Fever, The

Starting with wry observations on theatregoing, Wallace Shawn is a fine monologist, an observer/commentator whose tales draw us in, while his insights and humor hold us. In The Fever, there is a lot about the lot of the poor and visits to poor countries, some with revolutions, including Karl Marx's analysis of value and the relationship between product and people, and a ramble on terrorism. There are also comments on a nude beach and on Christmas present-wrapping.

Jennifer Tipton's lighting of the piece (which was written by Shawn in 1979 and is as relevant today as it was then, maybe moreso) is innovative, sometimes lighting the audience, but leaves Shawn too dim for parts of the monologue, which otherwise is nicely directed by Scott Elliott. Basically it is a revolutionary analysis on the discrepancy between the poor and the rich and the value of human beings. Although sometimes mildly humorous, it is basically a political tract performed by a loveable man.