Kent’s Theatre Battery will present “The Threepenny Opera” on Thursdays through Sundays from Aug. 14-31 at the Kent Station shopping center. All tickets are free.
It’s a social satire musical extravaganza that has reigned for the last century as one of the most famous allegories about capitalism in the world, according to a Theatre Battery press release. The opera, by Bertolt Brecht and Elisabeth Hauptmann, with music by Kurt Weill, tells the story of the notorious criminal Macheath and his secret marriage to Polly Peachum, a woman whose family makes their living exploiting the poorest of the poor.
Theatre Battery’s production will explore a world of desperate beggars, unapologetic thieves, and proud sex workers – and they all sing. Including iconic tunes like “Mac the Knife” and “Pirate Jenny,” Weill’s music will live on in the production as a newly adapted jazz score.
This new translation and cut of the score will be directed by Logan Ellis and music directed by Dan Pardo, with an ensemble cast led by Robert McPherson (aka “The Drunken Tenor”) and Ilia Isorelýs Paulino (HBO’s “The Sex Lives of College Girls”).
The company will perform in an original transformed theater space donated through sponsorship from the Kent Station shopping center, and all admissions will be given to the public at no cost through Radical Hospitality, a term that applies to Theatre Battery removing the ticket price entirely and its aim to reduce barriers to arts participation within the underserved community of South King County. This project is largely supported by 4culture’s Public Free Access Grant and the Doors Open program.
Performances are Aug. 14-31 with preview performances on Aug. 14 and 15 and the opening on Aug. 16. The days and times are at 8 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays and at 3 p.m. Sundays at Kent Station, 438 Ramsay Way, Suite 105, the former Christopher and Banks store. It’s an air-conditioned space with padded seating.
Tickets for each performance can be reserved online through theatrebattery.strangertickets.com, with additional seats released at the door prior to each performance.
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