A Noise Within's THE THREEPENNY OPERA and JULIUS CAESAR Enter Final Weeks

A Noise Within (ANW), the acclaimed classical repertory theatre company, presents the final weeks of its 2015 Spring repertory season with The Threepenny Opera, Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill's groundbreaking theatrical work in Michael Feingold's translation (which has become the most popular production in the history of A Noise Within), now playing through May 27, the Los Angeles Times Critic's Choice Figaro by Charles Morey, freely adapted from Le Mariage de Figaro by Beaumarchais in its West Coast premiere now through May 10, and the Ovation-Recommended Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare, in its final extension through May 24.

Julia Rodriguez-Elliott, Co-Producing Artistic Director said, "This spring, we sought to bring two large-scale works together. The result is REVOLUTIONRep, whose centerpiece productions, The Threepenny Opera and Julius Caesar, are two large-scale plays, presented with a personal setting and approach." Co-Producing Artistic Director, Geoff Elliott, said about the record-breaking The Threepenny Opera, "This lavish production, which featured a seven-piece orchestra, a play whose message is as topical today as it was when first produced,, and a crackerjack cast, twice exceeded our sales goals. While it's rare that we produce musicals, the show fit so perfectly into our seasonal theme, that it practically demanded inclusion." Broadway World said of the production, "The cast is excellent ... leaves a lasting impression. See it!"

The Los Angeles Times said the A Noise Within's West Coast premiere of Charles Morey's Figaro is "a hoot! 18th-century subversion meets Larry David lunacy in FIGARO. Ingenuity permeates this buoyant adaptation of Beaumarchais' classic account of one crazy day at the Almavivas', circa 1784 or 2015, take your pick. This ensemble that knows just how far to push for laughs and gets them, resulting in a knee-slapping blast." Rodriguez-Elliott added, "This sparkling play brought many first-time patrons to our theatre. Presenting what one patron called a 'fabulously fresh' new version of this Beaumarchais gem in many ways reflects our commitment to make the classics come alive."

A Noise Within's production of Julius Caesar was hailed as "Magic... powerful...compelling," by the Los Angeles Times. This production resonates with all audiences, but especially the student groups. Education Director, Alicia Green explains, "It was wonderful to see how not only adults, but our many student groups, grasped the relevance of this 'power play' to the times in which we live. From a personal perspective, this show, which has also enjoyed an extended run, included many of our resident artists, all of whom turned in deeply affecting performances that are among their very best ever."

Single ticket prices for The Threepenny Opera Figaro and Julius Caesar start at $40. Contact the A Noise Within box office in person, via phone at 626-356-3100, or online at www.ANoiseWithin.org for updated pricing and seat availability. A Noise Within is located on the corner of Foothill Boulevard and Sierra Madre Villa Avenue at 3352 East Foothill Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91107.

Additionally, The Good Person of Szechwan by Bertolt Brecht in collaboration with Margarete Steffin and Ruth Berlau, will be read, directed by Stephen Rockwell, as part of the A Noise Within Words Within Resident Artists' Play Reading Series on Wednesday, May 6 at 7pm. (The reading will take place at East-West Players in Downtown LA, as part of the two companies' ongoing partnership.)

For tickets and more information, visit www.anoisewithin.org or call 626-356-3100 ex 1. Single Tickets from $40; Student Rush with ID an hour before performance $20. Groups (10 or more): Adults from $25; Students from $18. Pay What You Can Performance: Pay What You Can tickets (first Thursday preview) go on sale at the box office window the day of the performance, starting at 2pm, and are sold on a cash-only basis based on availability; limit of two tickets per person.

The Threepenny Opera debuted in Berlin in 1928. Threepenny is nothing short of a groundbreaking work of what is now termed Brechtian Theatre, in which the full use of theatricality is on display and the fourth wall is broken; the audience is aware they are watching a play, a reaction to a previous, more naturalistic approaches to stage works.

When first produced, the musical challenged the audience's notions of how songs could be used to tell a story, and the characters' ostensible amorality was thought unworthy of expression in song. A Noise Within last produced The Threepenny Opera in 1997.

An adaptation of The Beggar's Opera by John Gay, Threepenny is a forerunner of modern musical theatre that follows the exploits of Macheath, Victorian London's most notorious criminal, surrounded by a stage full of rogues, foisting a radical new brand of theatre with music (in America Show Boat would have just premiered, and Oklahoma! would still be 15 years away) on audiences. Threepenny was not just rebellious in form, but also in content highlighting the failure of capitalism and celebrating socialism.

The plot begins as Macheath (Mack), the nastiest criminal in London, marries Polly Peachum, the daughter of Peachum, the boss of London's beggars, who gets a cut of their take for training them. Mack for his part has eluded jail due to his longtime friendship with "Tiger" Brown, the chief of police, whose daughter also has designs on Mack. A visit to a brothel, Peachum unleashing his beggars to ruin Queen Victoria's coronation, Mack arrested, put in jail and up for execution, and a surprise ending all figure into the story.

