Broadway Legend Joined: 6/13/22
i thought it was left ambiguous, but others disagreed. i certainly think your conclusion is plausible.
TotallyEffed said: "
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I thought this too when I saw it at Soho Playhouse. My interpretation was that she
was a little too warped from her work that she was making connections that weren’t there.
Me too, Quibs.
When I saw it downtown, I thought she had come to the therapy session with the gun and the intention to kill him because she thought he was the guy from the videos. Or she realized when she got there that it was him and pulled the gun out. I thought that was pretty unrealistic too, what were the odds that the company assigned her a therapist that happened to be the man she had been obsessing over finding?
But seeing the play again it was clear to me that she was “connecting the dots” in real time and her mind goes a bit haywire every time he reveals something about himself. So she pulls a gun on him and almost kills him at the top of the season for no particular reason, she’s just deeply unhinged. Knowing that and with how impossible the odds are, I do not think he’s the guy she’s been looking for.
Featured Actor Joined: 4/13/13
It's definitely ambiguous and visceral in the moment but it didn't strike me as the likeliest answer.
She has the haywire moments, the panic attack where she puts the mask over his face and he seems almost too calm if he's that evil.
Also - he says his son is 12, going on 25. I can take that as a joke but if his son is actualy 25, the way she described the video, they both sounded well underage.
Edit - It also makes sense in a dramatic structure more than in the dramatic world established.
Great performances by both and well worth seeing.
theatergoer3 said: "
He means that his son seems much older than his age, which is 12.
Featured Actor Joined: 4/13/13
TotallyEffed said: "theatergoer3 said: "
He means that his son seems much older than his age, which is 12."
That makes sense. Thank you.
TotallyEffed said: "
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Especially considering the amount of visions, panic attacks, and schizophrenic-like episodes she has during the play, this seems the most likely scenario.
Do we know that the company assigned him? Or did she choose him? It’s entirely plausible she chose to go to him on a hunch that it could have been him. Then seeing him at the beginning she pulls the gun, but decided to let’s confirm some suspicions and make sure it’s really him.
The third option is that she’s lying about the guy in the videos entirely, and is just using it as a reason to convince him to give her the job back.
Understudy Joined: 1/6/12
not sure how to do the spoiler alert but wanted to add my thoughts. I'll try to keep this vague-ish. I've only see this once @ connelly theater, but my interpretation was that SHE chose him as her therapist. or perhaps she discovered what he is accused of doing after he was assigned to her. either way I believe she went into the therapy session with full knowledge of it all and was trying to suss him out.
That said I did find the ending to be a radical left turn but it sure as hell packs a punch as an ending.
Spoilers:
I think it’s pretty clear the huge corporation hired the therapist. He even mentions the minimal information they gave on her. Anyway, in this situation no company would allow the employee in question to pick the therapist themselves.
It wasn’t until the second time I saw the show that I realized there is a very specific (and startling) moment where the idea is planted in her head that she could know who this man is.
Understudy Joined: 1/6/12
Ahh. I'm hoping to get back to the show later this week so will pay special attention to the language. Will be a very different viewing experience watching the play now knowing the ending. Hopefully I can get my hands on a copy of the play itself.
Also to choosing the therapist. there are all kinds of HIPAA and ethical rules that prevent corporations from deciding which doctors an employee can see. Even if is a follow up to a work-related incident. Even basic questions around a therapist: would you rather have a male or female? Gay or straight? cisgendered or on the gender spectrum. All of those choices should be up to the patient--not an employer.
mridley2 said: "Ahh. I'm hoping to get back to the show later this week so will pay special attention to the language. Will be a very different viewing experience watching the play now knowing the ending. Hopefully I can get my hands on a copy of the play itself.
Also to choosing the therapist. there are all kinds of HIPAA and ethical rules that prevent corporations from deciding which doctors an employee can see. Even if is a follow up to a work-related incident. Even basic questions around a therapist: would you rather have a male or female? Gay or straight? cisgendered or on the gender spectrum. All of those choices should be up to the patient--not an employer."
Sure but I don’t see a scenario where a woman suffers a major public nervous breakdown and is begging for her very disturbing position back and is allowed to choose a therapist who will decide if she is allowed back or not.
Leading Actor Joined: 3/29/23
'Job' Cast on Bringing Social Media Thriller to Broadway
https://variety.com/2024/legit/news/job-broadway-social-media-peter-friedman-sydney-lemmon-1236089257/
Featured Actor Joined: 5/2/09
Saw this on Friday night, ended up going the TKTS route - ended up in the front row! I don't have much to add to the discourse about the show itself, but one observation I had is that I'm pretty sure both actors were wearing earpieces. It wasn't super obvious, but at one point I noticed Sydney Lemmon had a wire running through her hair and each of them seemed to adjust them in their ears once or twice.
