The thousand-and-second tale of Scheherezade

Truth is stranger than fiction. In this wickedly funny sequel to the Arabian Nights, Edgar Allan Poe lets Scheherazade embark on a thousand-and-second night, spinning the untold final adventures of Sinbad. Sea monsters with blazing eyes, islands built by tiny engineers, forests of stone, rivers like glass, headless birds, iron-boned horses, telegraphs, steam power, and other marvels parade through the tale. Each wonder is perfectly real to a modern ear, yet the credulous king denounces every one as impossible. The result is a razor-edged satire of human pride and our habit of rejecting scientific truth when it offends common sense. Narrated with sly warmth by Merrie Lynn Eaker, this classic short story sparkles with wit, vivid imagery, and the darkly comic twist that made Poe a master beyond the macabre. Ideal for fans of literary satire, folklore remixed, and clever speculative fables, this performance invites you to hear a familiar legend anew and to smile at how little the world has changed.