'Shit. Meet. Fan.' review — a star-studded ensemble exposes their secrets
Read our review of Shit. Meet. Fan. off Broadway, a new play at MCC Theater starring Jane Krakowski, Neil Patrick Harris, Debra Messing, Constance Wu, and more.
Stage and TV favorites Jane Krakowski and Neil Patrick Harris play a married couple who host a party from hell in Shit. Meet. Fan., a star-stacked but contrived new comedy written and directed by Robert O’Hara.
Based on the Italian film Perfect Strangers, the play seeks to push buttons but comes up short. The setting is the deluxe Brooklyn home of therapist Eve (Krakowski), plastic surgeon Rodger (Harris), and their 17-year-old daughter, Sam (Genevieve Hannelius), where couple's friends gather to view an eclipse.
Guests include Claire (Debra Messing), a stay-at-home mom who drinks too much, and husband Brett (Garret Dillahunt), who’s mired in a legal jam; newlyweds Frank (Michael Oberholtzer), an ambulance driver, and Hannah (Constance Wu), a veterinarian; and single Logan (Tramell Tillman), an athletics teacher.
The casual vibe radically shifts to tense when Eve invites attendants to play a game: For the next hour, everyone’s emails and texts must be shared aloud. Think of it as Eve tempting with the Apple iPhone — “the flight recorder of our lives,” so she says.
All too predictably, calls and messages expose partygoers’ secrets, lies, betrayals, reckless cheating, and backstabbing. It’s all too much to believe, frankly, and the play’s twisty ending is there to make you reconsider what just went down.
The game ensemble hits their marks, and a go-for-broke Messing stands out. The script summons some laughs and cringing, though insights are scarce. The new play affirms an old saying: With friends (and spouses) like these, who needs enemies?
Shit. Meet. Fan. summary
O’Hara’s play about a party game that leads to devastating consequences follows the plot points, structure and resolution of 2016's Perfect Strangers, an Italian movie that’s been remade over two dozen times. O’Hara’s adaptation pumps up the profanity, graphic sexual slang, toxic "bro" behavior, and racial divides within this group of so-called friends.
What to expect at Shit. Meet. Fan.
It’s a tried-and-true theatre trope: Beautiful homes harbor ugly secrets. As such, O’Hara, author of Bootycandy and Barbecue and director of Slave Play, and scenic designer Clint Ramos have seen to it that Eve and Rodger’s condo in Dumbo, Brooklyn, is modern, minimalist, and mouthwatering.
The idealized home is the perfect place to explore the imperfections of its inhabitants and their guests. As the gathering descends into chaos, Shit. Meet. Fan. recalls Yasmina Reza's play God of Carnage, and the toxic smartphone party activity has echoes of the jangling phone-calling game in Mart Crowley's The Boys in the Band.
What audiences are saying about Shit. Meet. Fan.
Shit. Meet. Fan. has an audience approval rating of 71% on the review aggregator Show-Score.
- “An entertaining romp with a stellar cast … Written and directed by the author of Slave Play, only this one is mainstream with just a touch of edge. While well-made and funny, it feels dated, familiar, and convoluted.” Show-Score user aka
- “The entire story is like a rotten onion – peeling back layers upon layers of sh*ttiness and discovering that everything is horrible. The brilliant cast with their impeccable comedic timing provided the laughs needed to get through the train wreck.” Show-Score user Crup_Crup
- “I wasn’t bored (thanks to the strong actors), but the content wasn’t engaging or enlightening. The game premise is clever, but the exposed truths are boring and superficial.” Show-Score user TheaterBuff
Read more audience reviews of Shit. Meet. Fan. on Show-Score.
Who should see Shit. Meet. Fan.
- Fans of the always daring O’Hara’s work as a writer and director will appreciate his latest satirical effort.
- Theatregoers who appreciate a tight-knit ensemble will get a kick out of this show’s cast of stage and screen A-listers.
- People who’ve seen the original movie will be curious to see how it’s been transformed for the stage.
Learn more about Shit. Meet. Fan.
While Shit. Meet. Fan. isn’t all that persuasive, it delivers jolts of spiky humor and a cast of hardworking household names.
Photo credit: Shit. Meet. Fan. off Broadway. (Photos by Julieta Cervantes)
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