What would you do for one of the most high-paying, prestigious jobs in the world?

If it sounds like a faux-tanned Donald Trump should be posing this question with his trademark squint from the far end of a conference table, you're not completely mistaken.

Catalonian writer Jordi Galcerán's Spanish-language play El Método Grönholm (The Grönholm Method) currently on stage at Little Havana's Teatro Ocho is a bit Survivor meets The Apprentice, but it has more psychological depth -- and a lot more laughs.

The four final candidates for a high-paid position in one of the world's most successful multinational companies show up for an interview and find themselves stuck in a waiting room together.

MYSTERIOUS DRAWER

A mysterious cabinet drawer rolls open with a letter that claims one of the candidates is not a postulant for the job, but rather a member of the company's human resources department in disguise. Let the games begin! This is just the first in a series of corporate games and interpersonal challenges that zig zag from roast to truce to farce.

The cocky, barrel-chested Fernando (Marcos Casanova) quickly establishes himself as the group's alpha male. As the tension grows, his cut-throat sarcasm hovers hilariously between insult and injury. Jorge Hernández is humorous and sympathetic as Enrique, a man with a nervous tic and a disastrous personal life.

Gerardo Riverón plays Carlos, a good-natured guy with a shocking secret, and Martha Picanes plays Mercedes, the only female candidate. Wise and sassy, Mercedes may be the group's conscience or she may be the postulant who holds her cards closest to the chest. The fun is in finding out.

Casanova handles the dual role of director and actor with aplomb. The challenge of a two-hour one act is to keep the banter from becoming monotonous.

HOWLING LAUGHTER

Luckily, Casanova has engineered a well-oiled comedic machine. This team of veteran actors drew howling laughter from the audience, and thanks to the play's inherent intrigue and multiple layers of theatrical identify theft, El Método doesn't grow cumbersome.

Only Riverón's ample theatrical range is not used to its fullest. His character, Carlos (like the others) has many hidden facets, but despite Riverón's believable and dynamic delivery, Carlos feels largely unchanged despite his character's radical shifts in identity.

The farcical nature of the play invites extremes and Casanova should guide Riverón to more dramatically pronounced changes.

El Método's corporate rouse poses the question: are companies designed to bring people together in service of a larger goal, or is the key to success divide, conquer and compete? The play's final note weighs in on this intriguing dilemma in a way that is dramatically satisfying and morally decisive.

El Método will not go down in history for extraordinary aesthetic or artistic invention, but it is well-done entertainment and an upbeat choice to open Teatro Ocho's 20th season.

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