In 2016, Annie Lesser debuted the ABC Project, a series of themed site-specific shows based on different locations, each beginning with a different letter of the alphabet. Experimental and ambitious, ABC Project shows often created an unexpectedly potent intimacy — most notably in the harrowing A(partment 8), which quickly became a touchstone. But Lesser’s signature chaotic energy worked against her in later installments: D and onward seemed increasingly rushed. The impetuous enterprising spirit that pulled together eleventh-hour victories also resulted in some eleventh-hour losses, with some installments, like E(levator), never fully coming together.

After E(levator), the ABC Project went on hiatus, remounting prior installments in the interim. Now, over a year later, the series continues, with F(ord Focus).

Like its predecessors, F(ord Focus) is based on its titular location — a car. The experience begins outside a parking lot, where you glean a brief backstory. You and a fellow audience member have ordered a shared “Linepool” ride through Generic Ride Share Service. Your driver’s name is Timothy, the car is a Ford Focus. And now, it’s time to find your ride.

When you reach the car, it’s clear something’s up. For one thing, sweetly earnest Timothy gets out of the car to introduce himself and shake your hand, a courtesy most Uber or Lyft drivers forego. For another, he seems to have forgotten two unforgettable facts — his name, which he gives at first as “Jamal,” and the fact that he already has a pair of passengers in the car — an energetic lesbian couple in the midst of a spat, who react in annoyance when he tries to usher you both into the back seat with them.

It’s a slightly off-putting start, but Timothy’s distracted state is a clue. What’s on his mind is part of a light-hearted mystery that unfolds over 25 minutes, during which the high-energy, hapless characters engage in a series of quarrels, entreaties, and hijinks. The show is on rails, but there’s room for improvisation as you dive in and help solve the mystery of who your driver is…and why he has so many fake IDs.

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Wisely, Lesser has chosen to recreate a driving experience rather than actually driving; sound effects, lights, and swaying passengers create the impression of movement as the story unfolds. And the cast’s charming commitment to the conceit quickly and comfortably evokes a convincing rideshare vibe.

Nevertheless, there are moments of strain. The pace slackens as some of the quarrels devolve into prolonged filler. The show’s playful inattention to logic starts to feel more careless than self-aware. And the story’s big twist hinges on a “who’s REALLY woke here?” moment that feels both unearned and benevolently misguided. (They deserve props for the effort at social awareness, but it’s hard to land object lessons in a story so profoundly irrational.) As the experience barrels toward the end, it becomes an increasingly slapstick sketch.

The result is cheerfully uneven, a frenetic farce that feels notably less carefully-crafted than its predecessors.

F(ord Focus)’s greatest strength is its lively cast; its greatest weakness is its price point. As a low-budget romp, perhaps a Hollywood Fringe Festival entry, the show is refreshingly off-the-cuff; but at $45-plus-fees per ticket for a 25-minute experience, it’s undercooked. When a show costs nearly $2/minute, participants expect considerably more than a sketch.

At her best, Lesser’s glorious whimsical sense of disorder can be everything that is magic about Los Angeles. But in a now-crowded immersive landscape, with one of LA’s highest cost-per-minute ratios, they are at risk of becoming inaccessible. A longer and more considered development process — or a ticket cost decrease — may help future installments return the ABC Project to iconic status.

F(ord Focus) runs weekends through March 23rd at an undisclosed location in Los Angeles. Tickets are $45.

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