Dear Girls and Boys,if you have the chance to get to Arlington, Virginia, in the next two weeks, please visit Signature Theater and get tickets to see the Bertholdt Brecht classic "Three Penny Opera."
The first song will blow your hair back. Delivered by the sultry actress playing Jenny, the hapless, mistreated prostitute, the song "Mack the Knife" assumes a new slow and deep lovely pace.
The play features two absolutely fabulous performances: the afore-mentioned Jenny and Macheath, aka, Mack the Knife.
His frenetic movements bring dynamism to every scene, which provide counterpoint to Jenny's frozen expression of sorrow.
The contrast is considerable.
The stage set is amazing as well, with a hydraulic jail that comes and goes.
The singing chops of the cast cannot be topped, including those of Polly, Mack's wife.
The men in the audience enjoyed the provocative underwear--the prostitutes don't seem to ever put on anything new except for spike shoes.
Rated R+. :)
By the way, the action is set in the near future with Prince William's coronation in London, although the original was written in Germany in 1940.
Your theater enthusiast,
Patsie