Theater: “The Disappear” @ Minetta Lane Theater
“The Disappear,” written and directed by Erica Schmitt, is an electrifying dark comedy that is already causing an eruption of giggles at the Minetta Lane Theater.
Ben is a tall, bearded, Neurotic (capital N) screenwriter attempting to finish a script in his weekend home outside Los Angeles. The movie, he says, will be about a husband whose wife has disappeared and who becomes a suspect in her possible murder. Unable to put pen to paper, he takes his frustration out on his long-suffering wife Mira (Miriam Silverman from “The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window”), a successful novelist.
Ben’s sour mood disappears when Julie Wells (Madeleine Brewer from “You,” Season 5), a very attractive but inexperienced actress, walks in to audition for the film. Dressed like Little Bo Peep, she turns out for be a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Thinking with his penis, Ben is enamored and wants to cast her in his film.
Whaaa? His British agent (Dylan Baker) won’t hear of it. And his wife smells a rat. Mira and Ben and have a scorching mano-a-mano fight over the state of their marriage, Ben declaring it loveless. What could go right here?
Enter Michael (Kelvin Harrison Jr. from “Genius”) a brash young action-adventure star who engineers a turn of events that can only happen in Hollywood.
The crackling script makes “The Disappear” the first off-Broadway hit (fingers crossed ) of 2026. Hamish Linklater, best known for his frequent appearances at Shakespeare in the Park, is perfect as the egocentric screenwriter; his gift for physical comedy serves the play well. Each member of the ensemble swings for the fences (and doesn’t miss either.)
Those who’ve seen and enjoyed Jon Robin Baitz’s play “Other Desert Cities” (2011) will find this somewhat familiar territory. This one stands on its own merits. Hope it transfers to Lincoln Center Theater. After it opens tomorrow night (January 12) of course.
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