“All the world’s a stage / And all the men and women merely players.” That famous, ubiquitous line is from William Shakespeare’s pastoral comedy “As You Like It,” the final show in the Performing Art Department’s (PAD) series of performances this year.

Imagine taking a spoonful of an ice cream sundae but only capturing the cherry on your spoon. While the fruit may be delightful, it does not even come close to capturing the essence of the ice cream. “Radio Free Emerson,” the Performing Arts Department (PAD) production that opened last weekend in the A. E. Hotchner Studio Theater, only eats that cherry, if you’re willing to substitute the sundae with Ralph Waldo Emerson, of course.