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"The Threepenny Opera" returns to Brandeis stage after premiere 55 years ago
Released on September 17, 2007Contact:
Media contact: Marsha MacEachern, marsham@brandeis.edu or 781-736-4203
Ticket information: 781-736-3400 (option 5)
Exciting and intimate new production of the legendary tale runs from Oct. 11-21
“The Threepenny Opera”Music by Kurt Weill
Book by Bertolt Brecht
English adaptation by Marc Blitzstein
Oct 11-21, 2007
Laurie Theater, Spingold Theater Center
Directed by Eric Hill
WALTHAM, Mass. – The first production of the Brandeis Theater Company’s (BTC) 2007-08 season could be considered a “theatrical homecoming.” Marc Blitzstein’s English adaptation of the legendary “The Threepenny Opera” premiered at Brandeis 55 years ago, and in celebration an intimate new production of the musical will run from Oct. 11-21 in the Laurie Theater.
“We are delighted to have the opportunity to stage this important musical theater piece on the same campus where it made its historical American debut over a half century ago,” said Eric Hill, the Barbara Sherman ('54) & Malcolm L. Sherman Professor of Theater Arts. “It is interesting to note that Barbara Sherman worked on this premiere production when she was a student here at Brandeis.”
To mark the anniversary and legacy, Hill is directing the BTC production of this sardonic and daring classic about the urban underground and the business of being bad.
The story was written by John Gay in 1728 with his “Beggar’s Opera.” Two-hundred years later, German dramatist Bertolt Brecht and composer Kurt Weill created a daring and dark musical adaptation of Gay’s work called “The Threepenny Opera.” In 1952, Marc Blitzstein’s English translation of the play premiered at Brandeis under composer Leonard Bernstein’s baton as conductor. The show featured actors Lotte Lenya and Jo Sullivan and became a regular on American stages.
The late New York Times theater critic Brooks Atkinson wrote, “The Threepenny Opera turns the accepted values of the good life upside down.” Notorious bandit and womanizer Macheath secretly marries Polly Peachum, the daughter of the boss of London’s beggars, and pays the price as he is chased by the elder Peachum, the police and the women he has loved and left. During the coronation of Queen Victoria, London’s beggars, prostitutes and thieves use their collective power to scheme and blackmail for their own devious purposes. The show features an unforgettable score including "Mack the Knife" and "Pirate Jenny."
Nationally acclaimed scenic designer and Brandeis faculty member Karl Eigsti leads a design team of Brandeis students, faculty and alumnae with a compelling new look at this theatrical legend. During the run of performances, an exhibit of Eigsti’s many designs will be shown in the Dreitzer Gallery, located in the Spingold Theater Center.
The creative team includes musical director Steven Bergman, choreographer Avital Asuleen ‘06, costume designer AmEla Baksic MFA ’95 and lighting designer and faculty member Michael Chybowski.
The production is made possible through generous support from the Robin, Barbara and Malcolm L. Sherman Endowment for the Performing Arts.
Ticket Information
Tickets are available through Brandeis Tickets at 781-736-3400 (option 5). For more information visit www.brandeis.edu/btc.
About the Brandeis Theater Company
The Brandeis Theater Company is the production and performing ensemble comprised of the students, guest artists, faculty and staff of the theater arts department at Brandeis University. Through progressive and challenging programming in a unique and dynamic setting, students and professionals work together to create cutting edge theater promoting multiculturalism alongside of artistic achievement. Under the artistic direction of Eric Hill, their productions offer outstanding performances and high quality designs presented in the intimate theaters of the Spingold Theater Center.