History Theatre / TheThreePennyOpera

-> You're about to hear an opera for beggars. And because this opera was created so glamorously, the way only beggars can dream something up, and because it should still be so cheap that only beggars would pay for it, it's called ''The Threepenny Opera''.

* WordOfGay: Yes, Brown loves Mack.

* LighterAndSofter: English translations of the ''Moritat'' tend to erase the verses that describe Mack the Knife's more heinous crimes, like statutory rape and an arson that killed seven children.

* EightDeadlyWords: All of the characters are intentionally unsympathetic.

* HumansAreTheRealMonsters: "What Keeps Mankind Alive"

* KnifeNut: MacHeath

* Eight Deadly Words: All of the characters are intentionally unsympathetic.

* ''{{Watchmen}}'', which was hugely influenced by "Music/PirateJenny" and includes its own analysis of Brecht's work.

The play has been notoriously misinterpreted by audiences worldwide, who consider Macheath the ''good guy''. As a TakeThat, Brecht went on to write the scathingly satirical ''[[TheThreepennyNovel Threepenny Novel]]'' (1934), in which Macheath's popularity [[GodwinsLaw is compared to that of Hitler]] and Polly is madly in love with the idea of a suave, gorgeous Macheath (and sorely disappointed when he turns out to be a old bald bastard).

''Die Dreigroschenoper'' is BertoltBrecht and KurtWeill's DarkerAndEdgier adaptation of John Gay's ''Theatre/TheBeggarsOpera''. Despite the title, [[NonindicativeName it's a musical]].

The play has been notoriously misinterpreted by audiences worldwide, who consider Macheath the ''good guy''. As a TakeThat, Brecht went on to write the scathingly satirical ''Threepenny Novel'' (1934), in which Macheath's popularity [[GodwinsLaw is compared to that of Hitler]] and Polly is madly in love with the idea of a suave, gorgeous Macheath (and sorely disappointed when he turns out to be a old bald bastard).

The only problem in his plan is Jonathan Peachum, who not only hates Macheath, but will do ''anything'' to get his daughter back -- after all, she's valuable goods, and he's invested a lot of time and money in her proper upbringing. Peachum devises a plan to blackmail Tiger Brown and convince him to arrest Macheath. Since the Queen is due to visit London, Brown has his hands full trying to keep the beggars off the streets. Which Peachum decides to use to his advantage in blackmailing Brown: imagine thousands of beggars, crawling out of the gutters, crowding around the Queen...

Theatres also tend to completely ignore Brecht's stage directions: he specifically wrote that Macheath needs to be old and ugly, Polly needs to come off as virtuous and agreeable, Mr. Peachum is not a miser but simply a nihilist, and the Queen's messenger absolutely needs to be on horseback in order to stress that his appearance is a parody of classic bourgeous opera endings. Instead, Macheath tends to be handsome and young in most productions, Polly is commonly portrayed as a gangster moll, Peachum is portrayed as a miser, and the horse is nowhere to be seen. (Nowadays, even Brecht's own theatre in East Berlin performs the play this way.)

For a complete German recording of ''all'' of the play's songs, the 1999 all-star [[http://www.amazon.com/Kurt-Weill-Threepenny-Opera/dp/B00001R3MQ Berlin performance]] with Music/NinaHagen is probably the best place to start.

* KavorkaMan: Macheath is an unattractive cutthroat, physically abusive and, as Brecht described him, "bald, old, humorless, with a face like a radish". Still, women seem to throw themselves at him. Modern ensembles (including Brecht's own ensemble in Berlin) instead cast young and attractive actors for the part.

* ''{{Watchmen}}'', which was hugely influenced by "Music/Pirate Jenny". (Moore has said that the Jenny-story is meant to mirror both Rorschach's estrangement from humanity and Jon "marooning himself" on Mars, and most of all, [[spoiler: Ozymandias' destruction of New York]].)

Theatres also tend to completely ignore Brecht's stage directions: he specifically wrote that Macheath needs to be old and ugly, Polly needs to come off as virtuous and agreeable, Mr. Peachum is not a miser but simply a nihilist, and the Queen's messenger absolutely needs to be on horseback in order to stress that his appearance is a parody of classic bourgeous opera endings. Instead, Macheath tends to be handsome and young in most productions, Polly is commonly portrayed as a gangster moll, Peachum is portrayed as a miser, and the horse is nowhere to be seen.

