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The Threepenny Opera
Reviewed by Vanessa Cate
A Noise Within
Through May 17
Even if you’re not familiar with the revolutionary writer Bertolt Brecht, who with composer Kurt Weill penned The Threepenny Opera, you might be familiar with “Mack the Knife,” the iconic Brecht-Weill murder ballad that has been represented in countless musical covers over the years, from Bobby Darin to Frank Sinatra to Sting.
Mack the Knife, or Macheath (Andrew Ableson) is a no-good, low-down, two-timing criminal. And boy does he revel in it. The play’s opening song (the famous ballad) tells us a little of what we need to know about Macheath. And when we find him next, he’s in a barn, about to marry his latest lover Polly Peachum (Marisa Duchowny). Polly doesn’t seem to mind the marriage ceremony, despite the company of some unsavory characters dining on stolen food upon stolen silverware. Rather it seems to be enough for her to consummate the marriage.
Meanwhile, her parents Jonathan Jeremiah Peachum (Geoff Elliot) and Mrs. Peachum (Deborah Strang) are worried sick about their missing Polly. But not for the reason you may think. Mr. and Mrs. Peachum have their business to run — enlisting London’s beggars for a hearty portion of their profits, and outfitting them with elaborate costumes set to tug at the heartstrings of passersby. The disappearance of Polly is bad for business.
Polly is not alone in her affections for Macheath. Joined by the luscious Jenny Diver (Stasha Surdyke) and Lucy Brown (Maegan McConnell), emotions and hormones rage. Macheath also has Chief of Police Tiger Brown (Jeremy Rabb) under his thumb. But with the Peachums determined to have him hang, how will Mack the Knife fare?
This production, directed by Julia Rodriguez-Elliott & Geoff Elliott, is pure epic theatre. Using Brecht’s signature placards and style, the directors effectively deliver the desired Verfremdungseffekt for the audience. And even if you have still somehow found yourself emotionally submersed in the play, by the end’s deus ex machina, you certainly won’t be. This is the goal, allowing for intellectual ruminations to prevail.
Yet it is difficult at times to stay on board A Noise Within’s Marxist roller coaster. The staging is brisk and beautiful enough — with handsome costumes by Angela Balogh Callin, lighting by Ken Booth, and a wonderfully utilitarian and whimsical set by Frederica Nascimento that is gorgeous to look at. Likewise, the music, under DeRaeau K. Farrar’s direction is catchy and memorable. But very often the lyrics are difficult to understand. And as the language is the lifeline to the piece, even amid scenes of colorful scoundrels and hookers — and in spite of the Brechtian emotional detachment — any lack of clarity is problematic.
However, the play ultimately succeeds on the levels of atmosphere and style. From the moment you walk into the theater, you are submerged into the deep end of a grimy capitalistic rut. And any opportunity to experience Brecht with the full commitment and audacity that he deserves is enough reason to go.
A Noise Within, 3352 East Foothill Blvd. Pasadena; in repertory through May 17. (626) 356-3100, ANoiseWithin.org
