Sing Of Royalty

Once upon a time, there was a ridiculously spoiled little girl who used to make her father drive her to the Video Library in Arlington nearly every weekend so that she could rent a low-budget, live-action, half-hour version of her favorite fairy tale, The Emperor and the Nightingale. O, what was it about the story that captured the little girl’s heart so? The selfish emperor who wants only the finest things in his kingdom for himself? The lovely little nightingale who sings her little heart out for the sheer joy of the act? Or her sad banishment when the emperor decides he likes a jewel-encrusted mechanical nightingale better than the real thing? Or the dramatic ending featuring that most fearsome of characters, Death? Yes, there is much to love about this classic Hans Christian Andersen story and hopefully much to love about the Artisan Center Theater’s production of the play. The Emperor and the Nightingale runs Saturdays through January 31 at the Artisan Center, 418 E. Pipeline Road in Hurst. Showtimes are 3 and 7:30 p.m. Visit ArtisanCT.com.

Saturdays, 3 & 7:30 p.m. Starts: Jan. 3. Continues through Jan. 31, 2009