Jane makes me uncomfortable. Maybe it’s her nervousness and twitching. Maybe it is the gun she is brandishing as the play JOB begins. According to Anton Chekhov, if a writer includes a gun in a story, it should be used later. Not sure if playwright Max Wolf Friedlich was thinking about that, but undoubtedly, the therapist Loyd who Jane is pointing the gun at is.

After an incident at work that went viral, Jane (Sydney Lemmon) has been on leave. It is obvious later that the work has stressed her yet she is adamant about wanting to return to the job. The only way is to get clearance from the therapist, Loyd, quietly and intelligently portrayed by Peter Friedman.. Her task is to convince him that she is normal, but it certainly felt like an inauspicious beginning. It takes almost two thirds of the 80 minute show before we learn what happened at work.

In between we learn a bit about Jane and listen as she spars with Loyd, questioning and even verbally attacking him. She feels that there’s a generational gap and he shouldn’t be evaluating her. He's the luddite while she’s involved with tech. Ironically it’s her tech job that has caused her to be there.

Loyd (well-played by Peter Friedman) is understandably jittery every time Jane reaches for her bag and some in the audience flinch as well. (But it’s a two person play so she can't get rid of him that early.) At the very end, the woman next to me, turned away from the stage, anticipating “Chekhov’s” gun. There are definitely interesting moments and disturbing questions; many of them are unresolved. What are those lights that flash on the back curtain,stopping the action? (Lighting design- Mextly Couzin)

Both Friedman and Sydney Lemmon give excellent performances, Lemmon, as Jane, twisted her slim angular body, almost curling into herself. Friedman is most convincing when he is fearful of her and physically backs away. Yet he persists in gently questioning her. Despite Michael Herwitz’s sharp direction and the skilled performances, it’s difficult to care about either character.

The beauty of a play like Job is that it provides great conversation afterwards. Each of us gave our opinion and tried to prove it but weren’t able to convince the other.
There's a plot twist, one which I didn't anticipate and one which was never resolved. Even if I knew the answers I wouldn't tell but, quite frankly, I wasn’t invested enough to care.