Musical 'Emperor' comes cloaked in wisdom for children
By Myra Yellin Outwater Special to The Morning Call
Phil Haas' eyes light up as he proudly shows off the elaborate stage set for the ''The Emperor's New Clothes,'' the children's musical that opened this week at the Muhlenberg Summer Music Theatre. The imposing set, one of the most extensive ever to be used for Muhlenberg's children's summer theater programming, has an Art Deco feel and consists of palace walls, a broad expansive stairway and a floor of blue and gold checkerboard squares.''I decided to set the show in the 1920s and I wanted to re-create the feel of Daddy Warbucks' mansion in 'Annie,''' says Haas, the director. ''The women will wear flapper dresses and the men will wear 1920s suits and tails and there will be Charleston dancing. I made the villain, the Swindler, a woman, and she wears a 1920s golfing outfit. Although the role was originally written for a man, I thought it was more convincing to have a woman giving the Emperor fashion advice. I thought he would be more likely to accept advice from a woman who could flatter him.''
Adds Haas, ''This is an updated version of the Hans Christian Andersen classic, and it has an original book and lyrics by Lynn Ahrens and music by Stephen Flaherty, the award-winning writers of the Broadway hit musicals 'Ragtime,' and 'Seussical.' This version of 'The Emperor's New Clothes,' has a great score and has that very definite feel of those early Alan Menken/Disney Broadway musicals of the 1980s.''
''The Emperor's New Clothes'' was Ahrens' and Flaherty's first collaboration and was commissioned and produced in 1985 by Theatreworks USA, an acclaimed New York City children's theater company.
Haas chose the look of the play to make it more accessible to older children, ages 6 to 12. ''This is a musical that has something very important to say to children about choosing friends and advisers carefully and not being fooled into doing something silly. And I love the fact that Marcus [the emperor] is only 14 years old. That is a very transitional period for young people, when they question themselves and wonder if they will be prepared to become adults. And as Marcus worries how he can possibly run an empire, he foolishly believes that 'clothes make the man' and he soon finds himself an object of ridicule. … Marcus knows he is not prepared to take over the throne, so he looks to others to help him make his decisions. Children will relate to his dilemma.''Haas is a 2005 Muhlenberg graduate and has a long list of credits in children's theater as well as in musical theater. He has appeared in both Muhlenberg and Theatre Outlet productions. Besides directing ''Emperor,'' Haas will be playing Motel the Tailor in the Muhlenberg production of ''Fiddler on the Roof,'' opening July 11.
''This show offers opportunities for a lot of extras,'' says Haas. ''When we first started working on the coronation parade, I found out that many of the cast members had acrobatic talents, so now they will perform flips, lifts and cartwheels as they parade across the stage. In addition, the Swindler is a terrific tap dancer and she will perform a soft-shoe number.''
''The Emperor's New Clothes,'' 10 a.m. and 1 p.m, Wednesday-Friday, 10 a.m. Saturday, through Aug. 4, Muhlenberg College, Trexler Pavilion, Studio Theatre, 2400 Chew St., Allentown. Tickets: $9. 484-664-3333, http://www.summerbroadway.org .
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