I <3 Revolution

No leftie obsession is left unlampooned in Alexandra Panzer, Tara Schuster and Alice Winslow’s I <3 Revolution, a funny, rambling piece that could best be described as a cult-indoctrination variety show. The three women, who also star, originally put it together when they were students at Brown in 2008, and it bears the marks of a college-grown production: DIY pluck, a throw-everything-at-the-wall aesthetic and a slight case of self-obsession. As the show gets underway, our trio of terrifyingly high-strung heroines informs us that this is not a performance, but a hostage situation. They’re trying to start a vaguely defined revolution against everything that pisses them off: misogyny, capitalism, technology, ignorance, the word panties and, ultimately, each other. (Check out their Tumblr page for a highly entertaining “Abbreviated List of Enemies.”) Seated at a folding table adorned with junior-prom–style streamers, they attempt a variety of coercion techniques on the audience, from offerings of baptism (in a “milk bath”) to mugging (at staple-gunpoint); joining them onstage is a very game Chris Lowell as the group’s man-bitch, adorable punching bag and occasional voice of reason. The central conceit of I <3 Revolution is that these ladies are making a grab at authority and decisiveness, and failing miserably, so the show is by design a meandering, tangential mess—which is frequently hilarious, and the performers are totally committed. But it goes on about half an hour too long, until the shtick starts feeling tiresome and self-indulgent. Call it a case of reverse Stockholm syndrome. (Visit our Fringe Festival page for more reviews, and fringenyc.org for more information.)—Jenna Scherer