I didn't know much about Threepenny Opera, except for a few songs ("Tango Ballad," "Pirate Jenny,"
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| The stage, from row C |
The director (producer? screenwriter? who's in charge?) moved the story to the near future, when the queen is retiring and Prince Charles abdicates in favour of William, who will ascend to the throne.
The songs were well done. Polly has a great voice, and showed how great in "Pirate Jenny" and "Barbara's Song." Jenny sang a powerful "The Flick Knife Song" (an alternate translation of the "Mack the Knife" you all know) and a great "Pimp's Tango" with Macheath. That was where I was disappointed. Look up the lyrics to "Pimp's Tango" and "Tango Ballad." They're the same song, but in the former it's clearly a pimp/prostitute relationship; in the latter, it's more of "lovers that went sour" and I like that more.
Other than the setting, the story was pretty much as originally written. But Macheath seemed to be all bark and no bite. I'd give it three stars out of five ~ one for each Penny.
Oh... I wasn't the only t-girl in the theatre.
Speaking as one who does community theater (and has a son in the business), that kind of decision is usually made by the director, with necessary agreement from the producer. Sometimes, it is necessary to pass the changes through the author(s) or their estate. Some--such as the Rodgers and Hammerstein folks--are very protective of the original visions of the creators.
ReplyDeleteMeg....
ReplyDeleteTwice, you've mentioned that you were not the only T-Gal in the audience. What's the secret? Did you know the other lady?
M