In Shawn's play, which was first produced at the Public Theater in 1991, an anonymous narrator wakes up in a war-torn country with a terrible fever, unable to reconcile the privilege he has enjoyed with his current surroundings. The Fever examines the links between the affluence many Americans take for granted and the horrors of poverty and suffering that haunt the lives of millions.
Shawn's writing credits include last season's The Music Teacher at off-Broadway's Minetta Lane, the translation of The Threepenny Opera for the recent revival at The Roundabout Theatre Company, Aunt Dan and Lemon and The Designated Mourner. A veteran of numerous TV and film roles, he most recently acted onstage under Elliott's direction in Hurlyburly, also with The New Group.