The vast majority of people have read, or watched, or listened to, or heard about Romeo and Juliet. An age old tale of love and tragedy, where two forbidden lovers from feuding families take their lives. A student might remember reading the play, or even acting it out for a class. Ghostlight offers an interesting message and lesson by drawing connections to the play. Through its main characters, a family suffering from the grief of losing a child in a devastating ordeal, we gain a greater knowledge of how theater can heal, build community and relationships, become a channel for emotion, and altogether help those who need it.
The movie stars Keith Kupferer as Dan, a construction worker who is brought into his community theater production of Romeo and Juliet by former New York stage actress Rita, (played by Dolly De Leon) who casts him as Lord Capulet. As the movie progresses, we learn that Dan is coping with the stress of filing a wrongful death lawsuit against his dead son Brian’s ex-girlfriend Christine’s family. The community production helps him channel his emotions and grief into a positive creation, rather than often lashing out at his wife Sharon, (played by Tara Mallen), and his daughter Daisy, played by ETHS student Katherine Kupferer. His acting proficiency gives him the role of Romeo, which puts him in the shoes of his son, something that impacts his performance in the role and his real life. When his daughter joins the cast, his view of the situation begins to change, as he tries to forgive Christine’s family for Brian’s death. Katherine, Keith, and Tara, being a family in real life playing a family, have undeniable chemistry and feel perfect in every scene they are together.
“It was written for my dad,” Katherine tells me. “My mom and I auditioned separately.” The family all has a history in acting. Katherine has had roles in movies like “Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret” along with a background in theater, one shared by her mother and father. “In other movies, you don’t have that built in chemistry that you have when you’re working with your own family. I was able to try new things all the time, and it felt like I wasn’t going to be judged.”
The bond the actors shared added to the film’s realistic and unique perspective. It made moments feel real and unique. It gave real emotion and nuance to every scene. Katherine’s aggressively emotional performance portrayed this perfectly. “Anger is a really easy emotion to play,” She shared. “The harder scenes are the more vulnerable ones. I would pick a person from my real life, like my own brother.”
The movie centers around the community theater production of Romeo & Juliet, one which has difficulties throughout the movie, yet its final cast is committed and filled with an incomparable enthusiasm familiar to those who have been involved in theater themselves. “What it shows is that this is a group of people who don’t have gobs of money but they all have this love for theater, and they come together and figure out a way to make it happen.” Katherine told me. The community aspect is undeniable and sweet, bringing a nostalgic and friendly aspect to the scenes. Multiple times throughout the actors participate in familiar theater exercises and warmups, offering touching and sentimental moments of comedy and joy.
Katherine, being both an actor and a sophomore at ETHS at the time, talked about wanting to prioritize her learning and the difficulties involved. Eventually an onset teacher was hired to help her with her schoolwork. While Katherine has never acted in any ETHS productions, she sees the shows every year and is in the theater class at ETHS, and she considers herself involved in the community.
Altogether, Ghostlight offers a beautiful and unique story with perfect casting. The performances from the Kupferer family and other actors involved all feel genuine, showing a viewer a story of tragedy and the beauty of theater as a form of art and a channel for emotion. It will leave any watcher pleased and is worth a watch, both for the amazing movie it is and to support ETHS’s very own Katherine Kupferer.
