IPO

Running time: 100 mins

San Francisco dotcommers hatch a plan to cash in on their company and their employees lives in this evocative tragicomedy about life at a startup during the technology industry's boom and bust.

With the diligent Susan in charge, and Kip and Jeff as backers, Hot Tot flourishes as a company and entices employees by offering them an opportunity to become San Francisco's next wave of high-tech millionaires. Maria hops on board with hopes of starting a family and helping her husband quit his high-risk job. Charlene relies on the job's long hours to balance out her loneliness as a single woman. Hot Tot offers Kachina much-needed direction and a way out of her destructive relationship with Joe, who lies his way into getting a job at Hot Tot. But the future looks uncertain for Hot Tot, and management faces major decisions that will determine the livelihoods of the employees.

The San Francisco ensemble cast offers magnificent improvisation as director Daniel Gamburg creates a true-to-life environment that cleverly mixes the ups and downs with a unique humor that betrays the suspicion and resentment which are revealed when the bubble bursts and dreams become reality.

Sandy Wolf

EMERGING MAVERICKS & NEW VISIONS