Manhattan-based theater company The Civilians bring loss into the limelight with their production of "Gone Missing." The performance is a series of stories about lost objects and the gravity they have in people's lives. For one character, the loss of a necklace may really means loss of a mother's approval, and for another, a loss of a Gucci high heel may mean the beginning of a determined crusade to recover it. The troupe will perform Friday and Saturday night at 8 p.m. in the Moore Theater; tickets are available at the Hopkins Center box office.
The Civilians' mission is to "create original theater from investigations into real life," and "Gone Missing" is a series of street interviews initiated by the company, twisted into many theatrical forms. The result is over 30 characters, including a Jewish mother, a retired police officer and a prisoner. We follow a woman named Laura's efforts to find her lost Gucci high heel, by putting ads on everything from milk cartons to Web sites, as well as the fateful journey of a sock puppet named Sniffle. The six members of the company, all dressed in businesslike gray suits, break conventions by jumping in and out of different character roles in quick succession. Characters disappear and reappear as the play unfolds, confessing their woes to the audience, then breaking out into catchy tunes accompanied by a choreography which largely involves striding, twitching and bizarre hand motions.
The combination of confessions and music earn the show its endearing label "documentary musical theater," as coined by the Hopkins Center and the New York Times. "It's a really fun show ... It's fresh and original," commented Margaret Lawrence, director of programming at the Hopkins Center. And indeed it is -- the performance incorporates cabaret elements with very different music styles, including flamenco and pop. The songs are not only catchy, explains Lawrence, but they express the production's major themes and move the play along: a song about a breakup references the ubiquitous clothes left behind.
However, uncomfortable truths are woven in among the ridicule and wit. A certain melancholy underlies the hilarity ("the things you lose you never possessed") and the show implies that all we have to rely on is our memories. Understandable, considering that the idea for the show was born around the time of 9/11. But now that the production is moving out of 2001 New York into 2007 Dartmouth, loss is still irresistibly relevant.
"[It's like] the end of winter; snow melts, and everything that was lost -- mittens, earrings, bicycles, barrettes -- reemerges," Lawrence said.
The dynamic, rapid pace of the play is well-suited to the often frantic Dartmouth atmosphere. Yet the company also manages to create a cozy, intimate atmosphere with the audience. It's no wonder that "Gone Missing" boasts glowing reviews from the New York Times and the New Yorker. Their Dartmouth show is actually interrupting an extended run in New York City -- the company will be taking a few days to perform at colleges including Yale and Wesleyan before returning to their regular stage.
The company itself has an even more tangible connection to Dartmouth: the Civilians' artistic director is Steven Cosson '90. Cosson wrote and directed "Gone Missing." This weekend will mark his second visit to Dartmouth. His first was a summer developmental residency workshop where he participated in presenting, writing and producing, Lawrence said.
Students will be able to participate in a discussion with Cosson and the rest of the company after the performance. An additional informal discussion group, called "The Civilians' Coffeehouse," will focus more on the creative process behind the show; it will be held at Panarchy from 3 to 4 p.m. on Saturday.
So far, the show has attracted a lot of student attention, according to Lisa Vallejo-Sorensen, publicist and media relations coordinator at the Hopkins Center. Four hundred tickets were sold on the evening of the orientation event "Night at the Hop" alone. Perhaps the success is partly due to the implementation of a new marketing ploy, spearheaded by Mike Amico '07 -- to advertise the event, bright yellow posters around campus read: "Lose something? Campus-wide blitz not working? Blitz 'gone missing.'"
Who knows -- "Gone Missing" may give campus-wide lost items blitzes a whole new meaning. Next time you scan a lost-items blitz, maybe you'll wonder about why exactly that guy needs to find his fuzzy bedroom slippers so badly.
