Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Encores! Off-Center’s moving revival of GONE MISSING: Michael Friedman comforts us from beyond the grave

• By drediman
• July 12, 2018
• No Comments

Aysan Celik, Susan Blackwell, and Deborah S. Craig in Encores! Off-Center revival of the Civilians’ “Gone Missing” at New York City Center.

Last night, I caught a revival of The Civilian’s Gone Missing, the second offering of this summer’s wonderfully-curated Encores! Off-Center series at New York City Center (the first was a flat-out gorgeous revival of Jason Robert Brown’s early-career song cycle Songs for a New World). I had seen the unassuming devised musical more than a decade ago – has it been that long? – at Off-Broadway’s Barrow Street Theater. Gone Missing was my first exposure to The Civilians’ work, and it’s a good representation of the kind of investigative theater the company is known for – almost all their pieces are culled and rearranged from interviews or pre-existing material, verbatim. In the case of Gone Missing, interviews were conducted on the topic of lost things, both literally and figuratively.  As a younger, less experienced theatergoer, the musical expanded my idea of the possibilities of the form but felt little more than an amusing, quirky exercise.

However, what I witnessed last night hit me with the emotional force of the equivalent of a ton of bricks. Certainly, this has to do with the way-too-early passing of the show’s talented music and lyric writer Michael Friedman, who shockingly died last year from complications with AIDS. I heard audible sobs throughout the evening, almost certainly connected with Mr. Friedman’s passing. But more than that, with a few more years under my belt, the piece itself now speaks more powerfully and directly to me. In its uniquely jovial way, Gone Missing asks us to confront and contemplate the nature loss, in all its bittersweetness. Personally, I’m increasingly aware of the presence of loss and change in my life; these are the only constants we can be confident in. As a society, we’re insufficiently equipped, emotionally and philosophically, to handle/process loss or significant change. In this revival, Mr. Friedman from beyond the grave seems to be comforting us, encouraging us to embrace these constants and reminding us that memory and nostalgia are just as potent (sometimes even more so) as the real thing. It’s a lesson well worth teaching ourselves.

The Off-Center revival does full justice to the piece. Directed by Ken Rus Schmoll in a manner that’s at once minimalist yet full of heart and wisdom, the unadorned production focuses on the observant, nuanced layers of the The Civilians’ work. Luckily, the cast – comprised of John Behlmann, the great comic actress Susan Blackwell, Aysan Celik, Deborah S. Craig, my hero Taylor Mac, and David Ryan Smith – easily handles both the subtle naturalism of the real life interviews while movingly conveying the expansive existential musings of The Civilians’ ingeniously-constructed collage. The all-too-brief run (there are only two scheduled performances) ends tonight. Do yourself a favor before it too has “gone missing”.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

GONE MISSING
Off-Broadway, Musical
Encores! Off-Center at New York City Center
1 hour, 15 minutes (without an intermission)
Through July 12