THE STORY: The Office of Medicinal Herbs of the Department of Agriculture in Washington, manages to persist because no one realizes that it was abolished years ago, but no official steps have been taken to close it. Two nice old ladies run this department, but never answer the phone for fear of discovery. The are really interested in helping people, and are too scrupulous to cash the salary checks which are automatically sent to them. They manage to exist by renting parts of their office to a pants presser and a dance teacher, and by collecting fees from a parking lot nearby. In the words of the Daily News, they are “taken over by a newspaper reporter who transforms their hideaway into a top-secret bureau, staffed with Army, Navy, and State Department people who never know exactly what they are doing but believe they are developing a new science of herbal warfare which is the deadliest yet. There’s a love story about the reporter, his ex-wife and the ex-wife’s new fiance-and if you know your theatre you know who wins.” The journalist enjoys mystifying people, particularly literal-minded Government employees. This farcical play is not only an entertaining, but is full of caustic and amusing satire on bureaucracy, stupidity and red tape.
