Single working women looked for a husband more than a promotion. The term "business casual" hadn't been coined. Career gals dressed for success in suits, dresses or skirts with sweater sets.

A computer, not a typewriter, graced every desk. Computers then took up most of a room.

The 1950s workplace comes to life in Red Mask Players season opener "The Desk Set." The comedy shows the fears of a group of female office workers when computers invade their workplace.

Ambitious methods engineer Richard Sumner, played by Anthony Roach, introduces the women to their new coworker, a computer called Emmarac. Similar machines eliminated jobs in other parts of their office, so the workers in the research department of the broadcasting company fear for their own positions.

"These women don't just resent the computer," Roach said. "They positively hate it."

Roach appears in his first Red Mask show, but audiences will remember him and his wife, Annie, from Danville Light Opera's "Sugar" and "Shenandoah." Annie Roach plays Ruthie Saylor, the youngest member of the research department, in "The Desk Set." She appeared in Red Mask's "Meet My Husbands."

The couple lived for a time in the western suburbs of Chicago, but recently returned to live in Tilton.

"Times were simpler in the '50s," Annie Roach said. "Computers and technology weren't part of people's lives.

"That's what I enjoy about acting," she added. "It gives me a chance to experience life in a very different time."

That life included a different attitude toward work. The women in the research department all have a strong work ethic, something cast members feel contemporary workers lack.

Red Mask newcomer Gretchen Elliott plays Sadel Meyer, one of the researchers. Elliott and her family moved to Danville from Mattoon just more than a year ago.

"These women are committed to their jobs. They've given their all," she said. "Now they feel threatened by this machine."

Donna Sant and Janet Lewis, two Red Mask veterans, complete the research department foursome. Lewis' character has a somewhat sordid past, while Sant plays the head of the department who's had a covert relationship with her boss for years.

"Peg Costello has been engaged three times," Lewis said about the woman she portrays. "There's plenty of romance in this office, some intrigue and lots of humor. "

Sant described her fictional coworker differently.

"Peg is man-hungry," she said. "My character has had a secret relationship with her boss for seven years. Although she's known for her expertise as a researcher, Bunny wants more than her intellect fulfilled."

Despite their personal quirks, "This group feels seriously threatened by the computer. They're sure it will take over their jobs," director Bev Nees said.

Emmarac looks capable of doing just that with its flashing lights, many knobs and dials and constant printouts. The machine emits smoke as well as a variety of sounds.

"The show is very cleverly written," Sant said. "The dialogue has stood the test of time, and so has the message."

"Regardless of how much a machine can do, human beings are indispensable."