Biblical Hip Hop a Hit

The biblical Job had no luck. But the fringe group behind JOB: The Hip-Hop Musical couldn't be more fortunate.

By taking a chance that audiences would be converted to the idea of a hip hop show based on a biblical character, Jerome Saibil and Eli Batalion have reaped success after success: repeated sell-outs, awards and nominations and an enviable offer to take their modest show Off-Broadway.

"It's been good -- in an unexpected and flattering way," Saibil said this week.

The unlikely hit comes from an unlikely source. Saibil and Batalion aren't even actors per se -- at least they weren't when they did their first Fringe with a show called "Everything You Wanted To Know About Yourself But Were Afraid to Ask Freud." Friends since childhood, the Montreal duo attended Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. Saibil graduated with honours in philosophy and Batalion magna cum laude in philosophy and psychology.

"We've never taken any theatre classes," Saibil points out.

He gives the Fringe "total credit" for getting the show started.

"Not being theatre people, I can't see when we would have had a chance to have our quirky, weird ideas translated to the stage."

In fact, Saibil's gut feeling was that even the open-minded Fringe wouldn't tolerate something as odd as Job.

"At first we really didn't think that people would like the show at all. We just thought it was going to really bomb."

But bomb it didn't. Job has already been picked up at regular theatres in Toronto and Edmonton -- where it beat out Grease! and some highbrow operas to win a Sterling nomination for best musical. The show's recent five-week run in New York was good enough to earn the offer of a four-month run Off-Broadway next spring. The New York experience has been captured on film for a forthcoming TV documentary. And a producer in London is interested in doing Job there.

The show's success is related to the various layers in which it can be experienced. On the most superficial, it's simply a highly polished, entertaining rap performance. But the more you listen to the words, the more there is to absorb, says Saibil.

"There's a lot of stuff going on at the same time. It depends what you focus on."

Starring as MC Cain and MC Abel, Saibil and Batalion use the story of Job as a metaphor for the evils of business -- in this case, the way hip hop record label president J. Hoover (a.k.a. Jehovah) and finance vice-president Lou Saphire (a.k.a. Lucifer) decide to test the loyalty of employee Job Lowe (a.k.a. Joe Blow) by taking away his benefits and then his job. The eternal question, the guys say, is "why do bad things happen to good people, yo?" Musically, the score features 10 original tracks and samples of numerous bits of familiar music, from Beethoven to the Beatles.

Critical comments have consumed the thesauraus: cool, polished, dazzling, inventive, funny, clever and on and on.

Throughout it all, Saibil and Batalion are attempting to remain humble.

"We're aware of all the praise. But it doesn't affect how we feel about the show," says Saibil.

In fact, the two are already looking ahead to their next triumph. They've already created and performed the sequel Job II to more acclaim. They're also working on another show which they may perform at Edinburgh next year. And they're going to be working with a third party on some TV show pitches. Ultimately, Saibil sees himself and Batalion stepping away from acting and devoting their time to writing and directing, particularly screenplays -- a creative collaboration similar to Joel and Ethan Cohen.

"We've got not just a full plate but several plates."

— Cam Fuller