Growing up is hard to do.And in Theatre ‘d Art’s new original production, “Ogres in the Office,” it’s to be avoided at all costs. You know: the job, the wife, the dog and the suburban house. Obligations. And with them comes the long and inexorable slide into Loserdom.Written and directed by Brian Mann, “Ogres” ventures into that deal with the devil, and explores the compromises of adulthood as well as the efficient senselessness of the corporate machine. To get there, he uses highly stylized characters and fantastic situations punctuated with unexpected moments of real humanity. I liked a lot of the play, possibly the most benign work of the season, Theatre ‘d Art’s fifth. But it’s is overloaded with storytelling and props, funny bits and little jabs at The Man. The best of “Ogres” simply gets lost in the shuffle.The play starts with an open homage to “The Princess Bride:” A bathrobed man (Joseph Forbeck) tells a story to his skeptical granddaughter (the terrific young actress Alison Lanning), who is in his reluctant care for the day. Like “Bride,” they are both observers and commentators of the action that unfolds before them.His story focuses on Franklin (Erick Groskopf), who takes to corporate job to support his wife and baby. He quickly realizes the bad intentions of bosses Porsche (Mathilde LeMoine), Trans Am (Charles Redding) and Mustang (Alan Curtis Earing) — also ominously referred to as the Gang of Three. Franklin’s odyssey, which includes a mysteriously hooded figure, a damsel in distress and a fight to the death, is as wildly surreal as any ancient Greek could conjure.I was charmed by Groskopf, who navigated the tonal changes, the high concept characters and situations with aplomb and a funny kind of sweet confusion. Similarly, Taffy Burnett was marvelously nuanced as Chips, a girl afraid that her individuality will cost her a mindless but well paying job. Between them, they created a tender and surprisingly tangible human connection in the midst of sheer insanity.The Gang of Three and corporate lackies Guy (Alisha Pagan) and Stain (Meg Hodorovich) had perhaps the toughest job on that stage. They embodied characters with little, if any, inner life fully and with a very funny consistency. Like all epic monsters before them, they’re crafted to be incarnations of ideas — in this case of vanity, empty single-mindedness and sly self-interest.Kudos go to Mann and his cast, who wrung a lot from these characters, many paper doll thin. I also found the epic battle that ends the play a gentle and poetic resolution; satisfying yet completely in keeping with the play’s challenging structure.Unfortunately, “Ogres” too often reads as a redundant rant, which is becomes tedious and blurs the focus of the story and performances. It’s hard to “throw out your babies,” as my favorite editor used to say, but a little sacrifice will only make “Ogres” more powerful.