Odd Job: Dramatis Personae

The Primary Characters:

JOB – Our Hero. Job is average-looking man, dressed in modern fashion, and is the story’s Everyman. Even though he’s kind of a dork, he’s essentially a good guy at heart. He should have sort of a Jimmy-Stewart-in-It’s-A-Wonderful-Life quality to him.

GOD – played by a man, anyway, and totally remote, awe-inspiring and somewhat dull. God is always impressive, and he should have the sort of voice to make those biblical passages sound pretty damn serious. Whether he wears robes or a Brooks Brothers suit is up to you. Then again, as the saying goes, “Malt does more than Milton can/ To justify the ways of God to man.”

WIFE – Job’s wife, and the one in the marriage with all the common sense. She’s the pragmatic, emotional, humanistic counterpart to Job’s principled, dogmatic faithfulness. She should be reasonably pretty, dress in modern fashion, and have a likeable, if sometimes sarcastic, persona.

SATAN – played by a woman, anyway, and— as in Milton — probably the most fun character in the play. She should be attractive, dress very nicely — and perhaps seductively — and seem like she’s always having a good time. She should probably smoke. Of the two major theological beings, God is the one you want doing your taxes, and Satan is the one you want to go out drinking with.The Comforters:

ZOPHAR (played by the actress playing WIFE) – A psychiatrist. She expounds the theory that God does not exist. 

ELIPHAZ (played by the actress playing SATAN) – A rabbi with a comical Yiddish accent. She expounds the theory that Job must have done something wrong somehow to explain his punishment.

BILDAD (played by the actor playing GOD) – A lawyer. He expounds the theory that God is wrong and should be sued for damages.The Deus ex Machina Sort:

MESSENGER (played by the actress playing SATAN) – The messenger appears twice, each time in slightly different garb, to announce bad news to Job and his wife. The messenger should probably steal the scene — think of Groucho Marx riding up to you on a bicycle and handing you a telegram.

INTERN (played by the actress playing SATAN) – The intern is God’s representative, and takes prayer messages for Him while He’s in a meeting. As a semi-deity, she is not as remote as God, but still has a bit of attitude to her. A nice business suit is fine for her.

DANCER (played by the actor playing GOD) – Dressed in a wild lampoon of biblical garb, the dancer (looking slightly different each time) frequently bursts in, singing bits of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and Jesus Christ, Superstar. The other characters should be as mean as possible to him.

DR. REINHOLD NEIBUHR (played by the actress playing WIFE) — Actually, a very respected German Protestant theologian, who had some very important theories that I can’t recall at the moment.

BART LARDBALL (played by the actor playing GOD) – A shabby-looking wino with a propensity to vomit.

MELCHIOR (played by the actress playing WIFE) – A demon with dumb-looking horns and a tail. Not real bright. The Ones Barely Worth Paying Attention To:

STAGEHAND: Calls a line out to Bildad towards the end; is never seen onstage.

AUDIENCE MEMBERS #1 and #2: They sit in the audience until their time comes … since they’ll have to watch the play every night, you may have to pay these people.

VOLUNTEER: Called out of the audience for Satan’s game show at the end. This should be a real, live sucker from the crowd; but if you feel you can make it funnier with a “plant,” go right ahead. I won’t stop you.