Ghost Light : A Memoir

Rating:
Summary: Ghost Light by Frank Rich
Review:

"There is a superstition that if an emptied theater is ever left completely dark, a ghost will take up residence. To prevent this, a single "ghost light" is left burning at center stage after the audience and all of the actors and musicians have gone home."

Set in Washington D.C. during the influential and changing times of the 1950's and early 60's, the autobiographical novel Ghost Light follows the trying life of Frank Rich, illustrating the profound and immense impact that the theatre had on his childhood and life as a whole. At the tender age of ten, Frank's parents committed the ultimate sin in society at that time by getting a divorce, a scandalous action that would continue to affect him and his sister for the rest of their lives, becoming the most important of the myriad of conflicts presented throughout the story. However, the allure of the theatre softened the immense pain and gave Frank a new perspective and outlook on the world. His everyday life and customs drastically altered by his parents separation, Rich took comfort in musicals including Gypsy , Damn Yankees, The Pajama Game, Fiddler on the Roof and South Pacific which seemed to seperate him from real life and the many problems associated with it. Growing more and more dependant upon the glamorous era of Broadway to hide him from the many problems that he was facing in life including thepainful emotional and physical abuse of his step-father, Rich is transported to a world free of problems and limitations through these shows that have a tremendous influence on his life and decisions. A dedicated fan, Rich reconstructes miniature theater sets and collects discarded Playbills from garbage baskets, trying to fill the empty pieces of his life and soul with these plays. In a world where everything around him seemed to be changing, these classic musicals remained solid as a place of comfort and security for Frank, becoming a major part of his life and ultimately helping him through the difficult transition from child to adult.

Composing the book from his own perspective, Rich allows the reader to experience his life through the eyes of a young boy, initially illustrating events from a child's perspective and allowing the reader to experience first hand his own feelings and problems. His style of writing is somewhat reminiscent of the time period, portraying his life and character to the reader clearly and allowing one to really connect with him. " Sitting before the TV sets in our living rooms- they hadn't invaded bedrooms yet- we watched our neighborhood in a faithful black-and-white replication; the same driveways jutting like tongues from garage to street, the same lawns awaiting the next weekend mowing, the same father with his genial grin and firm but calming voice, the same perpetually amused, slightly distracted, occasionally flustered, but resolutely uncomplaining mother poking around in the kitchen preparing the next meal, the same mischievous but fundamentally good brothers and sisters committing only the most innocuous infractions of their parents' painstakingly codified rules. Sometimes it was hard to figure out where Somerset ended and the TV neighborhoods began" (5). Rich allows the reader to understand the familiarity and comfort found by living in the suburbs during this time period, the unwavering routine that was always followed and the false sense of happiness and perfection within family life. Through this description, he allows one to realize and comprehend the immense impact that the dissolution of his own family had on his personality, shattering the false perception of a perfect suburban life and disrupting the sense of order within their community.

I thoroughly enjoyed and connected with this book on a myriad of levels. Through Rich's unique style of writing it was easy for me to understand how difficult and awkward it must have been to be placed in Frank's position in a society and time in history in which such a thing as divorce was simply unacceptable. Also being a lover of music and plays, I particularly enjoyed his admiration and strong dedication to Broadway life and was thrilled when he was finally able to achieve his dream through his job as a New York Times reviewer. In my opinion, this book is a portrait of one boy's journey from a home, communtiry and era in which he no longer belongs to a new life filled with music, excitement and action and I recommend it to all in search of an inspirational and uplifting read.





Rating:
Summary: A theater memoir for theater lovers
Review: During his reviewing days at The New York Times, Frank Rich's love of the theatre was evident and contagious. Now we learn why: How could he not love an institution that had given him so much solace, excitement and escape when he was growing up? His remembrance of his 1950s childhood and the theatre (mainly musicals) that paralleled that troubled boyhood is special. It has much in common with Moss Hart's "Act One," another autobiography that traces redemption and lifelong devotion to the theatre. Rich's book will resonate most with people who recall musicals that thrilled and with grown-ups who began life in "broken homes" before divorce was as ordinary as an Andrew Lloyd Weber score.

Rating:
Summary: Ghost Light Shimmers!
Review: Fifty years ago, legendary playwright and director Moss Hart published an authobiography entitled Act One that instantly became a classic and held its place among the greatest theatrical memoirs ever written. This month, former New York Times Chief Drama Critic Frank Rich published his own story, full of passion, literacy, and wonder, that at once pays homage to Act One and transcends it. Rich has crafted the definitive stagestruck story, and there is no more significant book on growing up in the theatre. Rich's boyhood becomes a spellbinding play, a story that is joyous, crushing, funny, moving, and indelible. Anyone who cares for the American theatre, who has ever been shaken by the pulse of an orchestra begining an overture, who can find in himself even a glimmer of the passion bursting from Rich on every page, must read this book.

