Review: 'Ghostlight' is a deeply felt drama about a family working through grief, with art and Shakespeare as their guides

Family drama takes a Shakespearean turn in “Ghostlight,” an emotionally raw drama about a family on the verge of falling apart — and finding a connection through grief and the Bard.

Dan Mueller (Keith Kupferer) is a construction worker who’s barely making it through his day on a street crew in a Chicago suburb. All we know is that things are hard at home for Dan and his wife, Sharon (Tara Mallen), in part because their daughter, Daisy (Katherine Mallen Kupferer), is lashing out at school again and could face expulsion. (By the way, Kupferer and Mallen are married in real life, and young Katherine, who also played a supporting role in “Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret,” is their daughter.)

The script — by Kelly O’Sullivan, who co-directed with her significant other, Alex Thompson — gives details in measured doses. We figure out fairly early that Daisy had an older brother, who is no longer in the picture, and that nobody, least of all Dan, wants to talk about it. Hence the family tension that’s hitting a boiling point.

Almost by accident, Dan finds a release valve. There’s an old playhouse near the street construction site, and he walks in to find a group of community-theater actors in a read-through of their next production: Shakespeare’s “Romeo & Juliet.” Dan’s not familiar with the play — he asks Daisy about it, and she recites the “in fair Verona” opening from memory — but he’s intrigued with the group dynamics of the actors and their no-nonsense director, Lenora (Hanna Dworkin). 

Dan keeps coming to rehearsals, befriending the other actors — particularly Rita (played by Dolly De Leon, from “Triangle of Sadness”), a former New York professional actor who teaches Dan the joys of letting go and pretending to be someone else for a couple of hours. Dan starts to like that feeling, though as he learns more about the fate of Shakespeare’s star-crossed lovers, the play starts hitting close to home.

Once you get past the plot mechanics of O’Sullivan’s script, which can be a little too on-the-nose, the strength of the story’s emotional pull cannot be denied. Following Dan’s path to understanding his grief and his guilt — at his family’s tragic loss and how that hole continues to gnaw at Dan, Sharon and Daisy — leads to a deeply felt and quietly powerful catharsis. “Ghostlight” captures the unique way that art can lead to healing and connection, both for a man’s family and the created “family” of a theater troupe.

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‘Ghostlight’

★★★1/2

Opens Friday, June 21, in theaters. Rated R for language. Running time: 111 minutes.