"Ghost Light" is a kind of post-modern memory play which attempts to put into perspective the experience of Jonathan Moscone, whose father San Francisco Mayor George Moscone was assassinated in 1978 when Jon was only 14. Moscone is now the artistic director at the California Shakespeare Festival. He devised the play with Berkeley Repertory Theater's Tony Taccone. Taccone wrote the play; Moscone directed this production.
A little background. I was a freshman at UC Berkeley in the fall of 1978. Jon's elder sister, Rebecca, was a classmate of mine and we shared a chemistry class, though I didn't know her well. I spent the night of Nov. 27 glued to the television set in my apartment, just like hundreds of thousands of others. The voice of then-Supervisor Dianne Feinstein announcing the news to a shocked City Hall press corps still rings in my head.
George Moscone was a favorite in our household. Though we lived in Sausalito, we felt San Francisco was our adoptive home. His politics were our politics. I had heard of Harvey Milk but not noted his career to this point. For several weeks the entire Bay Area grieved. There was a televised funeral, endless newspaper tributes, and a haunting candlelight march.
When the lights went down at the start of the play, the set and several TV screens came alive with projected images from that memorable day. As Feinstein spoke, the memories came rushing back and tears sprang to my eyes. I am the audience for this play, I thought.
Christopher Liam Moore played Jon in a rare and touching performance. Pulling together the dual aspects of a man both haunted by his past and unconsciously striving to discover his future, Moore presented the picture of a son reaching out to touch the ghost of his father. Aptly, when the play opens we find that Jon is directing a troubled production of "Hamlet" in which he has become hung up on how to depict the character of the ghost of Hamlet's father. The parallels begin to coalesce and feed each other, drawing Jon into an artistic and personal crisis.
His perceptions have been further confused by a series of vivid dreams featuring three mysterious figures: a guardian angel named Mister, who approaches him as a boy after his father's death; an avatar for a potential lover he met online who seems to be trying to protect him from something; and a shadowy, dangerous authority figure dressed as a prison guard who wants to give him a message that someone is coming ... make ready, make straight!
The play is lifted up by compelling performances by the always excellent Robynn Rodriguez as Jon's soulful and grounded best friend, Louise; Derrick Lee Weeden's ethereal Mister; and the fearful aspect of Bill Geisslinger as the Prison Guard. Weeden brings an otherworldly floating quality to his scenes, as he escorts 14-year-old Jon (a brave Tyler James Myers) on a journey of frustrating discovery ... from psychiatrist office, to funeral, to wake, to the afterlife. Geisslinger's body language alone would be worth the price of admission. His ominous presence dominates the action and the mystery he represents adds a chill to the proceedings. And best of all, at the end of a searing scene with Jon where the Moscone family history is torn apart and sewn back together a stitch at a time, he leaves that character behind and returns to the stage as Jon's father. With no words, much like the ghost of Hamlet's father at some junctures, Geisslinger uses effortless body language to make George Moscone live again. His simple choices -- a hand slipped into a hip pocket; an easy gait as he climbs the steps to City Hall -- brought tears to my eyes ... and still does!
Other fine performances include Danforth Comins as Loverboy, the avatar for Jon's pathetic real-world Internet date Basil (Ted Deasy), and Peter Frechette in the dual role of a trendy Film Director (who may or may not have been based on Gus Van Sant, director of "Milk") and Austin, Jon's politically minded friend.
The set was wonderful, melding Jon's apartment with the columns and grandeur of City Hall. Great use was made of television and projected images, as well. There were episodes of "I Love Lucy," a paranormal cable TV show, and a jaw-dropping scene from "The Golden Girls." And the three-quarter thrust brought the audience right on top of the action. But I must give a special round of applause here to the props department, who managed to find or recreate a Young Man's Fancy garment bag for this show. If you are of a certain age and you grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, you got your first suit at Young Man's Fancy on California Street. I was stunned when I caught a glimpse of it. My god, the detail!
It may not be fair but I must say that I wasn't a big fan of Moore prior to this. His Malvolio in last season's flawed "Twelfth Night" was not my favorite. But his performance in this stunning new play -- one of heart, humor, and honesty -- has won me over!
I won't soon forget it!
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