Casting Surprise

I like to get to shows early.  I generally get to shows early enough to memorise the playbill.

Not quite, but I like to see who's going to be in the show (never anyone I know), what's going to be in each act/scene, who's doing the songs (if it's a musical; if it's not, I skip that part). 

I look at what the actors have done before ~ sometimes they're pretty amusing as opposed to a bland CV.  I usually stop before I get to who's donated how much, but, well, sometimes I get there pretty early and look for long-lost relatives (not so much).

So I sat up straight when I saw the cast for Threepenny Opera:

First I noticed the woman playing a male and female (Jimmy and Nelly) role.  That's not that unusual in a small cast.  Ms Thorne played a gang member and one of the prostitutes.

Then I noticed Lucy and Ned being played by Rick ~ that's more unusual.  And Lucy is not a minor role, although one of the more-clothed cast members (I did mention prostitutes, right?): she's one of Macheath's previous wives (he seems to have had several and it's unclear if he's had any proper divorces).  Lucy was a key part of Act II and she sang a duet with Polly (the next Mrs Macheath).

And even from row 3, I didn't pick out Lucy as a "Rick."  I was pretty impressed and it added to my enjoyment of the afternoon.  "Jimmy" was more obvious ~ he was definitely the shortest gang member and dressed in a more androgynous manner than the rest of the gang.

The closest parking garage to the theatre connects it to a supermarket.  The first time I was at Signature I parked there and picked up some groceries afterwards.  When I returned to my car, the cast was in the same garage, heading towards theirs.  I was tempted to hang around "backstage," as it were, to see if I could catch up with Lucy, but it seemed unlikely and I did have a possible deadline for un-Megging.

The full cast and music is below.

it is enlargeable