Kamala Harris congratulates her husband after the false trial. Photo: David Smith
The theater erupted in screams and applause. Kamala Harris, sitting in the fifth row with her sister Maya, kissed through a black face mask and applauded her husband. It was one of those unique moments in Washington. On Monday, the Shakespeare Theater Company hosted a “simulation trial” inspired by William Shakespeare’s romantic comedy “Much Ado About Nothing” and chaired by retired Supreme Court Justice and Good Sports Stephen Breyer. Noise is best known for Beatrice and Benedick, two proud minds who only fall in love when others play Eros. This seemed appropriate for Harris and Emhoff, who had a blind date with a mutual friend and were just getting married on their 50th birthday. But the question before the not-so-serious court was: should Margaret be held responsible for Don John’s defamation of the Hero? Emhoff, who has been a leading entertainment lawyer for almost 30 years, was Margaret’s principal attorney. The event, full of current gags inside the Beltway, was scheduled to take place last month, but was postponed after the second master fell with a coronavirus. “Thank you for giving me my suggestion to continue because of the plague,” Emhoff began, wearing a dark suit, blue shirt and blue tie, and standing on a lectern under the bright lights of the stage. “The White House pharmacist told me my symptoms would be severe, but – wow!” The fictitious trial is a long-standing tradition of the Shakespeare Theater Company, but it has become fictitious in the last two years due to the pandemic. Monday marked a return to an in-person audience at Sidney Harman Hall, but it was also broadcast live. Emhoff, a friendly and slightly silly presence, remarked: “My parents are watching the live stream tonight, but could I tell them I was arguing in front of the United States Supreme Court, so, cameraman, you can keep a very tight shot…? “ Read David Smith’s sketch here:
