Hallo kinder! We’re going further than we’ve ever gone before for our thirtieth birthday, back to pre-war Germany and Brecht and Weill’s “The Threepenny Opera.” We learn the differences between Verfremdungseffekt and Gesamtkunstwerk, talk about how torturous times can create form-changing art and reflect on how Brechtian theatre exists today.
The Threepenny Opera – 1954 New York Cast Blitzstein Adaptation
SHOW NOTES
If you’ve only ever listened to the OBC, why not try something new and listen to the RIAS Berlin Symphony Orchestra recording starring Ute Lemper? It’s Jimi’s all time favourite.
Don’t tell Brecht, but you should REALLY listen to ‘Tristan und Isolde’ by Wagner if you haven’t. It’s pretty darn life changing.
After that, continue you on your operatic journey and check out our musical theatre pal Patti LuPone in Brecht and Weill’s ‘The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny’ and then buy the DVD.
Here’s the queen of cabaret, Lotte Lenya, singing one of Jimi’s all-time favourite musical theatre numbers - ‘Pirate Jenny.’ Then have a swatch at Ute Lemper, her contemporary counterpart, doing the same in German. But if you want something completely different, check out Amanda Palmer taking her NSFW take on it! Which do you prefer?
Why was Bob Dylan aroused? It’s a question we ask ourselves every day. Check out this article to find a bit about why!
We’ve not heard from ‘Forbidden Broadway’ in a while, check out their inadvertent pastiche of ‘The Threepenny Opera’ in their ‘Spring Awakening’ spoof!
A SMASHING QUESTION
Which musical caused the events of this quote to occur:“From the outside, I’m sure it sounded like all hell had broken loose in my dressing room, which in fact it had. I was hysterical … I took to batting practice in my dressing room with a floor lamp. I swung at everything in sight — mirrors, wig stands, makeup, wardrobe, furniture, everything. Then I heaved a lamp out the second-floor window.”