your opinion of The Threepenny Opera...

[Pgenre]

Posted: 8/14/06 at 5:15pm

Are you referring to the most recent Broadway production of THE THREEPENNY OPERA or any production of the show? I find it highly curious that anyone would admit to hating the show, at least the original Blitztein translation (although the Jeremy Sams version is my personal favorite), because in doing so one would deny the massive impact that the show has had on most musicals since. Plus, this is DEFINENTLY a show meant to be seen as opposed to listening to a cast album as it really is a play with songs as much as it is a musical. There's probably a good hour and a half of pure dialogue, much more than the majority of musicals (the only one I can think of with even close to that much book is the original, uncut CAMELOT).

Back to the topic at hand: I'll take a bad TPO over any of the garbage on Broadway right now. Therefore, I have quite a high opinion of the show, and Brecht in general (although I feel MOTHER COURAGE is more dramatically satisfying, but ah well).

A Good Nightmare Comes So Rarely,
P genre