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ejreadswords 's review for:
Job
by Max Wolf Friedlich
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
“I’m not denying anything — I feel it all — and it’s a privilege to suffer as much as I do.”
There’s so much I can say about this play, about this show. And I will! This is my Goodreads, and I can ramble and rant if I want to.
For the longest time, the ads of this show on social media or the subway always intrigued me. “Oh, it’s Frank from Succession. And it looks like he’s typecast again to be a corporate ‘employee.’” The office visuals and the stapler to Sydney Lemmon’s face made me think this was about two co-workers shooting the breeze existentially at their cubicles.
However, that is not what the show’s about. I went into the show mostly blind, and was successfully going to be able to do so until my summer Adler classmate Jared (who I took with me the first time I saw the play) told me at dinner prior to the show that, ‘yeah, so it’s about a social media worker who has a viral video and needs to see a therapist?’ I wish I hadn’t known that, but still, that is only the tip of the iceberg of what this play’s about.
When I tell you my jaw dropped when I realized what the show’s “about”… I think I even teared up. The specificity, me working in social media for the past seven years, and watching a young woman in disarray vent, process, and ramble about an uncertain world, her sense of ‘purpose,’ and every little thing in between: there was so much to love. Jane is truly one of my all-time favorite characters — I see a lot myself in Jane, and I think a lot of young people would, too. And Sydney Lemmon’s performance? Lord have mercy. Absolutely incredible stuff.
“It’s endless and hopeless because you just get trapped in the like “discourse” of it all and you just end up mindlessly reposting GoFundMes all day, begging for spare change on your little Instagram street corner on behalf of strangers instead of actually doing something so I’m just not sure therapy aligns with how I deal with things.”
So that first night I saw the show, I walked with my friend Jared to the subway. We parted, but I had it in the back of my mind, since I was still so floored by the show, “I gotta see if they’re going to do stage door!” I went back to the theater and a few folks were still waiting. I asked if anyone came out yet, and they said no one yet. Soon, Peter Friedman came out and he was so generous talking to everyone who waited. When he got to me, I told him about how much I loved the show, how I went in blind and was floored; that my day job is in social media. And how moved I was with his performance and Sydney’s because… the following week I’d be starting at Stella Adler in their conservatory! He did this cool little hop and clapped his hands and said to me, “wow, that’s some change! What inspired this?” And I told him just the burning inside of you to want to create, to want to say something. Watching the two of them perform was the perfect primer for school. He extended his hand and shook my hand, wished me luck, and thanked me for coming again.
And then Sydney came out — some people had cleared out, didn’t feel like waiting. But I knew I needed to speak to her because her performance was just so, so moving for me. Kind of had a similar intro as with Peter, and when I told her I was starting at Stella Adler next week, she said, “hell yes!” and then she gave me a high-five, and then did a little hand-hug with me. She was genuinely floored for me, it seemed, and she told me that part of what took her so long to come outside was that one of her acting school professors was at the show and so she caught up with him; the training and education is absolutely essential. She told me to keep seeing theater, keep staying inspired. I had gushed to her how great I thought she was and how moved I was and she was so appreciative of that. Took pics with both Peter and Sydney that night and I remember walking back and getting a late-night bite at Junior’s still floored.
“You don’t know yourself and so you can’t accept the idea that anyone else might.”
Through TKTS, I got discounted tickets to see the show again — this would make it two viewings in about three weeks. It didn’t matter to me, I knew the show was closing soon and I just wanted to immerse myself once more. I ended up taking my conservatory classmate Nour — it was his first Broadway play! And he was so grateful for the chance. He ended up really enjoying the play, and that was validating for me. Glad it didn’t go to waste! Such a great show to have a conversation about after; it invites so much discourse. Nour even wanted to see it again the weekend after with a friend from Chicago; I was like, “this was your first Broadway play, you could see anything else!”
Cut to the announcement of Closing Night. And the very effective social media-posting by Max Wolf-Friedlich and the JOB IG page — I splurged on second-row seats. I took my friend Andrew with me, heavily influenced by the fact that we both worked in social media together for a year; and we have conversations about ‘advertisers not wanting their ads to pop up next to neo-Nazi content.’ I’ve never seen a play three times before, but if there’s any show that would make me do it, it’s JOB. If it wasn’t closing, maybe I’d see it again! It was regularly featured in TKTS.
And this viewing was probably the best. Just leaned in, floored by the performances. The most I ever teared up — this is not really a ‘sobbing’ type of show, but there’s something about Lemmon’s vulnerability as Jane that moves me immensely. You just want to HELP her.
The night before Closing Night, I actually went to a table reading of Max Wolf-Friedlich’s new play currently called HEAD. In regards to that play, it’s already a hit for my money’s worth; authentic in its portrayal of young people, specifically people… my age! That was such a lovely night because it really felt like being in the NYC creative scene; everyone walking around was interesting. I got to speak with the director of JOB and HEAD Michael Herwitz for about 10 minutes; a bit before the reading and then after with my classmate Romeo. The tangibility of everything, being around these creatives… it was so vibrant, it was so alive. Madeline Weinstein, who I loved in Between the Temples, played the lead female character and it was nice talking to her for a few minutes after the reading as well.
