see anything, but with a little trickery and persuasion, Stitch and Sew quickly convince the Empress that the invisible clothing is real. Soon, she pretends that she can see it, too, and even “holds” an invisible handkerchief, using it to clean her glasses. Stitch and Sew put on a show to impress the Empress (“Knit One – Reprise”). The Empress realizes that, even though she can’t see a thing, she’ll have to pretend that she can or else Sinister will say that she’s unfit to be the Empress. Stitch and Sew offer to show the Empress everything that they’ve made (“Behold the Robe”). By the end of the song, the Empress is playing along but admits to the audience that she thinks she’s going crazy. On her way out, Stitch reminds the Empress to bring the royal jewels, or the Emperor won’t get a thing. She agrees. Palace Gardens. Verity and Chester meet and prepare the magical truth-seeing glasses. Testing them, they each take a peek through the glasses at one another. Chester still sees Verity as a princess, and Verity still sees Chester as a prince. They wonder why they keep seeing those images. Chester suggests that maybe they’re just wishing them into existence, but Verity insists that her aunt told her that they only show what’s real (“Look through the Glasses”). They dance together until they are interrupted by a fanfare announcing that the Emperor is ready to try his new clothes. Chester borrows the glasses and tells Verity to hide behind the throne during the Royal Procession – he has a plan! The Tailor Quarters. The Royal Court assembles at the Royal Tailor Quarters. The Emperor enters with the Empress, who carries a small bag of jewels. The Emperor asks Stitch and Sew where the clothes, are and they show him an empty rack... “brimming” with invisible clothes. The Empress and the Court assure the Emperor that the clothes are there. Against his better judgment, the Emperor quickly agrees that he can see them, too – he doesn’t want anyone to think he’s unfit to be in charge! Stitch and Sew ask the Emperor to follow them to the fitting room. Over the screen, Stitch asks the Empress for the jewels, which she hands over. Everyone is excited to see how the Emperor looks in his new outfit. Piece by piece, Sew hands Stitch “items” from the clothing rack. With each new piece, the Court oohs and ahhs, each outdoing his neighbor by describing what he can see. In reality, each member of the Court is horrified that they can’t see anything! Still, no one is brave enough to tell the truth (“Behold the Robe – Reprise”). The Emperor enters, wearing nothing but bright red long underwear. Everyone gasps but quickly jumps in, saying that the Emperor looks splendid in his new clothes (“New Clothes – Reprise”). Chester looks at the Emperor through Verity’s magic glasses and realizes that Stitch and Sew have just played a hoax on the entire kingdom – there are no clothes at all. Chester decides to wait to see what happens during the Royal Procession. Before the Emperor leads the Court in the Royal Procession, Stitch and Sew try to leave, but the Emperor insists that they join him. They are trapped! The Procession begins with Stitch and Sew, “holding” the Emperor’s cape behind him. The Emperor and his Court march through the audience. Chester accompanies the procession and asks audience members (especially the children) if they can see the Emperor’s clothes, encouraging them to say “no.” The Emperor is horrified and insists that the Procession return to the Palace at once. Verity hides behind the throne before the Royal Procession returns to the stage. The Throne Room. The Emperor is terribly embarrassed that the children in the audience couldn’t see his clothes, but Sinister assures him that the children were lying. Chester steps in and says that the children were telling the truth – there ARE no new clothes! Stitch and Sew accuse Chester of not being able to do his job, but Chester gives the Emperor the magic truth-seeing glasses. He looks through them and sees himself in the mirror... in nothing but his underwear! Stitch and Sew are revealed as imposters. Verity steps from behind the throne, and Chester introduces her as the owner of the magic glasses. The Empress and Emperor look through the glasses again and see Sinister as he really is – a pilferer who wants the throne for himself. They accuse him of kidnapping their son, Lester. Sinister admits that he knows where the prince is but will never tell. Verity says that she thinks that she knows where to find the missing prince and encourages the Emperor and Empress to look through the glasses once more, this time at Chester. To their surprise, they find that Chester is really their son – Lester the Lost has been found! Sinister is banished from the kingdom. The Emperor lets Stitch and Sew go, and the Empress even lets them keep the Royal Jewels. When Stitch looks inside the bag, however, he finds that the Empress has given them “invisible” jewels. The swindlers are swindled! Chester/Lester takes his rightful place as Prince, choosing Verity to be his Princess. The Emperor announces that there will be a Royal Wedding the next day... and that he needs new clothes for the occasion. Everyone joins in the celebration (“Act Two Finale”).
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