Seattle Shakespeare Company Revives THE THREEPENNY OPERA

After being absent from Seattle's professional stages for almost 30 years, Seattle Shakespeare Company revives Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill's landmark musical The Threepenny Opera for 14 performances at the Intiman Theatre. Artistic Director Stephanie Shine directs this dark satire about the exploits of the notorious criminal Macheath (Mack the Knife). Hailed by Newsweek as "the greatest musical of all time," the work contains several numbers that have achieved popularity beyond the stage, including the iconic "Mack the Knife."

Tickets are available now through the Seattle Shakespeare Company Box Office at 206-733-8222 as well as online at www.seattleshakespeare.org.

The Threepenny Opera is a savage and biting commentary on capitalism and modern morality. Mack the Knife is a dapper criminal who leaves a trail of broken hearts and slashed throats wherever he roams. The dashing thieves, saucy prostitutes and scheming entrepreneurs of Mack's seedy underworld trade in love, sex, murder and theft in order to survive in a society spinning out of control.

In 1928 dramatist Bertolt Brecht and composer Kurt Weill updated John Gay's The Beggar's Opera for a restless German audience during the decadent years of the Weimar Republic. The Threepenny Opera revolutionized musical theater by overcoming superficiality and mere storytelling in favor of layering in fierce social and political critique. The lineage of Brecht and Weill's work can be seen in modern musicals such at Cabaret, Chicago and Urinetown.

"I became enamored with this play when I saw two back to back productions in town when I was a student at the University of Washington," says Shine. "I'm interested in the juxtaposition of time in The Threepenny Opera since it was written in 1928 but set in 1837 yet based upon John Gay's The Beggar's Opera that was written in 1728. We'll be playing with layers of time and theatricality while always keeping in mind that we're are artists doing a play. And besides, the music is just fabulous!"

TICKETS: Tickets to The Threepenny Opera are now on sale and range from $15-$40 for adults and $15-$25 for seniors and students. A Pay-What-You-Will preview is on February 16 at 7:30 PM. Discounted tickets are available for groups of ten or more. For ticket reservations, call the Seattle Shakespeare Company box office at (206) 733-8222 or go online at www.seattleshakespeare.org.

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