As the characters are pressured into having their dirty laundry aired in the new play “Shit. Meet. Fan.” which is now in an extended run at MCC Theater, the list of reasons why the show does not work becomes longer than the clothesline. The cast may be the one reason the show is worth seeing, but that is not enough to clean up the messy plot, cheap vulgar humor, and pointless proceedings. The result ends up being an inferior sitcom that is completely implausible, relying on the great skills of some fine actors to bring it to some level of enjoyment.

Basically, the plot revolves around a parlor game that is a new version of truth and dare for the tech and social media crowd. A group of friends (if you can believe it) is gathered for a night of cocktails and watching the lunar eclipse on the rooftop balcony of the penthouse owned by Roger (Neil Patrick Harris), and Eve (Jane Krakowski). They have a seventeen-year-old daughter Sam (Genevieve Hannelius) who dislikes her mother and would rather confide in her father, who has graciously purchased a box of condoms for her.

The show opens with Sam viciously arguing with her mother Eve. Then Roger has a confrontation with Eve after Sam leaves, which is not very pleasant. Friends begin to arrive, including Claire (Debra Messing), her husband Brett (Garret Dillahunt), Frank (Michael Oberholtzer), his newlywed wife Hannah (Constance Wu), and the always late, Logan (Tramell Tillman) who arrives without his expected date who he says has a fever, and who happens to be Black. Everyone settles in with a few drinks while snide remarks are exchanged, and barbs are tossed like a rattling machine gun, leaving no one unscathed. Then the parlor game begins, where everyone leaves their phone on the coffee table face up. As texts come in, they must be read or aloud, and if calls come through, the players must answer and put them on speaker. Secrets are revealed, tempers rise, guests retreat to the balcony to snort cocaine and relationships are destroyed or put on shaky ground.

There is a surprise ending which would be a spoiler alert, but by that time who really cares what happens. Not only are the sexual situations that are revealed outlandish and close to impossible, but they also become tiring as they occur simultaneously, one after the other. The shock effect becomes numbing as the dislike of the characters grows stronger. The problems are cliché and melodramatic and there is no real dramatic arc. Everything floats on the surface with no real depth and zero character development. The remarkable cast gives it their all, but never succeeds in transcending the material, partly due to the poor direction by the playwright Robert O’Hara. This production would have played much better as a farce, rather than trying to take itself seriously. It falls prey to the trap of writing despicable characters and asking an audience to care about them. After all the lies, abuse, insensitivity and vulgarity, it walks a fine line between comedy and tragedy but never achieves the level of either.

Production values are superb, with costume design by Sarafina Bush being appropriate and unintrusive, defining each character. Lighting design by Alex Jainchill creates an atmospheric mood that enhances the magnificent two-story penthouse set by Clint Ramos. This is an evening of theater that audiences will either love or hate, and either way it is still a treat to see this talented ensemble perform on stage. One only wished the product was a bit more perceptive.