John Fisher Unleashes Solo Masterpiece on Gay Injustice

by Barry David Horwitz

John Fisher has written, teched, designed, and performed one of his great Essential Service Projects, transferring from video to live stage at The Rhino in The Castro. Who would want to miss Fisher at his best, climbing the rafters, peddling his bike furiously, and tracking down a gay murderer?

I was there and blown away by Fisher’s fury, his quizzical looks, his shy growing up back in the 70s. Fisher was a fumbling teenager from Marin, tentatively exploring the gay world in SF. He has turned his teen years into a special one man show that helps us relive what it was like to live in a time of rampant homophobia.

When the “Doodler,” who make drawings of his victims before he killed them, started killing San Francisco gay men, the police refused to take the killing spree seriously. Gay people were not their concern and no one cared much if they were murdered. This was the mid-70s in The Castro and Fisher brilliantly brings that time to life, leaving us shocked and horrified.

Those 14 or 15 murders by a person still unknown started with the Doodler doing a drawing of a potential victim in the Castro. Then he lured the victim out to the beach and stabbed him to death. He has never been caught. Neither has the Zodiac killer. Why is serial murder so accepted in our culture? What does that say about our country? Are we back in that age of hatred and intolerance again?

In a series of brilliant scenes, John Fisher plays himself as the naïve Marin teen just coming out. He falls for a wonderful guy named Jay who turns out to be a brilliant Finocchio’s drag artist in North Beach. Fisher runs through the streets of San Francisco, furiously rides his bike onstage, and takes us to heights and depths of emotion.

In a series of witty encounters, Fisher encounters a bullying police detective, some gay heroes, and rampant disregard for gay lives. He’s funny, tragic, hectic, and moving by turns. Fisher a master manipulator, is totally in charge of his art. Keep your eyes on him for every moment; he’s a quicksilver actor in total control of his body and his material. A joy to watch.

I would never miss a John Fisher show at The Rhino. He is doing brilliant work that you cannot see anywhere else. Fisher is the P.T. Barnum of gay theater, of S.F. theater.  See an exceptional solo performance by the Master, himself. See “Doodler” and he will lift your spirits. Bravo!

 

“Doodler: The Unsolved Castro Murders” –conceived & performed by John Fisher, lighting & sound by Colin Johnson, set/costume/prop design by John Fisher, Castro Theatre sign design by Crystal Liu, at Theatre Rhinoceros, San Francisco. Info: therhino.org – to March 2, 2025.

Cast: John Fisher (in many roles)

Banner photo: John Fisher in “Doodler.” Photos: Scott Sidorsky