Charise Greene, left, plays Sandy, Gillian Williams, foreground, is Cristin, and Zoë Chao plays Blair in Girls on the Clock.

Brian Gaston

PROVIDENCE — No one wins in office politics. That is the message of Girls on the Clock, the second of three summer offerings from the Brown/Trinity Playwrights Repertory Theatre.

The one-act, 75-minute play is billed as “a comic cocktail, with a twist of lemon.”

That’s about right. The play, written by Diana Fithian, a 2006 Brown grad, has its humorous moments, particularly toward the beginning. But gradually the levity lets up, or sours, as the case may be, as personalities prevail and people get hurt.

Most of the comedy, and the tragedy, comes from one character, Sandy, played by Charise Greene. She works for a TV reality show, Mommy Makeover. And she aspires to fill the job vacated by her departed boss, the executive producer. In her pursuit, Sandy shows herself to be harsh and high-strung.

“I’m always stressed out, and it’s not something I’m working on,” she says.

Of course, Sandy, who dresses ultra-casual — white tank top and blue jeans — is not the only candidate for the position. There’s also Cristin, played by Gillian Williams, who looks and acts respectable and dignified, wearing print dresses and serving as something of a mediator between co-workers. Mostly that means between Sandy and Blair, the executive secretary, played by Zoe Chao, who is cheerful, flighty and innocent, and dresses inappropriately in skimpy cocktail dresses and high heels. Basically she gets by on her beauty, which gets her nowhere with Sandy, who heaps hostility on her.

This leaves Blair crying in the bathroom, confiding in Cristin that in college she minored in gender studies and never imagined a female boss could be so demanding and demeaning. Blair calls Sandy “a horrible, fire-breathing bitch,” and laments the loss of her male boss.

“I would so much rather be sexually harassed,” she says.

A fourth and final character is Rob, played by Per Janson. Initially it appears that Sandy sexually harasses him as soon as she gets her promotion, but it turns out that they’re engaged, and he’s also an executive. He comes across as reserved and restrained, earnest, honest and generally good-natured.

About half way through the play, which is Fithian’s first full-length staged production, the humor begins to abate and the energy declines as it becomes clear that things aren’t going to be so funny. Conflict is coming: between Sandy and Cristin; between Sandy and Blair; and between Sandy and Rob.

And all the conflicts are substantiated, and not unexpected. Sandy’s simply not nice. She has power, which she wields harshly, badmouthing one worker and backstabbing another. And Sandy gets what she wants. But hers is a Pyrrhic victory. At the end, she has lost everything: her secretary, her assistant, her fiancé, and her peace of mind.

All these other characters, meanwhile, have gained something from their experience with Sandy: self-respect. They stand up for themselves and assert themselves.

The play is directed by Mia Rovegno, who works well with the small stage, which is open on three sides. While the set is open, a small raised section conveys one office, and a partition and lighting conveys others. Scenes are separated by a dimming of lights and music, and characters coming out in different clothing, imparting the passage of time, yet another day in the office.

While the play is mostly on the light side, something of a silly office soap opera, in the end it does make a strong statement. And it really has nothing to do with the making of a TV reality show. Rather, it has to do with making our way in the world, and how we treat those around us.

Girls on the Clock continues tonight and tomorrow at 8 p.m. in Brown’s Stuart Theater, 77 Waterman St., Providence. It is then repeated July 31 at 8 p.m. and Aug. 2 at 4 p.m. For tickets, $12, $10 for seniors and $5 for students, call (401) 863-2838.

brourke@projo.com