Rating:
Summary: Thanks for the memories
Review: Frank Rich's memoir "Ghost Light" is a painful reenactment of a lonely childhood. His parents divorced and he found solace in the wonderful world of the theatre. His stepfather shared his passion for this although he was abusive and difficult to live with. Personally, it was painful for me to read but I understood so much about my own childhood. Like Mr. Rich I found comfort in the wonderful world of cast albums, dreaming of seeing a Broadway show,keeping a vast collection of programs, etc. Mr. Rich proved to me that there were other kids like me and he had the guts to write about it. My one criticism of the book is that it tends to plod in places. Particularly in the beginning. He describes his bucolic childhood before his parents divorced with a little too much detail. Mr. Rich I salute you. Thanks for the memories

Rating:
Summary: That's Entertainment
Review: Frank Rich's memoir "Ghost Light" is a painful reenactment of a lonely childhood. His parents divorced and he found solace in the wonderful world of the theatre. His stepfather shared his passion for this although he was abusive and difficult to live with. Personally, it was painful for me to read but I understood so much about my own childhood. Like Mr. Rich I found comfort in the wonderful world of cast albums, dreaming of seeing a Broadway show,keeping a vast collection of programs, etc. Mr. Rich proved to me that there were other kids like me and he had the guts to write about it. My one criticism of the book is that it tends to plod in places. Particularly in the beginning. He describes his bucolic childhood before his parents divorced with a little too much detail. Mr. Rich I salute you. Thanks for the memories

Rating:
Summary: Magic Nights, Magic Lights
Review: GHOST LIGHT was so moving that my mother, who read my copy after me, became almost hysterical about the treatment that Frank Rich, his sister and step-siblings, received at the hands of their parents and step-parents. Since all of this happened a long time ago, in the dark ages before child abuse was frowned upon, it is a credit to author Rich's writing skills that he made his report so real that it could elicit such a reaction forty years after the events described. Of course, all of us who are New Yorkers, all of us who have spent the last twenty or so years reading Mr. Rich in the NEW YORK TIMES, hardly can be surprised by his exquisite prose.

Still, this book was fascinating in revealing the evolution of genius, a child who took refuge from the trauma of a broken home (both physically and emotionally) in an obsession with the legitimate theatre. The childish obsession ended with Rich's becoming the chief drama critic of the TIMES for the better part of two decades. Tolstoy is credited with saying that happy families are all alike, but each unhappy family is different. GHOST LIGHT proves that theory; it is a story unlike any other. Lovers of both theatre and fine writing will be well-served by this memoir.

Rating:
Summary: BUTCHER OF BROADWAY BUTCHERS MEMOIR
Review: I didn't read the jacket liner, so I was unaware that GHOST LIGHT is termed a 'boyhood memoir.' By page seventyfive, my disbelief that any writer with such a plodding, factual style could earn a living, was being displaced by anger and disgust at the juvenile subject matter. Vivid accounts of how Gwen Verdon's bare shoulders as Lola helped Rich remedy his insomnia after his parents' then uncommon divorce are mixed with boorish tales of his step-father who swears, farts, and beats his children. Does the Butcher of Broadway honestly believe anyone is interested in reading a copy of a letter a nine-year-old wrote to mommy while she was on a two-week vacation? Does he think we care he used a new fountain pen with blue/black ink? That he had a runny nose? THIS MAN HAD POWER. THIS IS NOT THE STORY I WANTED TO HEAR. That Rich cares deeply about the theater is apparent. Because Arthur Laurents, in his new autobiography ORIGINAL STORY BY....(a truly fabulous, pertinent, inside-Broadway story) liked the guy when Rich interviewed him, I read GHOST LIGHT to the end. It got no better and remained a pastiche of childish memories and 'firsts.' The first time Rich saw FIDDLER. The first time he attended the theater alone. The first breast fondled. Such a book should remain a private account of youth long past and not touted out for public consumption. It crosses my mind that Frank Rich might just be a nice guy and not the supreme egoist I imagine, but that doesn't make his first memoir any more relevant, interesting or palatable.

Rating:
Summary: A thoroughly engrossing memoir
Review: I heard this book on audio tape in my car and found myself longing to go to work or do an errand so that I could get to the next chapter of Frank Rich's fabulous memoir.He remembered so many details of his life and presented them in such a candid way, that he endeared himelf to me. We listen to his feelings intenetly because he doesn't hide a thing. His joys and fears are all there and we experience them with him. I felt like I really got to watch him grow up, and I could feel his passion for the theatre grow along the way. I greatly identified with Mr. Rich because I also came from a divorced family with a very difficult stepfather. My only regret with this book is that it ended! I can't wait for the sequel.

Rating:
Summary: yawn.
Review: I used to live in Washington, DC so this book held some intrigue for me. But because I did not grow up in the 1950s, but rather in a time when divorced parents could be found anywhere, I was not that into this memoir about a boy from a broken home who loved the theater. Perhaps that's because I just finished a really great memoir (The War At Home by Nora Eisenberg) about something similar where the girl and boy have to help each other survive because the parents were so violent .... this seemed like the watered-down version of that. I know it's a memoir, so I don't like critiquing it, but I found it to be just boring and could not get through it.