Threepenny Opera

[QMAN03]

Posted: 2/6/06 at 11:09pm

I realized today that ther really isn't that much talk of the new revival here at Broadwayworld. SO I figured I'd start a thread devoted to it. I'll just start it off with a question:

Is the show any good? I'm not talking specifically about the revival. I'm just wondering if it will be worth seeing based on past productions?

[Kringas]

Posted: 2/6/06 at 11:12pm

It's a masterpiece. Immediately get your hands on the 1954 and 1994 cast recordings.

[Jane2]

Posted: 2/6/06 at 11:16pm

The cast looks mighty interesting to me, with Cyndi Lauper, Alan Cumming, Ana Gasteyer, CARLOS LEON, LOL.

[Kringas]

Posted: 2/6/06 at 11:17pm

And Nellie McKay!

I cannot wait to see this.

[C is for Company]

Posted: 2/6/06 at 11:19pm

Brooke Sunny Moriber is back! Just as Craig predicted! Only this was weeks before. Interesting....
Well heres to a hopefully satisfying and wonderful revival

[QMAN03]

Posted: 2/6/06 at 11:35pm

So I'm getting the message that the show is very good. Could they possibly screw up the revival?

[Kringas]

Posted: 2/6/06 at 11:38pm

Sure. It's a new translation. The fact that it's Wallace Shawn writing it is encouraging, but who knows? Few shows are foolproof.

McKay's a great singer and songwriter and has great personality, but who knows if she can act?

Same with Lauper. I have high hopes for both, though.

I'm also not too sure about Cumming as Macheath. He may surprise me, but he's kind of a one-trick pony to me.

[QMAN03]

Posted: 2/6/06 at 11:41pm

Eh, I love Alan. He's the man.

[Kringas]

Posted: 2/6/06 at 11:43pm

I usually can take him or leave him.

[QMAN03]

Posted: 2/7/06 at 12:19am

I heard he was great in Cabaret (a production I still dream about seeing). But this show does look promising. I'm just trying to decide to see this or Awake and Sing.

[Kringas]

Posted: 2/7/06 at 12:32am

I saw him in Cabaret and thought he was good. It was before I'd seen him in anything else. I still think he just varies the same theme.

Updated On: 2/7/06 at 12:32 AM

[TheatreMonkey]

Posted: 2/7/06 at 12:42am

Which is the best recording to get? I've heard nothing but negative feedback about the Sting revival.

Any thoughts?

~Sam

[Kringas]

Posted: 2/7/06 at 1:13am

I got my head bit off the last time I suggested this, but I have to suck it up and do it again. I say get the 1994 Donmar recording first. The lyrics have an edge and a bite that's lacking in the 1954 New York Cast.

Granted, 1954 has Lotte Lenya (former child prostitute and Weill's wife and muse) doing the definitive "Pirate Jenny," but Bliztstein's lyrics really don't sting much fifty years later, if they ever really did.

I'd love to get my hands on the late 70s recording with Raul Julia and Ellen Greene, but I don't think it's ever been released on cd.

1954 has Charlotte Rae, Bea Arthur and Jo Sullivan, though.

You really need both. But start with Donmar.

[elmore3003]

Posted: 2/7/06 at 7:57am

I'm a great fan of Marc Blitzstein's English version of THREEPENNY OPERA, and they cannot be judged by the recording: he was forced to launder the lyrics in the studio to appease some prudes. I've tried unsuccessfully several times to get a recording made with his original lyrics.

The other important thing about his lyrics is that they are funny, which isn't always true of Brecht's, and they often achieve their point without beating the grittiness into the audience's face. I think this was both a smart thing in 1952, when the translation was done, and one reason why the show survived so long. In 1928, THREREPENNY OPERA was a comedy; each time Brecht republished the script, without Weill's approval or input, he increased his anti-capitalist rant.

Do you know this lyric to "Mack the Knife" suppressed on the recording:
There was rape down by the harbor
Little Susie caused a stir
Claiming that she'd been assaulted
Wonder what got into her?

Much funnier than the original German.

Cleopatra reclining on her asp is both funny and apt in the "Solomon Song," and better than Brecht.

However, a new and good translation of any piece to keep it contemporary is always welcome. I know Mr Shawn and like him much. I wish him well, and I look forward to hearing his work.

[aud88_99]

Posted: 2/7/06 at 8:40am

So help me out here though - I'm reading in the cast announcement that someone named Brian is playing the part of Lucy. Is that a misprint or true? Or is Brian really a girl??

Or is this going to be a REALLY different production??

[IssaMe]

Posted: 2/7/06 at 9:01am

Plus Romain Fruge.

[Enjolras77]

Posted: 2/7/06 at 9:50am

Brian Charles Rooney is going to be playing Lucy Brown. I am not sure how the role is going to be done because I am not all that familiar with the show. However, Brian is a very funny and talented performer. He played Jinx this past summer in a production of Forever Plaid that played here in Charlotte, NC from April through June and was very good.

[ihearttheatre]

Posted: 2/7/06 at 10:30am

I really want to see this because of the cast, but I know nothing about the show. How complex are the story and music? Will I need to be acquainted with them beforehand to fully understand and appreciate it?

[Jon]

Posted: 2/7/06 at 11:21am

Is Lucy going to be played in drag or is Lucy now going to be a male character??? Is Macheath now bisexual???

[TinyDancer]

Posted: 2/7/06 at 12:15pm

Updated On: 2/23/06 at 12:15 PM

[Demitri2]

Posted: 2/7/06 at 12:31pm

The show seems to be open for new translations. I actually saw a production that starred Chita Rivera as not only the streetsinger but also as the prostitute. Not only did she sing/dance "Mack The Knife" but also "Pirate Jenny" (no she didn't dance to this song).

[Kringas]

Posted: 2/7/06 at 1:52pm

Elmore, I had no idea that Blitzstein had to sanitize his lyrics for the recording. Fascinating. I'll have to see out his original lyrics. Thanks for the info!

[cathywellerstein]

Posted: 2/7/06 at 8:15pm

anyone have any idea on what the rush policies will be like? and if there will be any?

[BwayBaby18]

Posted: 2/7/06 at 8:23pm

I just can't wait to see Alan and Ana on stage again again.

[Dollypop]

Posted: 2/7/06 at 9:33pm

I have really TRIED to like THREEPENNY OPERA. I saw a production where Chita Rivera played the Streetsinger AND Jenny. Then there was the Raul Julia production at Lincoln Center. The dissonant score repulses me and I've found the story to be depressing as hell.

I won't bother seeing the new production.