The Threepenny Opera
Book and Lyrics by Bertolt Brecht
Music by Kurt Weil
(English translation of dialog by Robert McDonald)
(English translation of lyrics by Jeremy Sams)
Directed by Matthew Earnest
Where: Thompson Theater at the Roselle Center for the Arts
(University of Delaware, Newark, DE)
When: Saturday, January 19, 7:30pm
I was totally onboard with The Threepenny Opera as it concluded its first act. While the story was relatively simple -- the slimy, sleezy, nasty, murderous Macheath has taken the young Polly Peachum as his bride much to her parents' chagrin -- it had a weird vibe much like the University of Delaware Resident Ensemble Players' previous foray into the world of Bertolt Brecht The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, however this time around I was enjoying things much more. In fact, I was thinking that this could very well land in my top five list of REP productions.
And then Act II comes along and put the kibosh on the fun. [It should be noted that while this production breaks the play into only two acts, it's really the third act of Brecht's work where this thing falls apart.] Brecht shifts from a tale of a mobster and his moll (in the broadest sense of those words) and hammers home none too bluntly that capitalism sucks. And when I say "hammers home," the last number almost made me cringe from the blatant obviousness. [This is of course a completely different cringing from the deus ex machina that makes up the play's final minutes and caused my eyes to roll at its cheap improbability.] It legitimately makes me wonder how something like this is deemed "classic" in today's day and age. Maybe it was ballsy for the time, but today it just seems almost tacky in its attempts at trying to be something deeper than its story really permits it to be. Ultimately, that's the biggest problem with The Threepenny Opera -- the story doesn't really warrant its rather odd tonal shift in the play's last act. I couldn't help but think we were simply watching a really weird and basic love story and then we're smacked in the face with the thing trying to be "important." Unfortunately, this rather major problem isn't the fault of the actors who make up the REP company who gamely tackle something that we haven't seen them attempt before -- singing live.
Yes, The Threepenny Opera is an all-out musical and the REP (along with a wonderful seven piece band) do a pretty great job considering that this is not something they are used to performing. I can't say that we're listening to Broadway-caliber voices here, but I was thoroughly impressed with nearly everyone onstage. The rawness of some of the voices fits right in with the grittiness of the story and was actually one of the reasons I was loving the first act as much as I was.
Deena Burke won me over with a surprisingly lovely voice and she is finally given a role here that puts her in the thick of things (the less said about the REP production of The Homecoming the better). As Macheath's new wife Polly, when Burke sings "Barbara Song," she exudes just the right amounts of innocence, sultriness, humor, and sadness all within the span of a four-minute song.
Kathleen Pirkl Tague is, as always, wonderful as Polly's mother and her stage partner Steven Pelinski as Polly's father is also quite good. The play/musical opens with Elizabeth Heflin alone onstage singing the show's signature song "Mac the Knife" and, despite this being Heflin's second play in a row where she plays a prostitute (which provided a laugh in and of itself for this frequent REP-goer), her Jenny comes with a heavy heart and a crushed soul thanks to years on the job. Heflin also gets to be part of my favorite moment in the show -- a tango duet with Mac (played by Mic Matarrese) called "Pimp's Ballad" during which both Jenny and Mac recall with melancholic sadness their lives shortly after they first met and the pain their love caused one another.
Add in an absolutely stunning set that truly matches things you'd see on Broadway and fantastic costumes both by Mathew LeFebvre and it's such a shame that The Threepenny Opera didn't work for me. Director Matthew Earnest who oversaw the heartbreaking and stirring REP production of Way to Heaven a few years ago returns to UD and creates a wonderfully staged piece -- visually appealing and nicely performed. And all of these plusses make me disappointed that I found this show a bummer. I fully admit that's it's quite possible I didn't "get" everything I was supposed to "get" (although I do think that in many plays that try to get a message across, multiple viewings or at least a reading of play are necessary in order to fully grasp the playwright's true intent), but I just can't help but think that the huge shift in tone in the play's final act wouldn't work for me in any instance. [For further explanation of this, please see the comments.] Why couldn't Brecht have just been satisfied with created a weird love story with some odd music? That alone would've been interesting enough.
And then Act II comes along and put the kibosh on the fun. [It should be noted that while this production breaks the play into only two acts, it's really the third act of Brecht's work where this thing falls apart.] Brecht shifts from a tale of a mobster and his moll (in the broadest sense of those words) and hammers home none too bluntly that capitalism sucks. And when I say "hammers home," the last number almost made me cringe from the blatant obviousness. [This is of course a completely different cringing from the deus ex machina that makes up the play's final minutes and caused my eyes to roll at its cheap improbability.] It legitimately makes me wonder how something like this is deemed "classic" in today's day and age. Maybe it was ballsy for the time, but today it just seems almost tacky in its attempts at trying to be something deeper than its story really permits it to be. Ultimately, that's the biggest problem with The Threepenny Opera -- the story doesn't really warrant its rather odd tonal shift in the play's last act. I couldn't help but think we were simply watching a really weird and basic love story and then we're smacked in the face with the thing trying to be "important." Unfortunately, this rather major problem isn't the fault of the actors who make up the REP company who gamely tackle something that we haven't seen them attempt before -- singing live.
