Review: The Late Michael Friedman's GONE MISSING Evokes an Emotional Response From Encores! Off-Center Audience

The person seated in the back of the orchestra section on opening night of the Encores! Off-Center concert mounting of GONE MISSING, who was loudly sobbing during the closing song, was by no means causing a disturbance. In fact, the choked-up moans of heartbreak being emitted throughout New York City Center's auditorium many times during the performance were simply bringing to the surface the sadness that served as the evening's subtext, even for those who did not know the clever and touching revue's late composer/lyricist personally.

Michael Friedman was perhaps best known for his fresh and inventive score (those two adjectives could probably apply to most of his scores) for BLOODY BLOODY Andrew Jackson, a musical that becomes more and more relevant for each passing day of the current president's administration. More recent acclaim arrived for his work in high-profile productions like THE FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, a musical that touched on issues of white privilege, and LOVE'S LABOUR'S LOST, a snazzy celebration of the awkwardness of youthful romance. The shock of his passing at age 41 in September of last year was intensified by the revelation that he died of complications from HIV/AIDS, a sobering reminder that the epidemic is not over.

Last season was Friedman's first as artistic director of Encores! Off-Center, succeeding the series' founder Jeanine Tesori. After his death, Tesori and Anne Kauffman stepped in as co-artistic directors and it's only proper that one of their late colleague's musicals would be slotted for this summer.

GONE MISSING, is one of several musicals Friedman wrote with The Civilians, an investigative theatre company founded by Artistic Director Steve Cosson, specializing in theatre pieces scripted from interviews and journalistic research. It premiered at New York's Belt Theatre in 2003 and, after subsequent engagements, played for over six months in 2007 at Off-Broadway's Barrow Street Theatre.

Director Ken Rus Schmoll's Encores! mounting was simply staged in a traditional concert setting, with members of the six-member acting ensemble holding their scripts as they played multiple roles in a swift-moving parade of monologues, songs and scenes. Music director/conductor Chris Fenwick played piano upstage, accompanied by Matt Hinckley (guitar), Jeffrey Roberts (drums) and Alexandra Eckhardt (bass).

With specific instructions to not include missing people, the lost items catalogued during the 80-minute revue includes expected items such as keys, jewelry, cell phones and, okay, virginity, but it's the stories behind the items that make the show engaging.

Among the roles played by Susan Blackwell was a pet psychic, who assists in finding lost animals or just helps owners converse with them. ("You can't tell a rabbit anything," an old horse advises her about the stubborn woodland species.) Aysan Celik was wonderfully absurd as a woman of privilege who believes she lost one Gucci pump while attending a performance at P.S. 122. ("I'm leaving numerous messages for the house manager, the artistic director, the director of development to see if they have gotten their act together enough to find the shoe.") Deborah S. Craig shared a sweet moment as a mother telling of the search for her daughter's lost sock puppet, Sniffle.

John Behlmann drew sympathy as a rookie cop who frequently gets stuck retrieving bodies, or body parts, describing the experiences like just another day at the office, as did David Ryan Smith as a security guard who loses his Palm Pilot while witnessing the collapsing of the World Trade Center towers.

Taylor Mac boldly belted out "Lost Horizon," a dramatic ballad about escaping a relationship with the desire to venture to lost cities such as Shangri-la and Xanadu. Celik, Craig and Blackwell had a fun 60s pop trio called "I Gave It Away," about getting rid of an ex's possessions.

The intriguing lyric of "Etch A Sketch" compares a deteriorating loss of memory and functionality to the classic art toy. ("I'm an Etch A Sketch, but now I'm all shook up.")

"When I leave you, you'll know I'm just a shadow, an echo," says the lyric of "Stars," that final song that surely affected many in the audience. "The things that we see are just memories of what used to be."

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