The Good Old Days - 1925 - West End Articles Page 5

Filled with colorful criminals, biting social satire and a brilliant score, The Threepenny Opera opens International City Theatre's 2009 Season at the Long Beach Performing Arts Center. Jules Aaron directs Michael Feingold's translation of the trailblazing musical by Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill that became one of the most influential plays of the 20th Century. Darryl Archibald is musical director and Kay Cole choreographs the five-week run February 20 through March 22; low-priced previews begin February 17. First performed in 1928, Brecht and Weill's The Threepenny Opera was a revolutionary musical theater masterpiece that mocked the bourgeois political movement of pre-Hitler Germany. Brecht's brittle, sardonic tale of beggars, thieves and prostitutes, adapted from the 1728 play The Beggar's Opera by John Gay, was a fierce social and political critique, and Weill's innovative score that fused American jazz with German cabaret captured the ironic tone of the lyrics. Part acid social criticism, part bittersweet romance, the now eighty-year old saga of 'Mack the Knife' and his entourage of criminals and whores has never lost its theatrical punch. 'It's a satire on capitalism and corruption told from the viewpoint of the 'little people',' notes Aaron. 'If there was ever time to revive this show, it's now. Michael [Feingold]'s translation is earthy, gritty and very funny. I think it's going to strike a chord with audiences.'

The Donmar Warehouse will present Piaf by Pam Gems. The cast will feature Shane Attwooll, Phillip Browne, Lorraine Bruce, Luke Evans, Michael Hadley, Katherine Kingsley, Leon Lopez, Stuart Neal, Elena Roger, Steve John Shepher. The director is Jamie Lloyd with set design by Soutra Gilmour, lighting design by Neil Austin, sound design by Christopher Shutt and original composition by Ben and Max Ringham. Nigel Lilley is the musical director. The show will run from August 8th - September 20th with an official opening on Wednesday August 13th .

The Donmar Warehouse will present Piaf by Pam Gems. The cast will feature Shane Attwooll, Phillip Browne, Lorraine Bruce, Luke Evans, Michael Hadley, Katherine Kingsley, Leon Lopez, Stuart Neal, Elena Roger, Steve John Shepher. The director is Jamie Lloyd with set design by Soutra Gilmour, lighting design by Neil Austin, sound design by Christopher Shutt and original composition by Ben and Max Ringham. Nigel Lilley is the musical director. The show will run from August 8th - September 20th with an official opening on Wednesday August 13th .

The Mint Theater Company will present the little-seen Rose Franken play Soldier's Wife, which will open on February 23rd

An up close and personal chat with the creative team of 'Waiting For The Moon,' a new musical journey about F. Scott Fitzgerald and Zelda Sayer.