The play has been notoriously misinterpreted by audiences worldwide, who consider Macheath the ''good guy''. Theatres also tend to completely ignore Brecht's stage directions: he specifically wrote that Macheath needs to be old and ugly, Polly needs to come off as virtuous and agreeable, Mr. Peachum is not a miser but simply a nihilist, and the Queen's messenger absolutely needs to be on horseback in order to stress that his appearance is a parody of classic bourgeous opera endings. Instead, Macheath tends to be handsome and young in most productions, Polly is commonly portrayed as a gangster moll, Peachum is portrayed as a miser, and the horse is nowhere to be seen. As a TakeThat, Brecht went on to write the scathingly satirical ''Threepenny Novel'' (1934), in which Macheath's popularity [[GodwinsLaw is compared to that of Hitler]] and Polly is madly in love with the idea of a suave, gorgeous Macheath (and sorely disappointed when he turns out to be a old bald bastard).

The play has been notoriously misinterpreted by audiences worldwide, who consider Macheath the ''good guy''. Theatres also tend to completely ignore Brecht's stage directions: he specifically wrote that Macheath needs to be old and ugly, Polly needs to come off as virtuous and agreeable, Mr. Peachum is not a miser but simply a nihilist, and the Queen's messenger absolutely needs to be on horseback in order to stress that his appearance is a parody of classic bourgeous opera endings. Instead, Macheath tends to be handsome and young in most productions, Polly is commonly portrayed as a gangster moll, Peachum is portrayed as a miser, and the horse is nowhere to be seen. As a TakeThat, Brecht went on to write the scathingly satirical ''Threepenny Novel'' (1934),in which Macheath's popularity [[GodwinsLaw is compared to that of Hitler]] and Polly is madly in love with the idea of a suave, gorgeous Macheath (and sorely disappointed when he turns out to be a old bald bastard).

The play has been notoriously misinterpreted by audiences worldwide, who consider Macheath the ''good guy''. Theatres also tend to completely ignore Brecht's stage directions: he specifically wrote that Macheath needs to be old and ugly, Polly needs to come off as virtuous and agreeable, Mr. Peachum is not a miser but simply a nihilist, and the Queen's messenger absolutely needs to be on horseback in order to stress that his appearance is a parody of classic bourgeous opera endings. Instead, Macheath tends to be handsome and young in most productions, Polly is commonly portrayed as a gangster moll, Peachum is portrayed as a miser, and the horse is nowhere to be seen. As a TakeThat, Brecht went on to write the scathingly satirical ''Threepenny Novel'' (1934),in which Macheath is compared to Hitler and Polly is madly in love with the idea of a suave, gorgeous Macheath (and sorely disappointed when he turns out to be a old bald bastard).

The play has been notoriously misinterpreted by audiences worldwide, who consider Macheath the ''good guy''. Theatres also tend to completely ignore Brecht's stage directions: he specifically wrote that Macheath needs to be old and ugly, Polly needs to come off as virtuous and agreeable, Mr. Peachum is not a miser but simply a nihilist, and the Queen's messenger absolutely needs to be on horseback in order to stress that his appearance is a parody of classic bourgeous opera endings. Instead, Macheath tends to be handsome and young in most productions, Polly is commonly portrayed as a gangster moll, Peachum is portrayed as a miser, and the horse is no where to be seen. As a TakeThat, Brecht went on to write the scathingly satirical ''Threepenny Novel'' (1934), which has Macheath taking on an explicit Hitler-like role and Polly being madly in love with the idea of a suave, gorgeous Macheath (and sorely disappointed when he turns out to be a old bald bastard).

The play has been notoriously misinterpreted by audiences worldwide, who consider Macheath the ''good guy''. As a TakeThat, Brecht went on to write the scathingly satirical ''Threepenny Novel'' (1934), which has Macheath taking on an explicit Hitler-like role and Polly standing in for his fawning fanbase.

* ''{{Dogville}}'', an even DarkerAndEdgier re-telling of ''PirateJenny'', directly quoting from it.
* ''{{Watchmen}}'', which was hugely influenced by ''PirateJenny''. (Moore has said that the Jenny-story is meant to mirror both Rorschach's estrangement from humanity and Jon "marooning himself" on Mars, and most of all, [[spoiler: Ozymandias' destruction of New York]].)

* PirateGirl: Becoming this is part of Jenny's fantasies of revenge on society for her miserable life, about which she sings the song [[PirateJenny "Seeräuber-Jenny"]].

For a complete German recording of ''all'' of the play's songs, the 1999 all-star [[http://www.amazon.com/Kurt-Weill-Threepenny-Opera/dp/B00001R3MQ Berlin performance]] with NinaHagen is probably the best place to start.

* ''TheThreepennyOpera'' by NickCave, starring [[SerkisFolk Andy Serkis]] (upcoming).

* HoYay: Mack and Brown. Brecht has admitted that it's on purpose: Brown's love for Macheath is what keeps him going, but it's damaging to his job as a keeper of the peace.