NORTON I

Norton I is the mostly true tale of Joshua Norton, a bankrupt venture capitalist turned self-appointed emperor of the United States, as told by cult film “superstar” Tommy Wiseau. Tommy’s love letter to the American musical follows Norton’s “reign” over mid-1800s San Francisco, a city built on impossible dreams, the now-failing promise of America and a lot of mud. With the help of Ann Carson, a plucky and ambitious young reporter, and the friendship of Ah How, a Chinese immigrant and local businesswoman, Norton rules with a benign courtesy. He soon discovers that San Francisco is not immune to tensions brought on by the Civil War, economic depression and the rapidly rising anti-Chinese sentiment. Blending Camusian absurdism and Brechtian alienation with the blunt humor of contemporary meme culture, Norton I challenges audiences to acknowledge their own complicity in today’s sociopolitical analog. As Norton tries to retain control over his city (and Tommy tries to regain control over his musical), both must confront the fact that civility alone is not enough to make the world a better place.