By the end of the night, I finally got to speak with Max. Went totally the uncool way and just gushed about JOB, about HEAD, and said, “I’m gonna ask a real cornball thing of you” and I pulled out my script and asked him to sign it. Told him I was going back to JOB tomorrow for the third time, and he was like, “three times! Thank you. And I’ll see you there! It’ll be a special one, since it’s Closing Night.” I also told him that I was planning on doing Jane’s “Nordstrom Rack” monologue in my Technique class and he thought that was pretty great. I said, “I know it’s a part I’ll never play, but—" and he cut in with, “hey, who knows? Why not!” and that was pretty funny to hear. If he ever revisits this but decides to gender-flip it and make Jane instead Gene and make him an anxious Filipino-American… I’ll demand an audition (and also would think, main character syndrome of me, this has to be for me, no?).
And at the end of the Closing Night performance, I was able to chat with Sydney again for a moment, and she signed my script as well. When she saw me, she said, “hey you!” I also told her I was going to be doing the Nordstrom Rack monologue in my technique class and she was excited about that, and said, “you’ll be able to give the character your own spin! Have fun with it.”
As I was walking out of the theater, Max was standing in the aisle. He extended his hand and shook my hand, said, “thanks for coming out again, EJ!”
I mean, I didn’t actually say much about the script itself or the play. It’s just so damn good. The ideas communicated, Sydney and Peter with the acting masterclass. Max was 26 when he wrote this. Come on. It helped me realize the necessity for youth in theater; for young, new perspectives. This is the play that really made me think, “okay, I can do this.” Be specific, have a point of view; be curious. Andrew and I are gonna powwow one of these days and shoot the breeze on the early Ameritrade days. That’d be a fun little project to work on; maybe it can be something!
“It’s like there’s another person there with me, rubbing my back, telling me to keep going as I march into the bathroom and I brush my teeth and fuck around with my hair and eat my muesli and I drink my coffee and as I do each of those things the panic turns them into little missions – I have to NAIL flossing, I have to DESTROY my emails from Nordstrom Rack. I delete them and I EMPTY the trash and I imagine my emails burning. These little morning routine fucking inconsequential things become a sense of real…purpose…but on days like today there just isn’t anything else – there’s only me and the panic, alone together.”
There’s so much I can say about this play, about this show. And I will! This is my Goodreads, and I can ramble and rant if I want to.
For the longest time, the ads of this show on social media or the subway always intrigued me. “Oh, it’s Frank from Succession. And it looks like he’s typecast again to be a corporate ‘employee.’” The office visuals and the stapler to Sydney Lemmon’s face made me think this was about two co-workers shooting the breeze existentially at their cubicles.
However, that is not what the show’s about. I went into the show mostly blind, and was successfully going to be able to do so until my summer Adler classmate Jared (who I took with me the first time I saw the play) told me at dinner prior to the show that, ‘yeah, so it’s about a social media worker who has a viral video and needs to see a therapist?’ I wish I hadn’t known that, but still, that is only the tip of the iceberg of what this play’s about.
When I tell you my jaw dropped when I realized what the show’s “about”… I think I even teared up. The specificity, me working in social media for the past seven years, and watching a young woman in disarray vent, process, and ramble about an uncertain world, her sense of ‘purpose,’ and every little thing in between: there was so much to love. Jane is truly one of my all-time favorite characters — I see a lot myself in Jane, and I think a lot of young people would, too. And Sydney Lemmon’s performance? Lord have mercy. Absolutely incredible stuff.
“It’s endless and hopeless because you just get trapped in the like “discourse” of it all and you just end up mindlessly reposting GoFundMes all day, begging for spare change on your little Instagram street corner on behalf of strangers instead of actually doing something so I’m just not sure therapy aligns with how I deal with things.”
So that first night I saw the show, I walked with my friend Jared to the subway. We parted, but I had it in the back of my mind, since I was still so floored by the show, “I gotta see if they’re going to do stage door!” I went back to the theater and a few folks were still waiting. I asked if anyone came out yet, and they said no one yet. Soon, Peter Friedman came out and he was so generous talking to everyone who waited. When he got to me, I told him about how much I loved the show, how I went in blind and was floored; that my day job is in social media. And how moved I was with his performance and Sydney’s because… the following week I’d be starting at Stella Adler in their conservatory! He did this cool little hop and clapped his hands and said to me, “wow, that’s some change! What inspired this?” And I told him just the burning inside of you to want to create, to want to say something. Watching the two of them perform was the perfect primer for school. He extended his hand and shook my hand, wished me luck, and thanked me for coming again.