Photo by Paul Cerro
Yes, The Threepenny Opera is an all-out musical and the REP (along with a wonderful seven piece band) do a pretty great job considering that this is not something they are used to performing. I can't say that we're listening to Broadway-caliber voices here, but I was thoroughly impressed with nearly everyone onstage. The rawness of some of the voices fits right in with the grittiness of the story and was actually one of the reasons I was loving the first act as much as I was.
Deena Burke won me over with a surprisingly lovely voice and she is finally given a role here that puts her in the thick of things (the less said about the REP production of The Homecoming the better). As Macheath's new wife Polly, when Burke sings "Barbara Song," she exudes just the right amounts of innocence, sultriness, humor, and sadness all within the span of a four-minute song.
Kathleen Pirkl Tague is, as always, wonderful as Polly's mother and her stage partner Steven Pelinski as Polly's father is also quite good. The play/musical opens with Elizabeth Heflin alone onstage singing the show's signature song "Mac the Knife" and, despite this being Heflin's second play in a row where she plays a prostitute (which provided a laugh in and of itself for this frequent REP-goer), her Jenny comes with a heavy heart and a crushed soul thanks to years on the job. Heflin also gets to be part of my favorite moment in the show -- a tango duet with Mac (played by Mic Matarrese) called "Pimp's Ballad" during which both Jenny and Mac recall with melancholic sadness their lives shortly after they first met and the pain their love caused one another.
Add in an absolutely stunning set that truly matches things you'd see on Broadway and fantastic costumes both by Mathew LeFebvre and it's such a shame that The Threepenny Opera didn't work for me. Director Matthew Earnest who oversaw the heartbreaking and stirring REP production of Way to Heaven a few years ago returns to UD and creates a wonderfully staged piece -- visually appealing and nicely performed. And all of these plusses make me disappointed that I found this show a bummer. I fully admit that's it's quite possible I didn't "get" everything I was supposed to "get" (although I do think that in many plays that try to get a message across, multiple viewings or at least a reading of play are necessary in order to fully grasp the playwright's true intent), but I just can't help but think that the huge shift in tone in the play's final act wouldn't work for me in any instance. [For further explanation of this, please see the comments.] Why couldn't Brecht have just been satisfied with created a weird love story with some odd music? That alone would've been interesting enough.
The Homecoming was a fabulous play--your comment is as puzzling as it is off base. It would seem that you didn't "get" that play either.
ReplyDeleteExcept that The Homecoming wasn't a fabulous play to me. Are we not all entitled to our own opinions? An opinion cannot be off-based if there is some form of substance backing it up. Granted, in a "blog" situation, the substance is sometimes small, but my review of The Homecoming pretty much states my issues with that play. I know a half dozen people who saw the same production of The Homecoming who felt the same way. In fact, The Homecoming has actually become an underlying joke amongst my fellow UD theatergoer whenever we see something now -- "Well, that certainly wasn't as bad as "The Homecoming!"
ReplyDeleteI've now seen two plays by Brecht and neither of them suit my tastes whatsoever. Odd for the sake of being odd with a lack of subtlety and therein a lack of respect for the audience and it's all the more disappointing because I feel like Threepenny Opera had potential for greatness. While I say I didn't "get" the play, I understand its themes, I just don't think they're woven into the play in a way that makes them come across in a well-suited manner.
The REP has put on some fantastic productions -- their Glass Menagerie still contains quite possibly my favorite moment I've ever seen on a stage -- but The Homecoming and Threepenny Opera (despite its beautiful set and admirable turns from the actors doing something I imagine is a bit out of their comfort zones) just aren't successful in my eyes because of the playwrights themselves.
Thanks for reading, though!
I saw the play in a different production and liked it, but your comment is fair enough. The version I saw didn't really seem to make much of a change in Act 3. It made a point of juxtaposing from an early point in the play the crazy smiling antics of MacHeath with the solemn cynical preaching of Mr. Peacham to the point where (to me)it made a bit more sense. But then again, I tend to like mood whiplash.
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading, Ben. I found the play fascinatingly weird in the first act and was loving it. The end just felt too "manifesto-ish" to me which based off the two Brecht plays I've seen seems to be his modus operandi when it comes to plays (although I realize two plays doesn't necessarily represent his entire oeuvre). I guess I like my political and social commentary to come with a little more subtlety when watching stage productions. This one felt very much like it was hitting me over the head with its characters plights.
ReplyDelete