Hip-hop sequel has biblical theme

Calling all hip-hop enthusiasts. Come one, come all to "Job II the Demon Of The Eternal Recurrence." This sequel to the smash hit "Hip-hop Musical Job I" features the multitalented duo Eli Batalion (MC Abel) and Jerome Saibil (MC Cain).

After opening night at Theatre 99 Piccolo Fringe 2004 at American Theatre was plagued with technical problems beyond their control, this Post and Courier reviewer went back later to see if the pair had fixed their acoustical problems. This time the music did not upstage the performers. Each gem of a word was articulated against a background of mellowed-out rap music, just as it should have been.

Canadians Batalion and Saibil are Brown University graduates with high honors who took a liking to the hip-hop genre and capitalized on their talents to produce an awesome show. They combined musicality, dance, energetic calisthenics, character development, facial contortions and intelligent vocabulary to put rap to the hip-hop beat.

Satire ran rampant as they mastered the philosophy of Nietzsche. How they could remember all the words of a detailed script with words going nonstop for an hour is amazing. Both performers owned the stage for a solid hour, even mirror-imaging their precision movements. They wrote the music and lyrics and directed themselves.

There is a good synopsis in the program, I highly recommend, along with the author's notes. There is a plot that takes off where Job I ended. They recap briefly the first play, Job I and then get right into Job II.

The hip-hop stories take poetic license as they retell the Biblical story of Job with satirical stretch.

The famous quote, "The patience of Job," best describes the theme where God does some testing of faith. The plot is put in a modern setting. Job II continues to use the recording industry as the vehicle.

However, no matter what the theme, it's the presentation that's the show. Clever songs and movements make the hour fly by.

The execution of hip-hop rhyming to an infectious beat moves this quick-witted theatre piece along at top speed. The song "Every Man for Himself" penetrates the soul.

Batalion and Saibil seemed to have mastered the hip-hop use of making the theatrics a new genre for the fringe.

They were appropriately attired in Adidas track suits, one in black and the other in red and complete with doowraps as headpieces. If you love hip-hop, don't miss this energetic show.

— SANDY KATZ