Squeamish NYC Reviews and Tickets

"'Squeamish' is ultimately, too shaggy and in need of greater restraint. But Fraser, slipping smoothly in and out of a half-dozen smaller characters besides Sharon, never loses command. Though we see the play’s considerable gore — and its hard-core-niche sexual situations — only through the mind’s eye, 'Squeamish' is probably not for the squeamish. But to grown-ups who like to celebrate the season with frightful tales, happy Halloween. Mark has a fresh horror for you."
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"There’s something unsettling about watching a solo show that’s been expressly written for its star and yet thinking she may be miscast, or at least under-rehearsed...Fraser doesn’t land most of the laughs as our neurotic narrator in the play’s first half, which is all setup. But once Sharon starts to lose herself in addiction, Fraser delivers real chills. As we watch this sophisticated and stylish New Yorker gleefully transform into a monster, her gory self-discovery is utterly horrifying."
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“A voyeuristic experience…Fraser gives a deceptively charming portrait of a clever woman who would be the hit of any penthouse cocktail party, slowly revealing her seductive darker side. Her ability to remain engaging while being seated for the entire length of the play is a credit to the details of her acting skills and the fine pacing of the playwright/director's surprising story…Mark once again displays a sharp skill for descriptive and entertaining storytelling.”
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“It's easy to feel one step ahead of the narrative—and impatient to get on with it...If Mark hasn't provided a sufficiently gripping narrative, he has found the right woman for the job...In contrast to the rather contrived and mechanical shocks that mark the plot, Fraser's performance conveys an animal-like terror that cannot be dismissed...Her unswerving commitment and intensity in the face of a difficult script once again proves that she is a class act, no matter the circumstances.”
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“Fraser's terribly nervous and jittery as she starts to relay Sharon's somewhat convoluted story, gripping the arms of the chair with her hands or clenching her knees together--even as she says, ‘I really am calm now.’ She's been directed by the playwright with what might be aptly termed an exhilarating reserve. ‘Squeamish’ is definitely a ‘horror’ play that takes the genre to new and higher heights. It's hard not to recoil as the details of her story become more and more vivid.”
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"Aaron Mark, the playwright and director, has quite a ghoulish imagination...It’s a constant output of free flow chatter...Unfortunately, with Alison’s unique speech pattern, she’s sometimes difficult to understand and the results sound like mumbling. Don’t get me wrong, Alison Fraser is a top notch actress as she tackles the several characters with subtle voice changes, all the while remaining in the chair...This is all very nightmare-ish and, as my show buddy described, it’s Hitchcock-ian!"
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"This play, as commendably directed by its author, delves into the dark and repressed areas of human behavior, but with enough funny moments to keep you both off guard and on board…Her complicated and purposely circuitous narrative is delivered glibly by Fraser and with more than enough mysterious detours to keep us wondering where we are being led...With her quirky, scarily quixotic performance, Fraser makes seamless transitions...The payoff will be a stunner."
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"The one woman horror show, directed cleanly and precisely by Mark, is very well served by the two-time Tony nominated actress, Alison Fraser. From the moment of her entrance, her presence and her performance draws us into her reality completely...Even though the ending is pretty predictable and there are moments when the story drags a bit, together, Fraser and Mark still manage to thrill us...Not a horror show in the traditional sense, but it is a bloody good time."
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“Fraser gets deep under Sharon's skin, into her very veins, you might say, carving with scalpel-like precision a character who…soon sucks you into the reality of her nightmarish experiences…You have to suspend your disbelief for much of it, most especially the surprise ending…It's the creepy crawlies in Sharon's psyche that create the goosebumps; Aaron Marks's words and Alison Fraser's acting are all the special effects you need to crawl in there with them.”
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“Aaron Marks’s ‘Squeamish’ is like an Alfred Hitchcock episode in the capable hands of Alison Fraser...She 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 and would make a great campfire fright night tale.”
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“There Fraser is, taking on an actor’s challenge that’s also a challenge for the audience. Squeamish is right... As she goes on in a piece that has the flavor of something a leering camp counselor might import to trembling youngsters around a campfire, it’s a challenge for auditors to hang in...Fraser clings on to the telling as Dracula might after having sunk his teeth into Lucy’s neck. She’s committed to the script whether or not the audience is beginning to lose patience.”
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"Ninety-five gripping minutes…The audience can’t look away…Mark and Fraser do an exquisite job of intricately describing scenes that might lead some audience members to experience bloody nightmares, but that’s a small price to pay for witnessing this engrossing piece of theater…‘Squeamish’ lives up to its name, offering plenty of squeamish moments, highlighted by a superbly nuanced performance by Fraser, who seems to be enjoying every bloody minute of it, along with us."
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"Alison Fraser interprets with vocal acrobatics. Fraser’s posture is active and forceful in its sudden shifts. She inhabits several characters to interact with in her storytelling. The frenzied jumps from one idea to the next make the first half of Aaron Mark’s full-length monologue crackle with character development, giving us new information from every angle, feeding us breadcrumbs...It’s a haunting journey of one’s own imaginings in the semidarkness. Vivid dreamers beware."
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"Her story reveals the insatiability of human need and the lengths people will go to feel better...By placidly recounting gruesome events, she makes the audience uneasy and a bit queasy. Sharon purrs and coddles us while conveying dark secrets and some startling truths with equal parts humor, sex appeal, and downright creepiness...So effective, I left the theater feeling somewhat off-balance myself, and not a little squeamish.”
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"A horror-laced monologue about the aftermath of a suicide that will likely twist your innards...That’s the play—for 100 straight minutes Sharon talks nonstop, reflecting, parsing, digressing...Fraser is masterful at presenting the character as both contemptible and sympathetic. That said, 'Squeamish' is not for the squeamish; some of the sexual predilections and social encounters will likely turn many a stomach. It’s theater at its most provocative. Consider yourself warned."
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