My Brother Kissed Mark Zuckerberg

There is only one more opportunity to see Peter Serko’s production of My Brother Kissed Mark Zuckerberg at Dukesbay Theatre in Tacoma. It opened Saturday night, Feb. 1, and will close after a final performance Saturday night, Feb. 15.

My Brother Kissed Mark Zuckerberg performance, courtesy Peter Serko

In the early 1980s local photographer Peter Serko found out his brother David was gay, and it was not long before he found out that David had AIDS, which in those devastating days of the epidemic was called the gay cancer. He flew to New York City, an epicenter of the disease, to be with his brother and was by his side along with their loving parents and David’s closest friends when David died at the age of 32.

David was a singer, a dancer and an actor. Among other productions he performed in, he toured with A Chorus Line.

Peter (left) and David (right) on Vashon Island circa 1986. Courtesy Peter Serko

Peter loved his brother. They were close at the end, but there had been a 20-year period when they were apart and knew nothing of one another’s lives. Another 20 years after David’s death, Peter felt compelled to learn as much as he could about those year’s when they were apart. Therefore he started the David Serko Project (https://www.facebook.com/davidserkoproject), searching out hundreds of David’s friends, interviewing them and filming them, and finding photographs to document David’s life. This dramatic production at Dukesbay Theatre is a small part of that project.

Peter tells his and his brother’s story with the aid of projected videos and still photos. It is a moving story that is heartbreaking and funny, and adeptly staged with direction by Brian Desmond, lighting by Beth Steele and scenic and technical design by Henry Loughman.

Act Up Protest 1988 Wall St. II (NYC), courtesy Clay Walker. Peter found this photo online while researching Act Up.

To my knowledge, Peter is not a writer. He says in the show that he has never before written poetry; yet he wrote 14 poems for this show. He is also not an actor, yet he performs in this self-penned two-hour dramatic presentation with skill worthy of a theatre professional. From a critical point of view the only quibble I have is that he was not able to hide his self-consciousness opening night.

Nevertheless his demeanor and timing were impeccable. His voice is soft and well-articulated, and his sincerity is palatable. The almost two-hour show zooms by. It is heartbreaking, inspirational, and generously peppered with comic relief. The descriptions of what AIDS did to David Serko’s body are hard to take, but this is not something we should close our eyes to. AIDS is very much still with us and despite marvelous advancements in treatment it is still destroying lives.

Seating is limited so I recommend getting tickets early.

WHERE: The Dukesbay Theatre, 508 S. Sixth Ave #10, Tacoma (3rd Floor Merlino Art Center)

WHEN: Saturday Feb 8, 7 p.m.

TICKETS: peterserko.brownpapertickets.com (online only)

The following is a statement from Peter Serko taken verbatim from the announcement card:

I began working on the script of My Brother Kisses Mark Zuckerberg in January 2013 about a year into The David Serko Project. I knew I had stories to tell but I couldn’t figure out how to piece them together into something understandable and more importantly entertaining. Surprisingly the script started with a series of poems. I had never written a poem in my life but suddenly I had 14 poems that have remained largely unchanged from first drafts.

Next came the challenge of connecting them. I didn’t want to just read poems, I wanted to weave them into a broader narrative. It occurred to me, why not bring other voices into the story, the voices of David’s friends who came together on Facebook as part of the Project. So, I began to add material I had learned from them. What emerges is an inspiring story of a man, my brother, who profoundly impacted the lives of all who knew him by being nothing more than true to himself and an honest and loving friend to others.

I also discovered there was another story to tell, a larger story, an important story. It is the story of the “plague years” of the AIDS epidemic, the horrifying years of the 1980s and ’90s when many, like David, became ill and died terrible deaths with no hope of cure. That was a time when fear, ignorance and prejudice tainted the world’s response to the crisis, a time when a brave group of activists fought back, bucked the system and worked tirelessly to save themselves and others when nobody else would. The treatment breakthroughs that today precariously manage this disease are the direct result of their efforts. David was a foot soldier in that struggle. The painful story of the plague years is only now beginning to be told by those who lived through it. Ron Goldberg, one of David’s closest friends, helped me see and understand the importance of telling this story too. I am indebted to Ron for his help and support.

AIDS is not cured. AIDS may have disappeared from public discourse and attention, yet millions still die worldwide. More than 50,000 people become infected with HIV in the U.S. each year. AIDS remains a health crisis of global proportion. AIDS cuts a wide swath fostering many stories. Those lost to AIDS are brothers, sisters, sons, daughters, friends, lovers and tragically even parents. My Brother Kissed Mark Zuckerberg gives voice to one story, a personal story, a remarkable story that I am finally able to share.

May the telling of David’s story honor the memory of all who perished before their time, and may it give strength and comfort to those left behind who still find it difficult to make sense of it all.

http://davidserko.com/