How long had it been since their previous engagement? Certainly willing to give the benefit of the doubt that it's a safety net during previews - and maybe they're not even there for feeding lines? Truly curious if this is a common thing, particularly with some of these talkier plays. I remember reading in Brian Cox's memoir that when he signed on to do The Great Society, it was supposed to be more of a reading and not a full on production and he didn't have a ton of notice, so he wore an earpiece that he relied on for a couple weeks and while he was "off book" after that, he was so used to having the earpiece he continued to wear it.
Broadway Star Joined: 4/3/17
I saw today's matinee and found the play very engrossing. Both actors are excellent and the show fits the Hayes well. The bells and whistles they added for Broadway weren't necessary IMO- the play is engaging enough without them.
Speaking for myself, I didn't see the twist coming but it worked for me. Initially I thought
the therapist would be the father of the guy who got her pregnant.
While the play is very dark, there was one laugh out loud moment for today's audience (myself included):
When she goes into her backpack and the therapist yells "Whoa whoa whoa" because he thinks she's gonna pull out the gun again, but it's a package of mints
Also, this was ironically the second show in a week (after N/A) with Lizzo's Truth Hurts on the preshow playlist
TotallyEffed said: "It wasn’t until the second time I saw the show that I realized there is a very specific (and startling) moment where the idea is planted in her head that she could know who this man is."
I saw the show for the first time this week; Can I ask what moment you're referring to?
When the therapist first mentions something personal about himself, I think maybe his children. There’s a massively large sound like a train crashing and she has the first of her “inside her head” episodes. Then every time he mentions another thing that helps “build her case” that he is the man she’s been stalking she has another mini episode and you hear the computer sound effects and the lighting changes.
TBone said: "TotallyEffed said: "It wasn’t until the second time I saw the show that I realized there is a very specific (and startling) moment where the idea is planted in her head that she could know who this man is."
I saw the show for the first time this week; CanI ask what moment you're referring to?"
TotallyEffed said: "
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Thank you! Thinking back that all makes so much sense. Unfortunately for me, it didn't in the moment.
There’s no way it could! I only noticed on the second viewing.
She also has that moment where she has a pixilated mask of his face that she places over his real face…I interpreted it as her obsessive gathering of information on the man and then in her deeply disturbed state she begins to see it as his face.
What a horrible piece of garbage. How this thing ended up on Broadway, I will never know. Why would anyone want to see this, other than because of the overly kind reviews. The person next to me was a16 year old kid. He slept through the whole thing. If this was his first exposure to theater, he will never be back. If your idea of entertainment is listening to a boring, unstable person whine to a therapist for 80 minutes, knock yourself out. I never knew 80 minutes could feel like a century until tonight.
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/27/21
Matt Rogers said: "What a horrible piece of garbage. How this thing ended up on Broadway, I will never know. Why would anyone want to see this, other than because of theoverly kind reviews. The person next to me was a16 year old kid. He slept through the whole thing. If this was his first exposure to theater, he will never be back. If your idea of entertainment is listening to a boring,unstable personwhine to a therapistfor 80 minutes, knock yourself out. I never knew 80 minutes could feel like a century until tonight."
sir this is a Wendys
Broadway Star Joined: 7/5/10
Job has extended on Broadway through October 27th!
Broadway Star Joined: 4/3/17
bigbelterbaby said: "Job has extended on Broadway through October 27th!"
The show's social media accounts call it a "final extension." Guess they reduced the built-in eight weeks to four given the tepid grosses. Still great news!
Broadway Star Joined: 7/5/10
Fordham2015 said: "bigbelterbaby said: "Job has extended on Broadway through October 27th!"
The show's social media accounts call it a "final extension." Guess they reduced the built-in eight weeks to four given the tepid grosses. Still great news!"
I don’t see how an 8 week extension would be possible if Cult of Love starts previews November 20th, with tech rehearsals and building a new set etc.
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/23/17
Matt Rogers said: "What a horrible piece of garbage. How this thing ended up on Broadway, I will never know. Why would anyone want to see this, other than because of theoverly kind reviews. The person next to me was a16 year old kid. He slept through the whole thing. If this was his first exposure to theater, he will never be back. If your idea of entertainment is listening to a boring,unstable personwhine to a therapistfor 80 minutes, knock yourself out. I never knew 80 minutes could feel like a century until tonight."
Did you wake the kid up to ask his age??
Fordham2015 said: "bigbelterbaby said: "Job has extended on Broadway through October 27th!"
The show's social media accounts call it a "final extension." Guess they reduced the built-in eight weeks to four given the tepid grosses. Still great news!"
These extensions are an option, not a requirement! That's why they exist. Financially, perhaps they're treading water and feel they can survive 4 more weeks.
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