Free Play Reading-Wallace Shawn's 'The Fever' Heats Miami Beach

Seeking morality in an impending Execution
  
  The Arts at St. Johns and Fantasy Theatre Factory present a reading
of "The Fever" written by Wallace Shawn at their monthly PlayMonday,
Monday, April 3, 7:30 pm,  at 4760 Pinetree Drive, Miami Beach. The free
reading takes place on the lakeside patio. For Info Call: 305-613-2325
  
  In "The Fever" by Wallace Shawn, the narrator lies sick and alone in
a dingy hotel room in some third-world country. Below his window, a
political execution is beginning. Lacking all creature comforts, the
narrator deals with the juxtaposition of his memories and his own sadness
about the misery and poverty in the street below. His final conclusion is
that good intentions are not enough and that the politically correct
are guilty themselves unless they take action. (See below for more
information on Wallace Shawn.)
  
  Attendees are invited to bring their own picnic basket with
refreshments. Free onsite parking is available. 
   
  Email them at artsatstjohns@bellsouth.net or visit their website:
http://www.artsatstjohns.com
  
  Wallace Shawn made his film debut playing Diane Keaton's ex-husband
in Woody Allen's Manhattan in 1979. Arguably his best-known film role is
as the evil Vizzini in The Princess Bride (1987) ("Inconceivable!")
Non-comic film roles include two collaborations with Andre Gregory,
filmed by Louis Malle: the philosophical and semi-autobiographical dialogue
My Dinner with Andre, and a production of Uncle Vanya titled Vanya on
42nd Street.
  
  Shawn is a widely-used character actor on television, where he has
appeared in many genres and series. He has had recurring roles as the
Ferengi Grand Nagus Zek on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, a comic ex-reporter
on Murphy Brown, the Huxtables' neighbor on The Bill Cosby Show, a
psychiatrist on Crossing Jordan, and on many other shows.
  
  His Writing
  Shawn's early plays, such as Marie and Bruce (1978), portrayed
emotional and sexual conflicts in an absurdist style, with language that was
both lyrical and violent. In the conversations with Andre Gregory that
became My Dinner with Andre, Shawn later referred to these plays as
depicting "my interior life as a raging beast". Critical response was
extremely polarized: some critics hailed Shawn as a major writer, while
John Simon called Marie and Bruce "garbage" and described Shawn as "one of
the worst and unsightliest actors in this city". His play A Thought in
Three Parts caused a minor uproar in London in 1977, when the
production was raided by a vice squad due to allegedly pornographic content.
  
  His later plays became more overtly political, drawing parallels
between the psychology of his characters and the behavior of governments
and social classes. Among the best-known of these are Aunt Dan and Lemon
(1985) and The Designated Mourner (1997). Shawn's political work has
invited controversy, as he often presents the audience with several
contradictory points of view: in Aunt Dan and Lemon, which Shawn described
as a cautionary tale against fascism, the character Lemon explained her
neo-Nazi beliefs with such conviction that some critics called the play
effectively pro-fascist.
  
  The monologue The Fever, originally created by Shawn to be performed
for small audiences in apartments, was dismissed by some critics as
"liberal guilt"; it describes a person who becomes sick while struggling
to find a morally consistent way to live when faced with injustice, and
harshly criticizes the record of the U.S. in supporting repressive
anti-communist regimes.
  
  Three of Shawn's plays have been adapted into films: The Designated
Mourner (basically a film of David Hare's stage production), Marie and
Bruce, and The Fever; as of 2005, the latter two had only been screened
in festivals.
  
  Shawn has also written political commentary for The Nation, and in
2004 he published the one-issue-only progressive political magazine Final
Edition, which features interviews with and articles by Jonathan
Schell, Noam Chomsky, Mark Strand, and Deborah Eisenberg.

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