BROADWAY SNAP-SHOT
by Russell Bouthiller
Dateline: MARCH 30, 2006
THE THREEPENNY OPERA
The Spring chapter of the 2005-2006 season has offered up lots of brand name recognition and star-driven revivals. New shows like THE WEDDING SINGER, LESTAT and TARZAN aim to capitalize on household titles with a perceived built-in fan base. And, the smash hit, THE PAJAMA GAME, has been pulling in boffo box office with the jazzy Harry Connick, Jr., crooning familiar tunes while baring his perky pecs. Pecs are in this year.
One of the most anticipated revivals of the season is the Roundabout Theatre Company's production of the Kurt Weill/Bertolt Brecht musical, THE THREEPENNY OPERA, starring Alan Cumming, Jim Dale, Ana Gasteyer, Cyndi Lauper and Nellie McKay. Directed by Scott Elliott, this tale of London low-lifes relies heavily on the sleaze factor to make its mark.
Based on John Gay's 18th Century "The Beggar's Opera." this new translation by Wallace Shawn takes on a decidedly 21st Century flavor with a nod the heyday of the house in which it plays, Studio 54. Directed stylistically by Scott Elliott, bisexuality, transvestitism and vulgarity fit snuggly into this gangland setting while flash and sparkle illuminate the Brechtian milieu.
As the menacing gang leader, Macheath, Alan Cumming gives a performance reminiscent of his winning role as the Emcee in CABARET. Playing a punkish outsider, Macheath offers a bit more bully than the floorshow figure in the Kander and Ebb musical, which doesn't really do much to broaden Cumming's repertoire. Still, he has a uniquely strange persona which serves to communicate Weill's haunting sounds effectively.
Sporting a wild shock of platinum curls, Cyndi Lauper gives the freak's stamp of approval as the prostitute, Jenny, especially when delivering the stirring "Solomon's Song" in the second act. Her round face and porcelain complexion read like a Botero image as she basks in Jason Lyons' blunt, effective lighting.
Ana Gasteyer of SNL fame rolls off some of the best numbers as Mrs. Peachum, particularly "The Ballad of the Overwhelming Power of Sex." Cinched into a Chanel-styled suit and coiffed like Tippi Hedren, she struts the boards with a robust confidence and blows a powerful set of pipes.
Tony-winner Jim Dale plays Mr. Peachum with the swagger of the old English music halls. He draws the biggest response with his limber interpretation of what is known in this production as "The Song of Inadequacy of Human Striving." As daughter Polly, Nellie McKay enthralls us with numbed reading of the naive waif.
Elliott's read on this time-honored piece adds lots of contemporary flare to Brecht's approach where social commentary takes precedence over character empathy. That THE THREEPENNY OPERA hails from a bygone day, it forces us to measure the relevance of a message from another era to our own, particularly with the intended lack of emotional connection.