UT Dept Of Theatre And Dance Presents THE THREEPENNY OPERA 2/18-2/27

The University of Texas at Austin Department of Theatre and Dance presents the 20th century musical theater milestone, The Threepenny Opera, written by Bertolt Brecht with music by Kurt Weill and directed by third-year MFA in Directing candidate, Halena Kays. In a story told with live music and biting social commentary, Mack the Knife is on the prowl through London with the help of the city's most virtuous whores and upstanding thieves in this raucous, outrageous, and salacious musical.

When: February 18, 19, 24, 25, 26 at 8 p.m. and February 20, 27 at 2:00 p.m.

Where: Oscar G. Brockett Theatre in F. Loren Winship Drama Building (WIN) at the intersection of 23rd Street and San Jacinto.

Tickets: $20 public, $17 faculty/staff and seniors, $10 students. Now on sale at the following authorized ticket outlets: Bass Concert Hall Box Office, most H-E-B stores and all Texas Box Office outlets, online at www.TexasPerformingArts.org, or by calling 512-477-6060 or 800-982-BEVO.

Background: When creating, The Threepenny Opera, after John Gay's The Beggar's Opera, composer Kurt Weill (1900-1950) and playwright Bertolt Brecht (1898-1956) transformed saccharine, old-fashioned opera and operetta forms by blending sharp political perspective with the sounds of 1920s Berlin dance bands and cabarets. Weill's acid harmonies and Brecht's biting texts generated a revolutionary new musical theater inspiring Broadway hits like, Cabaret, Chicago, and Urinetown.

"The Threepenny Opera is funny and smart and sexy," describes director, Halena Kays. "It brings up important questions about poverty, capitalism, and human nature, but does so in a playful way. It also has songs that are beloved, like the show's opening number, "Mack the Knife".

Halena Kays is a third-year MFA directing student at the University of Texas at Austin Department of Theatre and Dance where she most recently directed the premiere of Erin Philiips' The Death of Beth and a new adaptation of The Trojan Women. For UT New Theatre (UTNT) she directed the premiere of Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig's award-winning drama, Lidless; and conceived, co-wrote and directed 101 Ways to... for The 2009 University Co-op Presents the Cohen New Works Festival.

The Threepenny Opera

Play with music after John Gay's The Beggar's Opera, in Three Acts
Music by Kurt Weill German translation by Elisabeth Hauptmann; adaptation and lyrics by Bertolt Brecht
English translation of the dialog by Robert MacDonald
English translation of the lyrics by Jeremy Sams
Used by arrangement with European American Music Corporation, agent for The Kurt Weill Foundation for Music, Inc., and agent for the Estate of Stefan Brecht

For more information on the UT Department of Theatre & Dance, please visit finearts.utexas.edu/tad/.