These are miserable times. Our political scene is overrun by reactionary savages, our economy is being sucked dry by corporate greed, our democracy is menaced on all sides—and American theatergoers want to have fun. This isn't as irresponsible as it may seem. Temporary escape from a miserable world can be healthy. The airier the escape, the readier you are to bounce back, energized, to confront and battle the misery. Yes, the theater also has other, deeper functions, but they don't diminish the importance of this one. The puritan desire to make light entertainment morally preachy and deep is what trivializes it; artists who can make you feel that your feet are being tickled with a feather all evening long (the 19th-century critic Jules Lemaitre's description of an Offenbach operetta's effect) come closer to... More >>>