Emperor of the Moon presented by Saint Sebastian Players at St. Bonaventure Church

Aphra Behn, arguably the first professional English woman playwright, offers the love stories of Bellemante and Elaria, the mischievous daughter and niece, respectively, of the moonstruck Doctor Baliardo, an amateur moralist and astronomer. To get around the doctor's rules, the girls convince him their respective lovers are visitors from the moon. Behn's clever script pairs contemporary comic dialogue with classical commedia dell'arte antics. Emperor of the Moon was the last play produced before Behn's death in 1689 and is one of her most famous and successful works, filled with irresistible humor and vividly colorful and refreshing intellect.