My Night in the World of Bridgerton

Anyone who is a fan of Netflix’s “Bridgerton” series has dreamed of spending time in its fantasy world of Regency-era romance and intrigue. That is just what I got to do last night in Washington, D.C. at “The Queen’s Ball: The Bridgerton Experience.” It was tremendous fun even before we went inside, just looking at the attendees’ costume efforts, from the very elaborate to the “well, it might be from some old-timey era.” There were many heads with tiaras and arms in elegant, long white gloves.

As we spend more of our time looking at screens, it is not surprising that we long for analog interactions with the very worlds we entered through those screens. Also in Washington now is an immersive “Friends” installation, where you can have your picture taken in the iconic locations and see replicas of Rachel’s hairstyles.

But “Friends” takes us back to New York in the 90s. “Bridgerton” is more like a fairy tale with jewels and carriages and balls and people with titles and oodles of money. The immersive experience begins with some time to wander around and get some Instagram-able photos in a variety of settings. My favorite was the one that resulted in an instant portrait of you in a digital version of a classical oil painting. But I also enjoyed the one where I got to sit on the queen’s red velvet sofa, with an attendant in a powered wig and livery who used my…