He is house manager, stage manager, writer and performer all at once. He also holds out a hat at the end for donations. One of the many impressive things about John Fisher's solo piece "Doodler" is that solo means solo. Fisher does it all - controls the lights, the cues, requests audience participation and rides his bicycle across the stage, all the while acting out a fascinating San Francisco historical piece about a never-found serial killer.
The Doodler was real - a serial killer who lured gay men into liaisons on the beach. Their bodies were discovered the next day, covered with stab wounds. Fisher's story, on the surface, is about one young man who decides to find and stop the Doodler. But it is at its core a coming-out story familiar to many gay boys, in which they find a way to stop feelings of inadequacy and discover the joys of being who they really are.
John Fisher is a great performer - funny, wry, breaking the fourth wall continually to get his audience cheering and making battle and sex sounds. He is able to change voices mid-sentence as one character turns into another. We loved gravely-voiced Mama, the Queen of Finocchio's, and also Glen the Pothead ("Duuuude!"), the Joan Crawford bit and the terrific set pieces behind stacks of apology pancakes at Orphan Andy's.
And Moroney the Cop, the symbol of police brutality towards gay men that was a given in 1970s San Francisco.
This is a wonderful performance. The ending is perhaps a bit far-fetched, but by then we are totally on the side of the good guy. His short homage to Supervisor Harvey Milk, who in real life was murdered by a cop, brings us right back to the city we live in today.
RATINGS: ★★★BANG
"Doodler"
The Marsh
1062 Valencia St., San Franisxco
Fridays and Saturdays through July 6
$25-$35