When The Threepenny Opera premiered in Berlin in 1928, reaction to it was swift and mixed. The initial response was rather dismal, but the work quickly caught on with the public and it became a tremendous success for its creators, author Bertolt Brecht and composer Kurt Weill.

But while it resonated with its audiences, contemporary composers such as Arnold Schoenberg had no kind words to say about it. Schoenberg felt that Weill had sold out to popular taste because of his use of jazz idioms and rhythms and catchy, hummable tunes. Schoenberg, an innovative composer and the creator of twelve-tone technique, dismissed The Threepenny Opera as a triviality. “He [Weill] brought back 3/4 time,” he reportedly said. But that’s exactly where the work’s strength lies — Weill’s music made the social/economic/political thread of the story appealing through music people could relate to. It wasn’t high brow art for the likes of Schoenberg and others, but it nevertheless captured the social decay that the Weimar Republic was on the eve of Hitler’s ascent to power.

Denny Berry (Photo: Courtesy of University of Utah)

And The Threepenny Opera still strikes a chord today. Its message is timeless and it has never fallen out of favor with the public, either in the United States or around the world. “There have been lots of revivals over the years,” said Denny Berry, head of the musical theatre program at the University of Utah. She noted that a few years ago there was a revival in New York that starred Cyndi Lauper and Alan Cumming and just this past March, again in New York, there was another production, this time with F. Murray Abraham.

The Threepenny Opera comes to the U. starting this weekend, directed by Berry. It runs through Nov. 23.  “It was my idea to do it,” she told Reichel Recommends. It’s been hard work but it’s also been rewarding. “I have a fabulous music director and it’s been fun working with [set designer] Dan Evans. I’ve had a wonderful time working on it and telling the story.”

The story is a reworking of John Gay’s The Beggar’s Opera from 1728 and focuses on Macheath, a murderer and thief. And while The Threepenny Opera is today considered a masterpiece of social commentary, it’s origins were less lofty.  “A producer came to Brecht and asked him to come up with something,” Berry said, adding that he only had a few months to create a new work. “He was rushed to get something together.” He turned to The Beggar’s Opera, a show he always wanted to do. He had it translated into German and he and his translator, Elisabeth Hauptmann, turned it into The Threepenny Opera (Die Dreigroschen Oper in German).

“Brecht considered it an entertainment, more music hall than theater,” Berry said. And even though Brecht was first and foremost a playwright, he nevertheless understood that music could be used to enrich spoken theater. “He was the first to take serious ideas that typically were told through words and used music to enhance the ideas that theater tried to impart.”

And in Weill, Brecht found a like minded collaborator who was able to “make the music fit the words,” Berry said.

Berry and Evans decided not to place the work in any particular time period. “The elements in the story – human greed and manipulation – transcend time. The story doesn’t need a specific time.”

The piece will be performed in English, in Marc Blitzstein’s translation from the early 1950s. “Blitzstein’s translation is closer to the feel and intention of the German original,” Berry said. Blitzstein worked with Brecht and knew his work intimately. In addition to The Threepenny Opera Blitzstein also translated and adapted the Brecht/Weill musical play The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny and Brecht’s play Mother Courage and Her Children.

Since Macheath is a hefty role and central to the story, Berry decided to bring in a professional actor and engaged Mark Fossen to play him. “He has a lot of charm and humor,” Berry said. “He is a wonderful leader and can rally the troops.” The other roles will be played by students.

Berry hopes the audience will enjoy itself. “It’s going to be a fun evening. The story is told in a unique way. It’s unpredictable, and it’s true to Brecht’s intentions.

“Come and live with these people for two and a half hours.”

• PERFORMANCE DETAILS
• What: The Threepenny Opera by Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill
• Venue: Babcock Theatre
• Time and Date: 7:30 p.m. Nov. 7-9, 13-16, 20-23, also 2 p.m. performances Nov. 15-16, 22-23
• Tickets: $18 general, $15 seniors/ U. faculty and staff/military and their immediate families, $8.50 students with I.D., free for U. students with Arts Pass
• Phone: 801-581-7100
• Web: www.kingsburyhall.utah.edu