I'm Gonna Kill the President (Don't worry -- that's just the name of the play)

The theatre location is not revealed when you reserve your seats. Audience members are told to meet up with a contact at a specified location on the Lower East Side who tells them to meet up with another contact around the corner. The second contact performs a security check, which some may find slightly invasive. During my check a police car passed nearby and the contact walked away, trying not to call attention to what was going on. The audience is then led to a theatre space a few blocks away. "Spread out please. Don't walk in a group.", we're instructed.

Once inside the theatre we get our first clue of the satire that's to come. The program, a single, folded white sheet of paper printed by a copier severely in need of more toner, has nearly every bit of information that could somehow identify the company members crossed out with a black marker. One actor's bio reads, "Married to ------- -------, she lives in Brooklyn with dogs ------- and -------. Love to all. Visit www.-------.com for more info!"

Although the attention-demanding title may suggest an evening of Bush bashing, this is not the case at all. Oh sure, policies of the current administration are criticized, but so are policies of past presidents, both Democrats and Republicans. And the radicals who would call for an overthrow of the government are made to look pretty silly themselves. Instead of a serious-minded, one-sided manifesto, I'm Gonna Kill the President treats us to a wacky, fast paced attack of comic routines, farcical characters and fourth wall breaking humor targeting whoever happens to be "the man". The inspiration is far closer to The Marx Bros. in Duck Soup than to Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11.

Soon after a hooded man instructs us to turn off our "cellular devices of oppression", we're introduced to the revolutionary Skip, who learns that it's tough to have a meaningful long-term relationship with a suicide bomber. After his girlfriend, number one on both the FBI's most wanted list and Blackwell's worst dressed list, kills herself while assassinating the senator who would be the crucial "swing vote in the vote to eliminate voting", Skip has no trouble escaping from the police. As one officer puts it, "I'm on the lookout for a white male and that goes against all my training."

On the rebound, he meets Fifi, a college-aged woman of privileged background who's looking for something to rebel against. Skip takes her under his wing and instructs her in the finer points of radicalism ("Anarchy is 5% breaking things and 95% mailing parties.") as the two of them plan to overthrow the government. But once established, the plot takes a back seat to farcical routines involving Ralph Nadar, Dawson's Creek, interpretive dance and some kind of cartoon monster that represents mass media. Yeah, a president's life is threatened and it's used as a source of comedy, but they don't go so far as to advocate the violent removal of any commander in chief, much less the current one.

The cast is a crackerjack ensemble of clowns, most of them switching characters at lightning speeds. The set pieces and costumes cleverly add to the fun on a deficit budget. Although some may find the darker humor a bit distasteful and those whose political backing strongly leans towards the Republican side may grumble a little, it's all in the spirit of good ol' American political satire and the patriotic support of freedom of speech. Which makes the thought of ever having to legitimately pass through security checks and secret contacts in order to see a play all the more scary.

For recorded information on I'm Gonna Kill the President, a federal offense call 212-802-7446

For Michael Dale's "mad adventures of a straight boy living in a gay world" visit dry2olives.com