First, the \u201cserio\u201d: Benjamin scapegoats Mira for not gratifying his artistic ego, while she weighs her marital sacrifices with her artistic pursuits. Adding to the dysfunction, their climate-activist daughter Dolly (a wonderful Anna Mirodin) bears the cost of their careers in terms of her psychological stability and their carbon footprint. The \u201ccomedy\u201d: plenty of explosive zingers and Linklater\u2019s clownish body gags pushing farce to the fore.<\/p>\n
Hypnotic as it is to watch Linklater\u2019s go-for-broke bid for the Narcissistic Husbands Hall of Fame (his habit of prostrating on the floor becomes a running gag), The Disappear often feels distracted, not enhanced, by his clowning. Luckily, Silverman\u2019s acidity as Mira does much to counterpoint the cartoonishness. She deserves better than Benjamin, but we hear her loud and clear that she intends to uphold the marriage, though she eventually reckons with the gender-related double standard that demands her sacrifice to domestic duty. She’d never be offered as much slack as her arrogant husband.<\/p>\n
Enter Madeline Brewer<\/a> as 20something emerging actress Julie Wells, with a suspect British accent, a straw bonnet, and a perky getup as if she were auditioning for Bo Peep (costumes are by Jennifer Moeller and Miriam Kelleher). Benjamin is eager to mold her into his mistress and muse by erecting the movie around her, much to the chagrin of his producer Michael Bloom (a bullheaded Dylan Baker<\/a>), who finds her eccentricity off-putting. Brewer cunningly weaponizes ing\u00e9nue ditziness to belie her ambition, even as she\u2019s genuinely attracted to Benjamin. She captures a coexistence of pretentiousness and sincere artistic intelligence.<\/p>\n Wells’s co-star Raf Night (Kelvin Harrison Jr.<\/a>) throws in another disruption: Upon his casting, he advocates for Mira to be the film\u2019s screenwriter, a request that offends Benjamin as much as it gives Mira an opportunity to step outside her comfort zone. Disappointingly, Harrison\u2019s own onscreen credentials do not translate into Raf\u2019s fabled A-list aura. This may owe to Schmidt’s direction, portraying Raf as easygoing while lines about suicidal incident land as airless. The play as a whole also doesn\u2019t completely earn its stormy mood shift in the final 20 minutes.<\/p>\n The Disappear bites off more it can chew, attempting to ruminate on intergenerational tensions in the film industry, the scars left by art, composing art amid climate disaster (the Los Angeles fires seem to get a nod), and more all at once, leaving me pining for a cohesive version of this play.<\/p>\n The Disappear summary<\/p>\n In an isolated cabin, a marriage deteriorates between 50something filmmaker Benjamin Braxton and novelist Mira Blair, who share teenage daughter Dolly. Mira resolves to hold onto their union and weather Benjamin\u2019s mid-life crisis while her husband becomes infatuated with a young breakout actress, Julie Wells, and writes her as the star of his next avant-garde movie. Matters complicate when A-list actor Raf Night reels Mira into collaborating on the movie, but the gig may just help emancipate her.<\/p>\n What to expect at The Disappear<\/p>\n The play is situated in an elegant, secluded cabin that encompasses the Minetta Lane stage. Scenic designer Brett J. Banakis incorporates one choice that appears bizarre but acquires a thematic purpose: Benjamin\u2019s writing desk is planted outdoors among the tall grass, a liminal space that represents his remove from his domestic space. The audience can also glimpse the outdoor grounds where Dolly tends to her so-called \u201capology garden\u201d to offset the carbon footprint of her parents\u2019 careers.<\/p>\n What audiences are saying about The Disappear<\/p>\n Theatregoers have taken to social platforms like Mezzanine and TikTok to discuss The Disappear, sharing mixed reactions.<\/p>\n![\"2](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/2_disappear-1200x600-NYTG.png\")
<\/p>\n![\"3](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/3_disappear-1200x600-NYTG.png\")
<\/p>\n\n