" 'The Fears' opts for a pat ending, and never makes a clear judgment on whether these broken souls can save one another or whether they are ultimately on their own. "
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"...'The Fears' struggles to locate its center, both in its writing and in Dan Algrant’s direction, which pushes the performers toward breathless jokiness."
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"There’s a fine line between support group and cult, as Emma Sheanshang hilariously demonstrates in 'The Fears'... this laugh-out-loud comedy occupies the space between ideals and reality — which is where the most interesting human behavior is found."
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"Playwright Emma Sheanshang -- who, it's safe to say, has studied the works of Tracy Letts very, very closely -- wants us to see this menagerie as equally laughable and pitiable, but she double-crosses herself by rendering the characters so skimpily that they barely seem to exist."
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"'The Fears' requires some patience from audiences. The production falters at first in its difficulty to establish a consistent tone."
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"...while the details of 'The Fears' are distinct, they aren’t sufficiently eye-opening – not to say mind-blowing — to render Sheanshang’s version much more than mildly intriguing."
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" 'The Fears' seem afraid to commit to either making satirical fun of its characters or fully exploring the psychological damage afflicting them. It’s a play that could have used a bit more mindfulness."
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The world premiere of Emma Sheanshang’s "The Fears" is a hilarious and poignant satire on self-help groups and the sort of people who take their emotional temperature all day long – literally. It is the latest in a new genre of plays in which the humor comes from something that may be painful but it is still possible to laugh at. Smoothly and astutely directed by Dan Algrant who has mainly worked in film, the ensemble of seven actors are entirely convincing as a group of damaged people who meet once a week at a Buddhist center in New York City to deal with early traumas that are keeping them from moving on in their lives. While the play fails to make a bigger statement, it remains entertaining and engrossing throughout.
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