, 6567 Santa Monica Blvd., Hlywd.; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m., Sun., 5 p.m., through May 23. Produced by NeedTheater. (323) 795-2215, needtheater.org.

Fridays, Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 5 p.m. Starts: April 24. Continues through May 23, 2010

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