1954 Off-Broadway Revival Cast, Bertolt Brecht - The Threepenny Opera (1954 New York Cast) (Blitzstein Adaptation)

Set the stage for the entire VIetnam protest era!

I happen to think this is a grand performance and the Blitzstein lyrics right on target, but forget all that for a moment and consider this:

This Theater de Lys program captivated a young and very hip New York City audience for three significant years---from 1954 to '57. There are two basic elements here that I find terribly important.

First, the essentially hostile attitude of the performers toward their public. When I saw it I recall the musicians coming out and actually thumbing their noses at the audience. Hey Mick Jagger, were you there by any chance? I assumed this was part of the atmosphere of the first production in Berlin back in the pre-Nazi Weimar days. But why was that relevant to New Yorkers in the "silent generation" 1950s?

Secondly, there is the basic concept around which the entire work is constructed---The poor, the hopeless, the great unwashed, taking to the streets in all their wretchedness to confront and seek to embarass and humiliate the establishment (read U.S. federal government instead of British Royalty). And of course the goal is to make it coincide with an important establishment politicaal event: Coronation Day.


Does anyone still remember the opening of the New York World's Fair in the mid-sixties? THe reverend Al Sharpton's threats of violence in the streets meant almost no one turned out to see or hear Lyndon Johnson's appearance at the World's Fair site.

Given the time frame, this version of the Threepenny Opera was more than prescient. It helpled create the methodology for the anti-war and pro-civil rights demos that followed just a few years later. Quite an achievement for an off broadway version of a 30 year old German musical comedy! December 18, 2007

Hollywood showbiz

Don't be fooled by the featuring of Lotte Lenya great though her Pirate Jenny may be. This is a sanitised showbiz version of Brecht which fails entirely as satire or political comment. December 7, 2007

Worth much more than Threepenny

This production showcased the brilliance of Mr. Brecht, Miss Lenya, and Mr. Blitzstein. It also perfectly captured a slice of 1954 that was not well known-something dark, dramatic, humanistic and thoughtful. I remember my parents coming home after seeing this production, totally entranced. They immediately bought this album, and I wore it out over the years-thank goodness for CDs! May 8, 2007

A classic returns

I've been looking for this CD for years (I played my LP to groovy death). I'm overjoyed. It's conventional wisdom these days to knock the Blitzstein translation of Dreigroschenoper as tamer than the Brecht original. So what we get instead are closer to Brecht's literal meaning and a long way from his wit. Blitzstein is the only translator so far to actually produce decent lyrics in English. His translation is freer, in both senses of the word, though it's still pretty close to Brecht. Furthermore, it actually gets the blood racing. Add to this a terrific performance, headed by Weill's widow, keeper of the flame, and one of the greatest actress of the 20th century, Lotte Lenya and including Jo Sullivan, Bea Arthur, John Astin, a host of others, and a crisp, brash chamber ensemble, all wonderfully seedy, and you have the finest English recording of this visionary score. February 6, 2007

Still the best

I read other reader's reviews that were critical of the audio, but I didn't find any problem with it. I had the LP since my college days -- 50 years ago now. I loved it then and I love it still. The sardonic lyrics can be chilling and they are delivered perfectly. Don't miss this one. It is unique. November 10, 2006

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