The Disappear

 The Disappear
Audible Theater at Minetta Lane Theatre
January 21, 2026

Photo courtesy of The Disappear

Playwright/Director Erica Schmidt creates truthful and humorous characters in The Disappear.  The relationships are compelling and realistic, allowing her theme to be viscerally understood.  Love, fame, and creativity can easily disappear in a moment, unless effort and value are put into their viability.  When they’re gone, they can be rebuilt or recreated.  If that is not possible, a simple fabrication can keep things in perspective. 

Filmmaker Benjamin Braxton (played by Hamish Linklater) finds his muse in young upcoming actress Julie Wells (played by Madeline Brewer).  His wife, Mira (played by Miriam Silverman) is tolerant of Ben’s indiscretions.  She is fully dedicated to their twenty-year marriage.  Ben’s producer, Michael Bloom (played by Dylan Baker) refuses to cast Julie Wells, and drops the project.  When Ben starts a new project to feature Julie, she insists he hire Raf Night (played by Kelvin Harrison Jr.) to star with her.  Raf is big box office, so Michael Bloom agrees to back it.  When Raf insists Mira, who is his favorite novelist, writes the screenplay, the creative process gets extremely complicated. 

Hamish Linklater & Miriam Silverman
Photo courtesy of The Disappear

Hamish Linklater plays the role of the neurotic, self-possessed, egotistical movie director to perfection.  His timing and mood swings are both humorous and genuine.  Miriam Silverman balances his quirky character by being grounded and sincere.  They are wonderful together.  The dynamic of their relationship is clear from the very first scene.  The complications they face cause them to poke at and spar with one another.  Again, this is both comic and genuine, until it hits the point of no return.  They admit the truth, make a spontaneous decision, then face an imperative transformation. 

Anna Mirodin, Madleine Brewer, & Hamish Linklater
Photo courtesy of The Disappear

Madeline Brewer is charming as Julie Wells.  At first, she comes across as naive and flirtatious.  As the action rises, her controlling and manipulative side is revealed.  Ms. Brewer portrays this dichotomy beautifully.  Kelvin Harrison Jr. has a strong presence as Raf Night.  He seduces Mira, getting her to agree to write the screenplay with Ben.  Mr. Harrison and Ms. Silverman have strong chemistry, adding a layer of intrigue to the plot.  Raf opens up to her about his background, giving Mr. Harrison a chance to dive into the complexities of his character.

The character of Michael Bloom acts as a foil for the conflicts.  Dylan Baker builds a dynamic character in this role, making it an effective catalyst for the action.  Anna Mirodin plays Dolly, Ben and Mira’s teenage daughter.  She observes all the events of the story, even though she is unseen by her parents.  She reflects the turmoil they are feeling and sets up the transformation they all need to experience.

The Disappear is playing at Audible Theatre at Minetta Lane Theatre though February 22.  The characters are well developed, and the performances are equally strong. 

Domenick Danza

The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window

 The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window
Brooklyn Academy of Music
Harvey Theater
February 12, 2023 

Photo courtesy of 
The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window at BAM

Oscar Isaac and Rachel Brosnahan are wonderful together in The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window, now playing at Brooklyn Academy of Music’s Harvey Theater.  This lesser known Lorraine Hansberry play is full of fire and conflict.  Director Anne Kauffman keeps the action moving at a brisk pace, which is important with the three hour running time.  The characters are diverse and equally developed, offering divergent points of view on social and political issues.  The story takes place in 1964 Greenwich Village.  

Sidney (played by Oscar Isaac) just closed down his night club and bought a newspaper.  His wife, Iris (played by Rachel Brosnahan), has not been told of his recent project.  She is a waitress/actress/dancer trying to find her way as a theatre artist, while balancing her husband’s many business ventures.  Sidney’s friend, Wally O’Hara (played by Andy Grotelueschen) is running for office and wants Sidney’s newspaper to endorse him.  Sidney wants his paper to stay focused on the arts, and not become a political tool.  Once Wally hangs his political sign in Sidney’s window, there is no going back. 

Photo courtesy of
The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window
 at BAM

In the meantime, Sidney’s friend, Alton (played by Julian DeNiro), has asked Iris’s sister, Gloria (played by Gus Birney) to marry him.  She is holding off on accepting his proposal while she is in Florida.  Alton does not know that Gloria is a call girl.  Iris’ other sister, Mavis (played by Miriam Silverman) is constantly trying to get Iris to dress and act more conservatively, while not holding back on her antisemitic and racist comments.  Sidney and Iris’ upstairs neighbor, David (played by Glenn Fitzgerald) is a gay, struggling playwright.  Among all this controversy and strong opinion, Iris admits to Sidney that their marriage is weakening. 

In Act II, the characters reveal and face their truths, which leads them all down a dark path.  Sidney finds out that the political endorsement he committed his newspaper to was all based on lies.  When personal tragedy strikes Iris and her sisters, it’s time for Sidney to let go of the distraction and be there for Iris.

Ms. Hansberry created a vibrant community of truthful characters in this play.  They are each dedicated to their beliefs, and passionately voice their opinions.  This creates innate conflict and keeps the dramatic action alive throughout the piece.  There is a intensity between Sidney and Iris that Oscar Isaac and Rachel Brosnahan play brilliantly.  Their quarrels build into moments of fervent affection.  The love between these two characters is deeply rooted.  Mr. Isaac and Ms. Brosnahan create a genuine connection that fully engages the audience all the way through to the conclusion of the story.

