Before we begin, I must highlight that I’m not an unbiased writer, though I try to be. My twin brother was the lead, and many friends were in the cast. Nevertheless, we proceed.
“There will be no moralizing tonight.” Au contraire, dear Threepenny Opera. There was moralizing galore. There was social commentary. There was political commentary. There was a whole lot of stuff that happened. This is my take on the eleven-plus hours I spent in LPAC over the past weekend.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with Bertolt Brecht’s “Threepenny Opera,” the 1928 German “play with music” follows Captain Macheath (played by James Shelton ’28, my brother), a man who is as familiar with manipulating and antagonizing as I am with the Star Wars saga, through the deep and dark underbelly of a city that is “beyond morality.” He marries Polly Peachum (Annie Hauze ’27), the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Peachum (Ari Froelich ’28 and Kit Knapp ’27, respectively), who begin plotting his demise. He has sexual relationships with most of the characters in the show, which eventually lead to his attempted public execution. That is, until the LEADER emerges victorious from the audience to save Macheath from a grisly hanging, awarding him, first, the Presidential Medal of Honor, second, pardoning for his crimes, and third, one million dollars per year for the rest of his life.
This show was electric in every sense of the word. It was a combination of the excellent acting you come to expect from Swarthmore theatre and Jennifer Peacock’s adapted punk rock soundtrack reminiscent of Green Day’s anti-war and anti-violence album “American Idiot.” As a theatre kid who loves rock music, this performance scratched an itch that I didn’t know I had. I also appreciated the contrast of the brighter, more conventional theatre vocals in some songs sung by the Peachum women compared to their and Macheath’s other songs. The anger and rage found in punk music translated perfectly into a story where every character feels they have been left behind. Of course, the use of punk rock doesn’t inspire any sort of criticality as it has never been used to critique society at any point … at all … ever …
The set was a white building with large neoclassical pillars and made use of the orchestra pit lift to bring scene pieces onto the stage — something that constantly made my jaw drop. This white building, again, is definitely not meant to make you consider any potential parallels between the show and our world … at all …
My favorite throughline was the use of microphones in each song. Every time somebody would sing, the appearance of a rock and roll microphone with a stand for each singer wasn’t far off. The focus would almost immediately shift to the singers as the microphone screamed for attention, emphasizing their selfish nature. They only care about me! me! me!, so of course they would act as the frontman in their own band even if there are others who are singing with them. Every character views themself as above the others and treats the rest of the cast as such, so of course they would be the lead singer in their life and treat everybody else as if they were a bassist.
The lighting and sound design were just as exquisite. At the end of the show, the dark musicality, red wash, and often violent nature of the sounds produced created a violent and cruel end (so we thought) for the violent and cruel Macheath and the reversal of the betrayal onto the Captain.
I sat in all three major sections of the house and found the best spot for the viewing experience was (of course) house center in the front row. You aren’t in the action as much as you could be, but you can see the whole show and understand everything that happens beautifully. However, my favorite seat of the four shows was house left in the left section in the front row’s rightmost seat, where I was pulled onto the stage by an enthused Macheath to kick and dance with him briefly on closing night. The cast also interacted with those in the wings frequently, and I (as an audience member) could see everything from a closer angle. House right was an excellent experience for some scenes, and less so for others. For example, when Mrs. Peachum would sing on the house right balcony, behind my seat, I couldn’t easily see the actors. But for other scenes, I was interacted with much more than on house left.
I only had one criticism, and that was about the on-stage barricades. As a resident of Maryland who has been to D.C. recently, they were an everpresent reminder of the world that is right down the beltway. In other words, they were excellent for the vibes of preventing people from thriving in the world. However, these would be placed right in front of the house right and left seats, causing awkward viewing angles for the audience. It also caused an often awkward neck movement to see what was going on by looking over the metal bar on top or through the vertical metal bars.
Overall, I was highly impressed with the professionalism of the performance, and I’m not saying this just because my twin was in the play. Despite varying audience participation in a show that often depends heavily on the audience’s interaction, the entire cast maintained high energy and excellent performances throughout all four shows, with my favorite being the second one. As someone who has acted in many productions, it’s incredibly difficult to maintain that same level of energy and excellence for all four performances, so hats off to the entire cast and crew for their performance.
The show was an indirectly scathing critique of the world we live in. We didn’t need to see a man dressed in a blue blazer, khakis, a white shirt, a red tie, and too much spray tan to understand how the show relates to our country. Macheath isn’t meant to be a photocopy of that certain man. It just so happens that that certain man is so despicable in his acts and beliefs that he’s nothing more than a rich Macheath. Why do we absolve the LEADER of their pardoning of Macheath when they affirm his actions as correct and the way they should be? Is it because the leader is in a written position of power? Is it because we choose to believe that those who are in power are gods? Are they above the rest because of their power? Their money? Or am I just crazy?
I am. Because they told me there was nothing to this show! They told me there will be no moralizing tonight.
But maybe we should moralize after the curtain falls.
