Writers Theatre, under the leadership of Executive Director Kathryn M. Lipuma and Alexandra C. and John D. Nichols Artistic Director Braden Abraham, continues its 2025/26 Season with the Chicago and Midwest premiere of the hit psychological thriller JOB, written by Max Wolf Friedlich and directed by David Esbjornson. JOB will run April 9 – June 14, 2026, in The Gillian Theatre at 325 Tudor Court, Glencoe. The Press Opening is Friday, April 17, 2026 at 7:30pm.
Jane, an employee at a big tech company, has been placed on leave after video of her screaming breakdown at work went viral. Her employers tell Jane she must be evaluated by crisis therapist Loyd before she can be reinstated to the job that gives her life meaning. Their first session together, however, quickly escalates into an epic showdown with a shocking and disturbing twist. A Broadway and Off-Broadway sensation, this intense psychological thriller skewers the insidiousness of the internet, the meaning of work and the ramifications of a secret revealed.
Single tickets go on sale Tuesday, February 17 at Writers Theatre at 325 Tudor Court, Glencoe; 847-242-6000; www.writerstheatre.org.
I'm thrilled to bring this gripping play to Writers,” said Braden Abraham, “with two remarkable actors Chicago audiences know and love. Rae Gray and Christopher Donahue are fearless performers, and in the intimacy of our Gillian Theatre, there will be nowhere to hide—for them or for us. Max Wolf Friedlich's play asks provocative questions about the lives we build around our work and how the online world bends our sense of who we are, and under David Esbjornson's direction, I believe this production will be as visceral and surprising as theater can be.”
The cast includes Christopher Donahue (Loyd) and Rae Gray (Jane). The understudies are Mark Ulrich (Understudy Loyd) and Haley Gustafson (Understudy Jane).
The creative team includes: David Esbjornson (Director), Jack Magaw (Scenic Designer), Jessica Pabst (Costume Designer), James F. Ingalls (Lighting Designer), Willow James (Co-Sound Designer), Christopher Kriz (Co-Sound Designer), Rae Watson (Properties Designer), Amber Wuttke (Violence & Gun Coordinator), Erin Shea Brady (Dramaturg) and Dylan Cohen (Assistant Director). The stage manager is Miranda Anderson and the assistant stage manager is Bridget Kearbey.
Fact Sheet / JOB
JOB
Written by Max Wolf Friedlich
Directed by David Esbjornson
Cast: Christopher Donahue (Loyd), Rae Gray (Jane), Mark Ulrich (Understudy Loyd) and Haley Gustafson (Understudy Jane)
Creative Team: David Esbjornson (Director), Jack Magaw (Scenic Designer), Jessica Pabst (Costume Designer), James F. Ingalls (Lighting Designer), Willow James (Co-Sound Designer), Christopher Kriz (Co-Sound Designer), Rae Watson (Properties Designer), Amber Wuttke (Violence & Gun Coordinator), Erin Shea Brady (Dramaturg), Dylan Cohen (Assistant Director), Miranda Anderson (Stage Manager) and Bridget Kearbey (Assistant Stage Manager)
Dates: First performance: April 9, 2026
Press opening: Friday, April 17 at 7:30pm
Closing performance: June 14, 2026
Performance Schedule:
-
Wednesdays: 2:00pm and 7:30pm
-
Thursdays: 7:30pm
-
Fridays: 7:30pm
-
Saturdays: 2:00pm and 7:30pm
-
Sundays: 2:00pm and 7:00pm
Open Captioned Performance: Thursday, May 14 at 7:30pm
ASL-Interpreted Performance: Saturday, May 16 at 2:00pm
Pay What You Can Performances: Sunday, May 17 at 7:00pm and Wednesday, June 3 at 7:30pm
Location: The Gillian Theatre, 325 Tudor Court, Glencoe
Prices: Tickets start at $50
Discounts are available for students, educators, theater industry professionals, active military personnel, veterans, police officers, firefighters and their immediate families. Information is available at: https://www.writerstheatre.org/plan-your-visit/box-office-and-theatre-center/pricing--special-offers
Box Office: The Box Office is located at 325 Tudor Court, Glencoe; 847-242-6000; www.writerstheatre.org
NOTES OF INTEREST
JOB playwright Max Wolf Friedlich was nominated for the Outer Critics Circle’s John Gassner Award for Best New American Play and the Off-Broadway Alliance Award.
