Obie Award-Winning Play “The Fever” Comes to Audible Theater

Audible today announced the first production to reopen Audible Theater’s live stage at the Minetta Lane Theatre. The Fever, written by three-time Obie Award winner Wallace Shawn, directed by two-time Obie Award winner Scott Elliott, and starring three-time Emmy Award nominee Lili Taylor, will play 18 performances only from Friday, October 8 – Sunday, October 24 at the Minetta Lane Theatre, Audible’s home for live entertainment in New York.

Co-produced with The New Group, this production will mark 30 years since Shawn won the Obie Award for Best New American Play for The Fever’s off-Broadway debut in 1991.

Tickets for The Fever are on sale now at www.audible.com/MinettaLane. Audible Theater is proud to collaborate with TodayTix to offer mobile Rush tickets beginning at 10am each performance day. Tickets are available on a first-come, first-served basis exclusively through the TodayTix app.

The Fever will also be recorded as an Audible Original and released to a global audience.

What’s the cost of comfort? In The Fever playwright, actor and cultural icon Wallace Shawn (My Dinner with André, The Designated Mourner) captures the crisis of conscience of a privileged American traveler visiting a war-torn country. Faced with the disparity between her rarified world and the real world, she can’t help but wonder if she’s part of the solution, or part of the problem. Three-time Emmy Award nominee Lili Taylor (Six Feet Under, American Crime) stars in this profoundly engaging and provocative journey, directed by The New Group’s founding Artistic Director Scott Elliott.

Kate Navin, Artistic Producer of Audible Theater, said, “The Audible Theater team has long been dreaming of the day when we’ll reopen the doors to Minetta Lane Theatre. It will be an honor to do so alongside Wally, Lili, and Scott on October 8th. We’re thrilled to invite audiences to experience this intimate, timeless story on our New York stage, and worldwide on Audible.”

Wallace Shawn said, “I've always seen The Fever as a rather intimate and private expression of thoughts from one person to a very small group of others – either friends or at least people who might be friends. The first performer of the piece was me, and I did it literally for my friends in their apartments. However, I always wanted it to reach a lot of people so I'm thrilled that Lili Taylor, one of my very favorite actors, will do it in the theatre – and that anyone in the world will then be able to listen on Audible in the most intimate and private way possible – right in their own homes.”

Lili Taylor said, “I was trying to tell my friend how excited I am about doing Wally’s play, The Fev– but she cut me off. ‘Lili, you’re doing The Fever?! Do you know how much that play has meant to me? I’ve thought about that play for thirty years. Wally is prescient, Wally is saying things no one else will say, Wally is ....’ Wally is the best. And Scott is the perfect director for Wally. I’ve said Wally’s words before and I’m honored to say them again.”

Scott Elliott said, “As we reopen our theaters, I can't think of any work, more than The Fever, that captures what only theater can: an absolute intimacy and confessional relationship between performer and audience. When we last presented The Fever during the 2008 financial crisis, I knew I needed to explore it every decade or so. Our current crisis, or should I say nightmare, along with our renewed attempts to face the inequalities built into our lives, should allow us to see the speaker's journey in fresh ways. It’s moving to be collaborating with Wally, Lili, and Kate Navin to reopen the wonderful Minetta Lane Theatre.”

The Fever’s creative team includes Arnulfo Maldonado (scenic design), Qween Jean (costume design), Cha See (lighting design), and Justin Ellington (sound design). Valerie A. Peterson is the Production Stage Manager. Technical Supervision is by Hudson Theatrical Associates and General Management is by Baseline Theatrical (Andy Jones & Jonathan Whitton).

Audible Theater’s health and safety protocols are aligned with the rest of the New York theater community to keep cast, crew, and audience members safe. In order to safeguard the health of the entire community, Audible Theater will require proof of COVID-19 vaccinations for all employees and audiences at the theater moving forward. The audience policy requires complete COVID-19 vaccinations before the date of attendance, which is defined as fourteen days following a final dose of the Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, Moderna, or Astra-Zeneca vaccine. Audible Theater will accept proof at the Minetta Lane Theatre via the Excelsior Pass, the NYC Covid Safe Pass for Android and iOS, a copy or photo of a CDC vaccination card, and/or a copy or photo of an official immunization record from outside the United States. Guests under the age of 12 or those with medical documentation who are approved for a reasonable accommodation due to a medical condition that prohibits them from receiving a COVID-19 vaccine should contact the box office for more information. Audible Theater will additionally require mask-wearing indoors at their theater for all audience members and staff until further notice. For more specific information, please visit www.audible.com/ep/theater.

Since the Minetta Lane Theatre went dark in March 2020, Audible Theater has continued its commitment to employ exceptional artists and technicians, showcase extraordinary writing and storytelling, and break down traditional boundaries to make great theater available to all. Over the past 16 months, Audible Theater employed over 300 artists, commissioned new works from more than 25 playwrights (including 10 new voices through the Audible Theater Emerging Playwrights Fund), and released more than 40 projects to a global audience featuring world premieres from award-winning playwrights and performances from world-famous talent, including a full seven-show season in collaboration with Williamstown Theatre Festival.