‘JOB’: Peter Friedman & Sydney Lemmon. Photo: Emilio Madrid.

JOB
A new play by Max Wolf Friedlich
Directed by Michael Herwitz
Through October 27, 2024
The Helen Hayes Theater
240 West 44th Street
https://jobtheplay.com/

By Scott Harrah

Job—the psychological two-character thriller that was a hit last year at the SoHo Playhouse—has arrived on Broadway and is hardly light summertime fare. Max Wolf Friedlich’s is intense from the very first scene, when we see Jane (Sydney Lemmon), a young tech executive, pointing a gun at her therapist Loyd (Peter Friedman) in his downtown San Francisco office.

Mr. Wolf Friedlich’s tale is not your typical patient-therapist drama. Jane is not seeing a therapist by choice. After a mental breakdown, and a viral video of her losing it at a renowned Bay Area tech company (possibly Google? Or Meta?—the name is never mentioned), she must get Loyd’s approval before she can return to her job. She is an ambitious but deeply disturbed millennial with disdain for the older generation. “Boomers spend their time being mad that 16-year-old girls are using filters on Instagram to feel prettier,” she says. “Like why’re you offended that we feel insecure? We’re protecting ourselves from the thoughts your shampoo commercials made us think!”

Loyd is an old Berkeley hippie, the epitome of the “boomer” stereotype. However, Mr. Friedman (best known for his role on HBO’s “Succession”) is outstanding portraying Loyd as a vulnerable and caring therapist, frustrated by Jane and her manic anger.

Ms. Lemmon portrays Jane as the unlikable character she is. Jane is a content moderator, overseeing and censoring online videos that range from grotesque violence to sickening child porn. Ms. Lemmon consistently gives Jane a sense of nervous rage, and one cringes wondering what she might do next.

Cody Spencer’s jarring sound design includes audio of porn and drilling noises, coupled with eerie lighting by Mextly Cousins, creating an ambience of horror that is sometimes distracting but ultimately creates a sense of discomfort that mirrors the crisp, back-and-forth rapid-fire dialogue between Jane and Loyd.

Jane is a woman on a mission to rid the world of offensive digital content, and the story has some unexpected twists toward the end. The battle between the two characters from different generations never fails to grab our attention.Director Michael Herwitz gets a brilliant sense of tension and edginess from Mr. Friedman and Ms. Lemmon. Job is a taut tale that’s full of surprises and will keep you on the edge of your seat with suspense.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published July 30, 2024
Reviewed at July 26, 2024 press performance

‘JOB’: Peter Friedman & Sydney Lemmon. Photo: Emilio Madrid.

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‘CLYDE’S’: Uzo Aduba & (left to right) Kara Young, Ron Cephas Jones, Edmund Donovan & Reza Salazar. Photo: Joan Marcus.

CLYDE’S
Written by Lynn Nottage
Directed by Kate Whoriskey
Through January 16, 2022
The Helen Hayes Theatre
240 West 44th Street
(212-541-4516), https://www 2ST.com

By David NouNou

To call Clyde’s the best play of the season might not sound much of a compliment, considering the slim pickings that were offered this year, but let me assure you it can stand on its own merits in any season. It is a thought-provoking play peppered with laughs about hell, purgatory, dreams and hopes.

Clyde’s is set in a truck-stop sandwich shop in Berks County, Pennsylvania. It’s a modern-day purgatory. Run by the devil incarnate Clyde (Uzo Aduba), it is a place for former incarcerated inmates upon release to work and make some money to restart their lives. Clyde was once incarcerated herself because of a man that did her wrong, and she made sure he isn’t around to talk about it. She knows the system and worked out the deal. Thus, working long hard hours for very little pay, that’s the deal with Clyde because there is nowhere else for inmates to work or get paid. Do the job as told—or back in the clink you go.

In this hellhole work four former incarcerated people, their crimes ranging from petty larceny to assault:  Montrellous (Ron Cephas Jones) is the oldest and wisest who tries to keep hope alive. Jason (Edmund Donovan) is the tattooed-all-over loner who doesn’t fit in anywhere. Rafael (Reza Salazar) is the aspiring sous-chef with a positive attitude. Finally, there is the feisty Letitia (Kara Young) whose crime was stealing medicine to keep her baby alive. They are four misfits indeed, all of whom ultimately come together by having a dream in their spare time to talk about making the perfect sandwich.

There really isn’t much time for daydreaming or hoping because the dragon lady, Clyde, is there at every turn to make sure their dreams are crushed and there is nowhere to go but further down. From this misery comes people of diverse identities, forming this bond to keep their hopes and dreams alive and a feeling a self-worth. They feel that their past doesn’t have to constantly identify them.

Although this is an ensemble piece, director Kate Whoriskey makes sure every actor and movement on stage is meticulously timed. Just watch the inmates working around this hellhole of a kitchen, with a great set by Takeshi Kata; navigating through it is almost choreographic.

Uzo Aduba’s Clyde is phenomenal—whether berating the employees or pulverizing their souls and making sure they never get a break with anything—she rules. Her costumes by Jennifer Moeller are a drag queen’s fantasy.

Ron Cephas Jones imbues Montrellous with so much dignity that when he describes making a perfect sandwich, you are transformed in his dream. Mr. Cephas Jones, Edmund Donavan, Reza Salazar and Kara Young all mesh together seamlessly as an ethnically diverse group of actors and give performances that complement each other perfectly.

Is there such a thing as the perfect sandwich?  Depends on your taste, but I can assure you Lynn Nottage is offering us a devilishly delicious one with Clyde’s.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published November 27, 2021
Reviewed at November 26, 2021 press performance.

‘CLYDES’: Reza Salazar, Kara Young, Ron Cephas Jones & Edmund Donovan. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘CLYDE’S’: Reza Salazar & Kara Young. Photo: Joan Marcus.

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