A complex Napoleon battles with words in APT's 'Man of Destiny'

By Lindsay Christians, The Capital Times, June 17, 2019.

Napoleon has proved an irresistible figure to painters and poets in the 200 years since he took his military tour of Europe. Paintings depict him charging into battle or draped in royal robes that appear to weigh more than he does.

But even the man who crossed a continent flinging cannonballs at Austrians and Prussians had to pause now and then. Eat a bit of risotto, drink some local wine. Plan his next moves.

This is how we find the new general in “Man of Destiny,” the first play to open on American Players Theatre’s indoor Touchstone stage this summer.

As imagined by George Bernard Shaw in 1898, the future L’Empereur is just 26 years old. He’s fresh off a battle on a flaming bridge, leading an unpaid French army with promises of loot in Italy (“the natural right of soldiers!”). 

Continue reading