At the end of July, Georgie and I went to the theatre. The company was the Chicago Shakespeare Theater. The play was based on Andersen's classic 19th century tale of an Emperor who is fooled by tricksters to wear an invisible suit that only the very smart are supposed to see.
The music and the staging were quite good, but the story had been too much adapted to modern times. I suppose I'm a bit of a purist, and the eco-friendly, gender-affirming, politically-correct elements introduced in the play, ruined it a little for me. I like the original best, in all its simplicity of mocking the vain and the stupid. Would contemporary audiences not get it? Must we make everything palatable to what we suppose to be children's sensitivities? I don't think so. Children recognise quality when they see it, even when slightly politically incorrect.
Georgie enjoyed the music and the lights (my favourites too), but sometimes got a bit lost in the (unnecessary) complexity of the plot. But it was a fun afternoon.
At the end of the play we took photos with some of the apocryphal elements in the cast.
(L)
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