Acclaimed director David Esbjornson joins Writers for the first time to direct. Esbjornson has served as Artistic Director of New York City’s Classic Stage Company (1992–1999) and Seattle Repertory Theatre (2005–2009), and currently chairs the Theater Department at Rutgers University’s Mason Gross School of the Arts. His extensive directing career spans Broadway, international and regional theatres, including notable world premiere productions of Tony Kushner’s Angels in America: Millennium Approaches, Perestroika and Homebody/Kabul (London), the Broadway staging of Edward Albee’s Tony Award-winning The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia? and Alfred Uhry’s Driving Miss Daisy (Broadway, London, Australia). His work has earned numerous honors, including OBIE and Lucille Lortel Awards, several Drama Desk and Drama League nominations, and more.
JOB had its world premiere at the SoHo Playhouse in New York City on September 6, 2023, and became a sold-out, word-of-mouth hit. The production starred Peter Friedman and Sydney Lemmon, both of whom were featured on HBO’s Succession. The play was remounted with the same cast at The Connelly Theatre Off-Broadway in Spring 2024 and played for another sold-out run. Due to critical acclaim, the production transferred to Broadway’s Helen Hayes Theatre for a three-month, critically acclaimed run, July 15-October 27, 2024.
JOB examines the psychological toll of modern technology, centering on Jane, a content moderator for an unspecified tech/social media company who spends her days viewing and removing an endless stream of disturbing posts and videos. After a workplace meltdown goes viral, she is mandated to attend therapy sessions, exposing the human cost of moderating the internet’s darkest corners. Framed as a psychological thriller in the vein of Black Mirror, Severance and Industry, the play probes the fragile boundary between digital labor and mental health in an era of relentless online exposure.
This is the Writers Theatre debut of Christopher Donahue (Lloyd). He recently appeared as “Ebeneezer Scrooge” in Goodman Theatre’s annual production of A Christmas Carol.
Rae Gray (Jane) previously appeared at Writers Theatre as “Debbie” in The Real Thing in 2011. Gray won the 2025 Jeff Award for Performer in a Supporting Role for her portrayal of “Elodie” in the Northlight Theatre and Theater Wit production of Prayer for the French Republic.
EVENTS
The Green Room: Interview with Christopher Donahue and Rae Gray
Tuesday, March 24 at 7pm
The stars of JOB, Christopher Donahue (making his WT debut) and Rae Gray (The Real Thing), will discuss their careers in Chicago theatre, their roles as a therapist and a tech worker in the play, and how technology has changed and shaped the world around us.
Family Matinee Series
Saturdays, May 2 and 16 at 2pm
Going to the theatre just got a little bit easier for parents and caregivers. Enjoy a Saturday matinee while your young ones engage in active, creative play with WT Education’s professional teaching artists at an onsite class.