The cast of The Threepenny Opera features Andrew Abelson* as Macheath, Geoff Elliott* as Jonathan Jeremiah Peachum, Deborah Strang* as Mrs. Peachum, Marisa Duchowny* as Polly Peachum, Jeremy Rabb* as Jackie "Tiger" Brown, Stasha Surdyke* as Jenny, Maegan McConnell* as Lucy, and E.K. Dagenfield as Filch, along with ensemble members. *Denotes member of Actors' Equity

Figaro by Pierre Beaumarchais (freely adapted by Charles Morey) is an adaptation of the second of the three Figaro plays penned by a member of French royal court, Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais; Lorenzo Da Ponte later adapted the work as the basis of the beloved Mozart opera. Beaumarchais, a French playwright, watchmaker, inventor, musician, diplomat, and revolutionary, played small but incendiary roles in both the American and French revolutions.

The Marriage of Figaro, the sequel to the playwright's The Barber of Seville, was initially passed by the censor in 1781, but was soon banned from being performed by Louis XVI. Queen Marie-Antoinette lamented the ban. The King finally lifted the ban in 1784 and the play was enormously popular, even with aristocratic audiences.

The play's denunciation of aristocratic privilege foreshadows the French Revolution. The New York Times said, "Most people know the plots of the two Beaumarchais plays from their respective operatic adaptation. Both pieces follow the same gleefully warring cast of boorish aristocrats and quick-thinking servants, but the farce has a dark side that's savagely vivid in the originals. Marriage, which had its premiere in 1784, seethes even more harshly with the class resentments that boiled over in the French Revolution just a few years later."

The cast includes Jeremy Guskin* as Figaro, Angela Sauer* as Suzanne, Andrew Ross Wynn* as Count Almaviva, Elyse Mirto* as Countess Almaviva, Jeanne Sakata* as Marceline, Joshua Wolf Coleman* as Antonio/Bazile/Bridoison, Alan Blumenfeld* as Dr. Bartholo, Will Bradley* as Cherubin/Doublemain, and Natalie De Luna as Fanchette. *Denotes member of Actors' Equity

Julius Caesar, a tragedy by William Shakespeare, is believed to have been written in 1599 and is one of several plays by Shakespeare including Coriolanus and Antony and Cleopatra that are based on true events from Roman history. The central psychological drama of the work is Brutus' struggle between the conflicting demands of his honor, patriotism and friendship. The main source of the play is Thomas North's translation of Plutarch's Lives. It is thought that the play reflects the general anxiety of Elizabethan England over the succession of leadership, anticipating the death of Elizabeth I.

A play of shifting civic tides, paranoia, and betrayal, Julius Caesar (last produced by the company in 2005) is a tense thriller steeped in civil war and the unending quest for power. Brutus, in concert with a cabal of senators fearing for the future of the Republic, slays its one true threat, Julius Caesar, but underestimates his power as emperor. The assassination throws the Republic into chaos and leads to the first Triumvirate. This play demands that its viewers consider just how far revolution can be taken. Though in Julius Caesar it is taken to the ultimate degree -- assassination.

Julius Caesar's close friend Brutus is cajoled into joining a group of conspiring senators because of a rumor started by Caius Cassius that Caesar intends to turn republican Rome into a monarchy. Brutus argues with Cassius and struggles with his own conscience. The growing tide of public support soon turns Brutus against Caesar. A soothsayer warns Caesar to "beware the Ides of March"; ignoring the soothsayer as well as his wife's own premonitions, Caesar goes to the Senate.

Caesar, predictably, rejects a superficial petition, and Casca first stabs Caesar in the neck, and others follow in stabbing him; Brutus is the last. At this point, Caesar utters the famous line "You too, Brutus?" Mark Antony's speech over Caesar's corpse deftly turns public opinion against the assassins and rouses the mob to drive them from Rome. Next Brutus attacks Cassius for accepting bribes; the two are reconciled, especially after Brutus reveals that his beloved wife Portia has committed suicide; and they prepare for war with Mark Antony and Caesar's son, Octavius. That night, Caesar's ghost appears to Brutus with a warning. At the battle, Cassius and Brutus knowing they might die, smile a last smile to each other. However, Brutus wins that battle but Cassius dies -and with a heavy heart, Brutus battles again the next day. He loses, committing suicide by falling on his own sword.

The cast of Julius Caesar includes Robertson Dean* as Brutus, Patrick O'Connell* as Julius Caesar, Rafael Goldstein* as Marc Antony, Freddy Douglas* as Cassius, with Joe Sofranko*, June Carryl*, Deborah Strang*, Eric Curtis Johnson*, Alison Elliott, Jill Hill*, E.K. Degenfield*, and Abubakr Ali in various roles. *Denotes member of Actors' Equity

A Noise Within, founded in 1991, is among the country's pre-eminent presenters of classical theatre and is the leading presenter of these plays in Southern California. The company's mission is to produce world-class performances of the great works of drama in rotating repertory with a resident company; to educate and inspire the public through programs that foster an understanding and appreciation of history's great plays and playwrights; and to train the next generation of classical theatre artists.

Originally based in a former Masonic Temple in Glendale, the company moved to its present home -- a building of architectural distinction designed by Edward Durrell Stone of Kennedy Center fame -- in 2011. Helmed by Producing Artistic Directors Geoff Elliott and Julia Rodriguez-Elliott, who hold MFAs from San Francisco's American Conservatory Theatre, A Noise Within delivers a seven-show repertory season and a wide range of educational programs to diverse audiences from Los Angeles County and well beyond. Voted "Best Theatre" by readers of Time Out Los Angeles and recommended by readers of Pasadena Weekly, A Noise Within is indeed "California's Home for the Classics."

Photo Credit: Craig Schwartz

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