Evenings in Seaside City always had brilliant sunsets. On the streets of the manor district, lampposts patterned with intricate vines were painted gold. The evening breeze swept by, lifting a sheet of paper pasted to one of the posts and sending it dancing through the air in graceful arcs.
It flew past weathered walls mottled by time, passed through spires bathed in the sunset, drifted down along wrought-iron railings entwined with patterns, and finally floated into the mailbox at the manor gate, where it lay quietly at the bottom.
A hand always clad in a leather glove flicked open the mailbox lock. After taking out the paper and reading its contents, Merkel let out an excited breath. Holding the paper in one hand, he pushed open the manor gate with the other, then handed it to Schiller, who was eating dinner.
Schiller set down his newspaper, took the paper, glanced over it, and raised a brow. "What's this? There really is a theater troupe willing to come to Gotham and perform Shakespeare? And it's Macbeth?"
"Yes, sir. I knew you would be delighted. This is the Angelica Theater Troupe, the most famous troupe in Metropolis. They're popular all across the East Coast, and Shakespeare is what they do best..."
Schiller examined the paper. It was merely a simplified program list from the troupe, bearing the troupe's name, the plays scheduled for the city, the featured production, and several light comedies.
Even this simplified program had a distinctly Gotham style. Its featured production was Macbeth, one of Shakespeare's Four Great Tragedies, and one of Schiller's favorite plays.
Unfortunately, none of the troupes that had previously come to Gotham had been capable of performing Shakespeare. Most of them staged little after-dinner skits or light comedies, nothing resembling proper drama. Since arriving in