BWW Reviews: Wonderful Cast Brings Brecht to Providence in Wilbury Group's THE THREEPENNY OPERA

For many, if not most, plays and musicals are an escape. It is a way for audience members to lose themselves in the dark of the theater and in the lives of the people on stage. Plays are, for them, entertainment, a way to connect with other human beings and feel what they feel, laugh or cry along with them. Then go home and forget all about it. That is not the case with the plays of German dramatist Bertolt Brecht, whose play The Threepenny Opera is currently running at The Wilbury Theatre Group.

For the uninitiated, Brecht developed his own unique style, known as "Epic Theatre." He also created a type of theatrical presentation that is referred to as "Brechtian" to this day. For Brecht, the audience shouldn't identify emotionally with the characters in a play, they shouldn't get lost in the play and it's emotional, fictional tale. Rather, they should stay at a distance from the play and its characters. They should remain removed from the action and reminded that what they are watching is not real; it's just a representation of reality. The purpose of this, for Brecht, was to get audiences to think critically about what they were seeing, to watch a play with their heads, rather than their hearts, and reflect intellectually on what they were watching.

In this way, Wilbury Group's production is a resounding success. Threepenny is a musical that is almost jarring to watch. From a booming voice that introduces every scene to a literal deus ex machina at the play's end, the audience is taken out of any belief that what they are watching is reality. There are moments when the characters break into songs or speeches that come almost out of nowhere, halting the action and breaking any emotional power that the previous scene might have had. The audience is constantly pushed to stop and wonder, "Wait...what is going on? What does this all mean?" And for Brecht, and The Wilbury Group, that is the point.

While Director Josh Short clearly has an affinity and a talent for Brechtian devices, he also has at his disposal a fine group of actors. They are led by the always reliable Tom Gleadow as Mr. Peachum, the sinister "businessman" who controls all of London's beggars. Gleadow's larger-than-life persona fits the character perfectly and his comic talents are put to brilliant use. He's also adept at the moments that require him to switch from that comic touch to a wonderfully sinister touch of evil.

Peachum's wife is played equally well, and with her own brand of sinister, by Phyllis Lynne. Lynne has dialed up the crazy for this role but it works. She, like Gleadow, has the singing voice for the part and she is able to create a hilarious yet horrible person in Mrs. Peachum, a character you may love to hate.

The Peachums are out to get the play's real central character, Macheath, a notorious criminal who has married their daughter. David Tessier brings an interesting interpretation to the complex "Mack the Knife." Tessier is never really threatening or scary; it's hard to imagine people being afraid of him. His version of Macheath is played mostly for laughs, which maybe exactly what the actor and director had in mind. Everything Tesssier does, and most of the production, has a vaudeville feel to it, and Tessier easily fits the vaudevillian bill. Overall, the performance doesn't always work but Tessier is a charming and charismatic actor who can carry the role and has good chemistry with the ensemble around him.

Messier's most important chemistry is with Christine Dickinson, as his wife, and just one of his lady loves, Polly Peachum. Dickinson and Messier are wonderful together, a sort of power couple. Dickinson is really one of true finds in this production. She is a wonderfully talented actress who has great comic chops as well as an excellent singing voice. Her rendition of the song "Pirate Jenny" is a rousing and entertaining moment and her scene with Lucy Brown, another love interest of Macheath's, is the highlight of the show.

Lucy Brown is played by the biggest scene stealer in the ensemble, Katie Travers. When she and Dickinson get together, as two wronged women competing for the love of one bad man, it's perfect theatrical teamwork. Hell hath no fury like these two. Travers also has one of the best voices in the show, something she doesn't get to demonstrate often enough, although she doesn't disappoint when she does.

The rest of the ensemble does a nice job as well, in stock characters ranging from corrupt cop to the hooker with a heart of gold. None of them really develop into fleshed out human beings, there's nobody we ever really get to know. Then again, the audience isn't really supposed to get to know and care about these people. We're supposed to think about all the wrongs being done to them and how the world they live in is awful and unjust. Most importantly, we're supposed to realize that their world is also our own.

The Threepenny Opera runs from May 23 through June 8 at The Wilbury Theatre Group, 393 Broad St., Providence, RI. Tickets:$20-$25; preview performances (May 23-26) just $20. Discounts for seniors and students available. Tickets at 401-400-7100 or thewilburygroup.org/buy-tickets.

Pictured (L to R): Tom Gleadow, Christine Dickinson & Phyllis Lynne. Photo by Brian Gagnon

To post a comment, you must register and login.