And then Sydney came out — some people had cleared out, didn’t feel like waiting. But I knew I needed to speak to her because her performance was just so, so moving for me. Kind of had a similar intro as with Peter, and when I told her I was starting at Stella Adler next week, she said, “hell yes!” and then she gave me a high-five, and then did a little hand-hug with me. She was genuinely floored for me, it seemed, and she told me that part of what took her so long to come outside was that one of her acting school professors was at the show and so she caught up with him; the training and education is absolutely essential. She told me to keep seeing theater, keep staying inspired. I had gushed to her how great I thought she was and how moved I was and she was so appreciative of that. Took pics with both Peter and Sydney that night and I remember walking back and getting a late-night bite at Junior’s still floored.
“You don’t know yourself and so you can’t accept the idea that anyone else might.”
Through TKTS, I got discounted tickets to see the show again — this would make it two viewings in about three weeks. It didn’t matter to me, I knew the show was closing soon and I just wanted to immerse myself once more. I ended up taking my conservatory classmate Nour — it was his first Broadway play! And he was so grateful for the chance. He ended up really enjoying the play, and that was validating for me. Glad it didn’t go to waste! Such a great show to have a conversation about after; it invites so much discourse. Nour even wanted to see it again the weekend after with a friend from Chicago; I was like, “this was your first Broadway play, you could see anything else!”
Cut to the announcement of Closing Night. And the very effective social media-posting by Max Wolf-Friedlich and the JOB IG page — I splurged on second-row seats. I took my friend Andrew with me, heavily influenced by the fact that we both worked in social media together for a year; and we have conversations about ‘advertisers not wanting their ads to pop up next to neo-Nazi content.’ I’ve never seen a play three times before, but if there’s any show that would make me do it, it’s JOB. If it wasn’t closing, maybe I’d see it again! It was regularly featured in TKTS.
And this viewing was probably the best. Just leaned in, floored by the performances. The most I ever teared up — this is not really a ‘sobbing’ type of show, but there’s something about Lemmon’s vulnerability as Jane that moves me immensely. You just want to HELP her.
The night before Closing Night, I actually went to a table reading of Max Wolf-Friedlich’s new play currently called HEAD. In regards to that play, it’s already a hit for my money’s worth; authentic in its portrayal of young people, specifically people… my age! That was such a lovely night because it really felt like being in the NYC creative scene; everyone walking around was interesting. I got to speak with the director of JOB and HEAD Michael Herwitz for about 10 minutes; a bit before the reading and then after with my classmate Romeo. The tangibility of everything, being around these creatives… it was so vibrant, it was so alive. Madeline Weinstein, who I loved in Between the Temples, played the lead female character and it was nice talking to her for a few minutes after the reading as well.
By the end of the night, I finally got to speak with Max. Went totally the uncool way and just gushed about JOB, about HEAD, and said, “I’m gonna ask a real cornball thing of you” and I pulled out my script and asked him to sign it. Told him I was going back to JOB tomorrow for the third time, and he was like, “three times! Thank you. And I’ll see you there! It’ll be a special one, since it’s Closing Night.” I also told him that I was planning on doing Jane’s “Nordstrom Rack” monologue in my Technique class and he thought that was pretty great. I said, “I know it’s a part I’ll never play, but—" and he cut in with, “hey, who knows? Why not!” and that was pretty funny to hear. If he ever revisits this but decides to gender-flip it and make Jane instead Gene and make him an anxious Filipino-American… I’ll demand an audition (and also would think, main character syndrome of me, this has to be for me, no?).
And at the end of the Closing Night performance, I was able to chat with Sydney again for a moment, and she signed my script as well. When she saw me, she said, “hey you!” I also told her I was going to be doing the Nordstrom Rack monologue in my technique class and she was excited about that, and said, “you’ll be able to give the character your own spin! Have fun with it.”
As I was walking out of the theater, Max was standing in the aisle. He extended his hand and shook my hand, said, “thanks for coming out again, EJ!”
I mean, I didn’t actually say much about the script itself or the play. It’s just so damn good. The ideas communicated, Sydney and Peter with the acting masterclass. Max was 26 when he wrote this. Come on. It helped me realize the necessity for youth in theater; for young, new perspectives. This is the play that really made me think, “okay, I can do this.” Be specific, have a point of view; be curious. Andrew and I are gonna powwow one of these days and shoot the breeze on the early Ameritrade days. That’d be a fun little project to work on; maybe it can be something!
“It’s like there’s another person there with me, rubbing my back, telling me to keep going as I march into the bathroom and I brush my teeth and fuck around with my hair and eat my muesli and I drink my coffee and as I do each of those things the panic turns them into little missions – I have to NAIL flossing, I have to DESTROY my emails from Nordstrom Rack. I delete them and I EMPTY the trash and I imagine my emails burning. These little morning routine fucking inconsequential things become a sense of real…purpose…but on days like today there just isn’t anything else – there’s only me and the panic, alone together.”