Broadway and regional director (not to mention Phoebe's father on "Friends") Bob Balaban directs the first production of the Rattlestick company's fifth season, Ben Bettenbender's comedy Vick's Boy, beginning Sept. 29 for a run through Oct. 31 at Theatre Off Park.

In the high-pressure environment of a "Generation X" corporate law firm, a personnel associate, anxious to get ahead, combines forces with the fax room "facilitator" to encourage the romance of a female partner. Armed with a video camera, they are prepared to tape what they must to get to the top. Other plays by Bettenbender include Widow's Walk and A Second Wind.

Director Balaban most recently directed Arthur Kopit's Y2K at the Humana Festival, a feat he will repeat at the Lucille Lortel this fall for Manhattan Theatre Club. His Broadway credits include Plaza Suite, The Inspector General, for which he was Tony-nominated and Speed the Plow.

Johanna Day, Andrew Polk, Rob Sedgwick, Jim Brucchitta and Justin Hagan star.

Designing Vick's Boy are Van Santvoord (sets), David Wollard (costumes), Ed McCarthy (lighting) and Laura Grace Brown (sound). Now in their fifth season at Theatre Off Park, Rattlestick have produced James Edwin Parker's2 Boys In A Bed On A Cold Winter's Night, Ascendancy and Jessica Goldberg's Stuck. This season, Craig Lucas (The Dying Gaul, Prelude to a Kiss) will direct Harry Kondoleon's final play Saved and Destroyed, in Feb. Other planned productions include Travis Baker's Sex and Violence and David Van Asselt's The Messenger.

Tickets are $15. For information, call (212) 627-2556. Theatre Off Park is located at 224 Waverly Place.

-- By Christine Ehren