Gone Missing

The Civilians, the acclaimed New York-based experimental theater troupe, play a rare local summer season (and make their commercial Off Broadway debut) with their wry and whimsical documentary musical of loss, Gone Missing.

Directed by Steven Cosson, and featuring music and lyrics by Michael Friedman, Gone Missing is devised by the company from interviews with real-life New Yorkers. It is a collection of very personal accounts of things lost –­ everything from keys, personal identification and a Gucci pump to family heirlooms, your dog and your mind –­ creating a unique tapestry of the ways in which we deal with and relate to loss in our lives.

A company of six (Emily Ackerman, Damian Baldet, Stephen Plunkett, Robbie Sublett, Colleen Werthmann and Jennifer Morris) performs more than 30 characters, intertwining stories of lost objects with those of the “finders,” from a retired NYPD cop to a pet psychic. Since its initial performance, just after September 11, 2001, Gone Missing has continued to morph into its new incarnation, set against Mr. Friedman’s score, which incorporates salsa, ballads, operetta and tuneful pop.