Playwright Lorraine Hansberry
Photo courtesy of Lorraine Hansberry Estate

Ms. Hansberry does not take a political stance in this piece.  Instead she presents the events and their effect on the characters, both socially and personally.  This gives the audience the opportunity to share the experience and draw their own conclusion.  The parallels from these events in 1964 to the social/pollical/personal challenges we face in our present time are astounding.  The play rings with relevance and clarity.

There are strong performance from every member of this cast.  The Act II monologues by Julian DeNiro (Alton) and Miriam Silverman (Mavis) are outstanding.  

The Sign in Sidney Burstein’s Window is playing at BAM’s Harvey Theater through March 24.  It is a powerful piece of theatre, masterfully directed and skillfully performed.

Domenick Danza

Junk

Junk

Lincoln Center Theater

at The Vivian Beaumont

October 21, 2017

 

Photo courtesy of Lincoln Center Theater

Ayad Akhtar’s new play Junk, produced by Lincoln Center Theater, tells the story of corporate buy outs, greed, and the loss of work ethic and professional integrity.  The powerhouse cast of twenty-three ignites Mr. Akhtar’s skillfully crafted dialogue with a fiery passion that keeps you on the edge of your seat.  The characters are so honest, flawed, cunning, and charming that you will find yourself buying what they are selling and, as with Mr. Akhtar’s other plays, find yourself questioning your own judgement and motivations.

The year is 1985.  Robert Merkin (played by Steven Pasquale) is in the business of taking over large corporations by creating debt and raising money to buy them out.  He sells junk bonds and makes millions for his clients, keeping a high percentage for himself.  Sometimes he bends the rules, sometimes he breaks the law.  When he decides to buy Everson Steel, the third generation owner, Thomas Everson Jr. (played by Rick Holmes), puts up a larger resistance than expected.  It becomes a fight of ethic vs. greed, and it is not until the very end that it becomes clear who suffers the greatest loss.

Steven Pasquale as Steven Merkin
Photo courtesy of Lincoln Center Theater

Steven Pasquale is driven as Robert Merkin.  He has a powerful presence that keeps the action moving, even when he is not on stage.  Rick Holmes portrays Thomas Everson Jr. as a determined fighter.  He has a lot at stake, both personally and financially.  Playwright Ayad Akhtar has masterfully crafted these two characters.  They are each compelled by selfish motives, yet compassionate and aware of the effect their actions have on those around them.  The consequences of their conflict are always in question.  The balance of egotism and empathy keeps the struggle between them riveting. 

Photo courtesy of Lincoln Center Theater

The brilliance of this play is the way Mr. Akhtar develops all the characters so that the audience gets to know their many sides.  From the Lincoln Center Theater program: “Junk is a fictionalize account suggested by events in the historical public record.  The characters in this play are dramatic concoctions, stitched together – at times – with details pulled from history but these characters are never anything other than fiction.”  Amazing performances are delivered by the entire cast, especially Teresa Avia Lim, Matthew Rauch, Henry Stram, Michael Siberry, Ito Aghayere, Miriam Silverman, and Joey Slotnick.

Experiencing this play will give you a new perspective on how greed is a driving force in the American economy, and how our own personal desires are a contributing factor in its downfall.  Junk is presently in previews at the Vivian Beaumont Theater, and runs through January 7.     

Domenick Danza

A Delicate Ship

A Delicate Ship

The Playwrights Realm

Peter Jay Sharp Theatre

August 28, 2015

Photo courtesy of The Playwrights Realm

A Delicate Ship, a new play by Anna Ziegler, is playing at the Peter Jay Sharp Theatre on 42^nd Street (Playwrights Horizon on Theatre Row).  It was developed and produced by The Playwrights Realm.  The script makes a strong statement about memory and how certain events can change the course of your life, when proper attention is paid.

Sarah (Miriam Silverman) and her boyfriend Sam (Matt Dellapina) are spending a romantic Christams Eve together, when there is a knock on the door.  Enter Nate (Nick Westrate), a childhood friend of Sarah.  After reminiscing, smoking a joint, drinking some wine, and playing a parlor game that cuts deep, Nate opens up to why he dropped in.  The discomfort comes to an end when Nate is finally asked to leave.  “What if we just hadn’t opened the door?” ask Sarah and Sam a few times during Nate’s visit, but they did.  The bigger question is, “Which event of the evening will affect them the most?”

Nick Westrate, Miriam Silverman, & Matt Dellapina
in A Delicate Ship
Photo courtesy of The Playwrights Realm

All three actors create characters that grab attention.  Their portrayals are realistic and charming.  Ms. Ziegler’s script and Margot Bordelon’s direction breaks the fourth wall intermittently throughout the play.  This is an intriguing convention that suspends time and strengthens the script’s commentary on memory, yet becomes a hindrance to the development of deeper, revealing relationships between the characters.

The set, designed by Reid Thompson, is an interior living room, sparsely and tastefully furnished, surrounded by a lane of gravel on all four sides, which serves as the sidewalk surrounding the exterior of the apartment building.  This is a clever and well-defined way to utilize the space, since in some scenes two characters are inside the apartment at the same time that one of them is outside.

The Playwrights Realm was founded in 2007 and is “dedicated to serving early-career playwrights.”  A Delicate Ship is well produced and the playwright’s voice is strong and distinct.  This is a company worth checking out and supporting.

Domenick Danza