Allison Frasier Photo by Maria Baranova
Aaron Marks’s Squeamish, is like an Alfred Hitchcock episode, in the capable hands of two-time Tony nominee Alison Fraser, which opened tonight on Theatre Row. Sharon (Frasier) a therapist, never leaves her comfortable armchair. For 90 minutes, Sharon shifts her position as one would do, while conveying the story of their life to thier UWS shrink of 15 years, Dr. Schneider. Sharon has shown up in the middle of the night to be prescribe her meds. Although she hasn’t spoken to Dr. Schneider in five months, she is desperate to numb the pain inside her. Her story begin when her mother committed suicide and how the wound got reopened, when her beloved nephew seemed to have committed the same act.
The story gets more bizarre when Sharon leaves Manhattan for Lubbock, Texas, to attend the funeral. At the funeral, she meets his calm natural path girlfriend, Cara who she instantly has a repore with. Sharon, an ex-alcoholic and drug user seeks a balance from life. Even her dreams are nightmarish. Through Cara, Sharon is introduced into the world of Sanguinarians, which leads to where we are today.
Squeamish, is Aaron Mark’s third psychological horror play. This new solo work follows his earlier plays: Empanada Loca, which starred Daphne Rubin-Vega, and Another Medea with Tom Hewitt. Mark’s also directs this Edger Allen Poe type story.
Fraser shines in this piece, as she layers Sharon’s quirks and idiosyncrasies, like the razor blade that allows her to finally free her inner turmoil. Frasier uses her voice and her subtle movements to convey every emotion and change of character.
Squeamish is the perfect horror story for this time of the year and would make a great campfire fright night tale.
Squeamish: Beckett Theatre, 410 W. 42nd St. until Nov. 11th
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