![]() ![]() Sarah Caldwell directed one in 1988, with Phyllis Curtin as Mrs. ![]() Since Brandeis, Boston has given us some notable “Threepenny” productions. James Maddalena, Kelly Kaduce and Michelle Trainor are the unconventional Peachum Family in the Boston Lyric Opera’s production of Weill and Brecht’s "The Threepenny Opera." (Courtesy Liza Voll Photography) And as with Gay, given Weill’s kaleidoscope of musical styles, even opera itself is a target of the satire. The abiding moral is: Food comes first, then morality. The gangland leader’s best friend is the police chief. The Peachums don’t mind their daughter Polly sleeping with the notorious criminal Macheath (Mack the Knife) but don’t want her to risk losing her power over him if she marries him. (Laurence Olivier and Dorothy Tutin star in an enchanting 1953 film version directed by Peter Brook.) Following Gay, Brecht turns traditional personal and political morals upside down. This irresistibly tuneful, bitterly satiric musical drama was an updating of John Gay’s 1727 “Beggar’s Opera,” which had been translated into German by Brecht’s lover Elisabeth Hauptmann. The cast album - despite (or because of?) MGM Records insisting that Blitzstein clean up Brecht’s most graphic lyrics - is still in print. The cast also included the appealing Jo Sullivan, Charlotte Rae and Beatrice Arthur, all establishing themselves as major new personalities. ![]() In 1954, that version, still with Lenya, opened at the Theatre De Lys and became one of the longest-running hits in off-Broadway history (2,611 performances!). In 1933, it opened on Broadway and closed after 12 performances.īut in 1952, at the Brandeis Festival of Creative Arts, Leonard Bernstein conducted a new English version, with a translation by composer/librettist Marc Blitzstein, and starring Lenya. In 1931, the show was made into a great movie by G.W. It consolidated the careers of its creators, composer Kurt Weill and poet/playwright Bertolt Brecht, and the celebrity of Lotte Lenya, Weill’s wife, who played the featured (but not leading) role of Jenny Diver. “The Threepenny Opera” was the sensation of the 1928 Berlin theater season. Kelly Kaduce as Polly Peachum sings the iconic “Pirate Jenny” in the Boston Lyric Opera’s production of Weill and Brecht’s "The Threepenny Opera." (Courtesy Liza Voll Photography) This article is more than 4 years old.
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