The Final Word Audience Discussion
Sunday, June 14 at 12pm
Join fellow audience members and WT Artistic staff for a lively, in-person discussion delving into the characters and themes at the heart of JOB.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
David Esbjornson (Director) was the Artistic Director of Classic Stage Company (NYC) from 1992-19997 as well as Seattle Repertory Theatre 2005-2008, producing and directing eleven seasons of new plays, classics and special events. In the last decade, David was Chair of the Rutgers MGSA Conservatory where he created the 3.5 conservatory program. Directing premieres include: Dennis Trainor Jr’s Manifest Destiny’s Child (Edinburgh Festival); Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie (Shanghai, China); Alfred Uhry’s Driving Miss Daisy (Broadway, London and Australia); Edward Albee’s The Goat or Who is Sylvia? (Broadway) and The Play About the Baby (Century, NYC); Arthur Miller’s The Ride Down Mt. Morgan (Broadway) and Resurrection Blues (Guthrie); the world premiere of Tony Kushner’s Angels in America: Millennium Approaches and the first staged presentation of Perestroika (Eureka) and Homebody/Kabul (London); The Great Gatsby (the new Guthrie Inaugural Production); Christopher Hampton’s Appomattox and Jeffrey Hatcher’s The Confederacy of Dunces (Huntington); Todd Kriedler’s Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner? (Arena Stage DC, Huntington, Boston); Paul Slade Smith’s The Outsider (Paper Mill Playhouse); Suzan-Lori Parks’ In the Blood (Public); Neil Simon’s Rose and Walsh (Geffen); Neal Bell’s Thérèse Raquin (CSC); Mitch Albom and Jeffrey Hatcher’s Tuesdays With Morrie (Minetta Lane); Israel Horovitz’s My Old Lady (Promenade); Ariel Dorfman’s Purgatorio (SRT); Moira Buffini’s Gabriel and Peter Parnell’s Trumpery (Atlantic); Margaret Engel and Allison Engel’s Red Hot Patriot: The Kick-Ass Wit of Molly Ivins (Arena Stage, The Geffen, Philadelphia Theatre Company, Berkeley Rep) and Erma Bombeck: At Witt’s End (Arena Stage, Cincinnati Playhouse); Patrick Marber’s Dealer’s Choice (Long Wharf). Major revivals include: Lady From Dubuque (NY Signature Inaugural Production); Death of a Salesman (The Gate, Dublin); Measure for Measure and Much Ado About Nothing (NYSF in Central Park); A Few Good Men (London West End); The Normal Heart (Public); All My Sons (Huntington); Hamlet (Theatre For A New Audience); Our Town (George Street); Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and Summer and Smoke (Guthrie); Twelfth Night and Mud and Drowning (Signature); Endgame, The Maids, Entertaining Mr. Sloane and The Entertainer (Classic Stage Company); and Farmyard (NY Theatre Workshop).
Max Wolf Friedlich (Playwright) is a writer from New York City. His play JOB (Outer Critics Circle Award nominee, Off-Broadway Alliance Award nominee) after two sold-out runs off-Broadway, opened at the Hayes Theater on Broadway in July 2024. He has been in residence/developed work with Berkeley Rep, Pasadena Playhouse, New York Stage and Film, IAMA Theater, Huron Station, Powerhouse at Vassar College, The Silver Sun Foundation, Less Than Rent, NY International Fringe Festival and IRT. In TV/Film, he is currently developing new work with Jesse Eisenberg, Crunchyroll/SONY Animation, Harris Dickison's Devisio Pictures, Scott Free, 2am and Marc Platt Productions.
Christopher Donahue (Lloyd) is making his Writers debut. In Chicago, he has appeared at Court Theatre, Goodman Theatre, Lookingglass Theatre Company, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Chicago Opera Theatre, Remains Theatre and Stories on Stage. He has performed at theatres across the country, including Arena Stage, American Repertory Theatre, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Circle in the Square, Classic Stage Company, Manhattan Theatre Club, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Seattle Repertory Theatre, Weston Playhouse Theatre Company, Yale Repertory Theatre and many others.
Rae Gray (Jane) returns to Writers where she appeared in The Real Thing. National Tour: To Kill a Mockingbird. Broadway: The Real Thing (Roundabout). International: The Beacon (Druid/Gate, IRL). Chicago: Prayer for the French Republic (Northlight); Graveyard Shift, The Little Foxes, A Christmas Carol (Goodman); Domesticated, Slowgirl, The Book Thief, Wedding Band (Steppenwolf); King Charles III (Chicago Shakespeare). Regional: Slowgirl (Geffen), Queens (La Jolla Playhouse). TV: A League of Their Own, Justified: City Primeval, The Rookie, American Rust, Power Book IV: Force, Fear the Walking Dead, Grace and Frankie, Sea Oak, Boardwalk Empire, Shameless, The Resident, Chicago Fire, PD and Med. Animated TV: Bossy Bear, Adventure Time. Film: Slice (A24), I Do…Until I Don’t, The Robbery (Sundance Selection). Rae is a graduate of the University of Chicago.
