Are You A Lost Grrrl? Join Riot Club
My review of the musical "Lost Grrrl Found" from Marina Carlstroem, Penelope Gould, and Holly Nance. Mild spoilers.
On a Sunday night, a church in Ridgewood, Queens is lit up pink. Queer theater goers fill the main hall perusing zines about activism in New York. On the back wall, projected in big white letters is the show’s title, "Lost Grrrl Found".
This is the queer feminist punk musical from writers Penelope Gould and Holly Nance. The story follows our protagonist Izzy after she’s launched into her freshman year by a roommate breakup with her best friend, Morgan. Feeling lost at her small liberal arts college, Izzy tries out for sports teams and joins clubs until she meets Hazel from her linguistics class. Hazel invites Izzy to a Riot Girl meeting, a feminist club where girls get to freely express themselves in a dorm laundry room. The group immediately absorbs Izzy in the fold when they mistake her for a lesbian. Not correcting their assumption scores Izzy an invite to a Zipper Lips show, a band made up of drummer Hazel, bassist Sam and vocalist Liana. After their first show Izzy is star struck, forgetting all about the pain of losing Morgan and finding herself the object of Liana’s desire. She embraces her newfound sexuality, pens a zine about her new favorite band, and solidifies a relationship with a rockstar girlfriend. When Izzy invites herself on tour she's on top of the world, nevermind Sam's growing jealousy towards her and that Morgan and her new boyfriend will be traveling with them. "Lost Grrrl Found" is about finding yourself in the early days of adolescent independence, having all the freedom in the world to date a musician even though your mom literally told you to never do that.
My favorite part of the show was when the entire cast hit the road and broke out in song about going on tour. Hazel starts by expressing a deep enthusiasm and gratuity to be artfully expressive with her best friends before handing it over to Sam who is banging her head against the steering wheel watching Liana and Izzy in the rear view mirror. But it's not just the romantic exposition I enjoyed, but the technicality and intention of the scene. Blocked by director Marina Carlstroem, the entire ensemble shares the whole stage for the first time. Sam is up front steering with a cymbal and Hazel is in the back holding the beat together on the drums. Did I mention that “Lost Grrl Found” is a punk rock concert masquerading as a musical? The actors play their own music live while singing and acting. And the crowd was thrilled. While there were plenty of chairs available, most audience members took to standing in the center of the wooden floor to watch the show. Every time Zipper Lips would perform, a mosh pit would break out in the center of the crowd. And as girls, gays, and lovers of the theater crashed into each other, the show remained respectful and sweet
When some hear "feminist" or "activist" they may imagine a strong and fierce movement led by self assured women. “Lost Grrl Found” takes both of those labels and their connotations and extends them to female loserdom. Izzy and Morgan are baby gays discovering themselves for the first time. They hurt each other and others only to get their hearts broken. The show captures that chapter in young adult life when you give everything to the person who deserves it the least. That feeling resonated throughout the crowd for the entirety of the show. At the film's climax an audience member groaned when they saw Sam and Liana on stage again, clearly resonating with the pain Morgan and Izzy experienced. Their friend turned to them to whisper, “we gotta finish this storyline, we have to see this arc through.” And it’s true! Izzy forgives the band and herself to continue on as a Riot Girl. She inspires the beginnings of an art scene in her community by launching a zine. Morgan comes to terms with her sexuality and leads with love to make amends with Izzy.
Finding themselves is not easy, it leaves Morgan riddled with anxiety and Izzy desperately alone. It also comes with emotionally getting involved with musicians, experiencing the highest of highs only to drop them at rock bottom. But in the end, both girls come out of the experience loving themselves the most.
The team behind “Lost Grrl Found” hopes to have more shows in the new year along with the release of two Zipper Lips songs. To watch the show yourself, follow their instagram account to find yourself at the next show!