Haley Gustafson (Understudy Jane) is making her Writers Theatre debut, Broadway: The Who’s Tommy. Chicago: Revolution(s), The Who’s Tommy (Goodman Theatre), Cabaret, (Porchlight Music Theatre), Wizard of Oz (Chicago Shakespeare Theatre), Children of Eden (Chicagoland Theatre Fund) and Legally Blonde (Metropolis PAC). Regional credits include Lizzie (Southern Plains Productions). Film and television credits include Work in Progress (Showtime) and Soundtrack (Netflix). She is represented by Stewart Talent.
Mark Ulrich (Understudy Lloyd) was last seen at Writers in Spite For Spite. He resides in Chicago, and has performed with Steppenwolf, Goodman Theatre, Northlight, Drury Lane, TimeLine, A Red Orchid, Marriott Theatre, Remy Bumppo, Artistic Home, Teatro Vista, Raven, Citadel, Silk Road Rising, 16th Street Theatre and Rivendell Theatre Ensemble, where he is a proud company member. Regional credits include Palm Beach Dramaworks, Florida Stage, City Theatre of Pittsburgh, Forward Theatre of Madison and Next Act Theatre of Milwaukee. He is represented by Gray Talent Group.
UPCOMING PRODUCTIONS AT WRITERS THEATRE
The remainder of the 2025/26 subscription season includes Pulitzer Prize winner Nilo Cruz’s Two Sisters and a Piano, directed by Lisa Portes (February 26 – March 29, 2026), the hit psychological thriller Job by Max Wolf Friedlich, directed by David Esbjornson (April 9 – June 14, 2026), and the Midwest and Chicago Premiere of Tom Stoppard’s epic, Tony Award-winning play Leopoldstadt, directed by Carey Perloff.
Writers Theatre is offering a variety of subscriptions with an option for every theatregoer, Flex subscriptions, with options for either four tickets ($280) or five tickets ($350), are still available.
Season package subscribers receive the new Writers Theatre concierge service for ticket exchanges and questions. Exclusive subscriber benefits include: complimentary ticket exchanges (upgrade fees may apply), special “subscriber-rate” prices on additional tickets, advance access to special events and programs, easy, free parking, exclusive discounts in bar items and merchandise, discounts on rental of Writers Theatre event spaces on Writers Theatre merchandise, event rentals and more. For a complete list of benefits visit writerstheatre.org.
Single tickets will go on sale for each show approximately two months prior to first preview. Flex subscriptions and tickets are available online at www.writerstheatre.org, and at the Box Office by calling 847-242-6000.
AUDIENCE ENGAGEMENT OPPORTUNITIES
Writers Theatre offers Open Captioning and ASL-interpretation on select dates for each production. Please visit writerstheatre.org/accessibility for more information.
Throughout the season, Writers Theatre offers a variety of audience enrichment and special programming. This includes regularly occurring offerings like the Family Matinee Series, The Green Room artist interview series and podcast and The Final Word Audience Discussion Series. Please visit writerstheatre.org for a full listing of upcoming offerings.
ABOUT WRITERS THEATRE
Writers Theatre is proud to continue its 34th season. Having captivated audiences for years with its dedication to creating the most intimate theatrical experience possible, the theatre is a major Chicagoland cultural destination with a national reputation for excellence, being called “America’s finest regional theater company” by The Wall Street Journal. Under the leadership of Alexandra C. and John D. Nichols Artistic Director Braden Abraham and Executive Director Kathryn M. Lipuma, the company is charting a path forward for the next 30 years.
Since its founding in 1992, Writers Theatre has stayed true to its core values: Creating intimate connections through astonishing performances and innovative programs; by activating relationships between artists and community; and by inviting people to gather in our spaces for transformative experiences. The company has produced over 140 productions—everything from inventive interpretations of classics to groundbreaking new work. In 2016, Writers Theatre opened a new, state-of-the-art facility designed by the internationally renowned Studio Gang Architects.
Writers Theatre now welcomes more than 60,000 patrons each season and has helped establish the North Shore of Chicago as a premier cultural destination. Through its Literary Development Initiative, which has been responsible for the nurturing and premiering of over 30 world premieres, the theatre has established itself as a major originator of new theatrical works. Serving as an extension of the Writers Theatre mission, WT Education programs engage an average of 10,000 students each year with active learning opportunities centered around the written word.