July 21 - August 20
Thursday shows August 10 & 17
"Pay What You Will" Preview July 20

NOTE:
ALL SHOWS BEGIN AT 8:00PM
(Fri, Sat, Sun and Thursdays)

WITH: Christina Acero, RJ Castaneda,
Cynthia Deere, Richard DeVicariis, John
Downey III, Jeremy Gable, Troy Guthrie,
Scott Keister, Abbe Loomer, Jessica Lynch,
Jason Lythgoe, Karen Merrill, Kimberly K.
Mitchell, Terri Mowrey, Martine Park,
Samantha Smith, Marissa Thompson.

Photos by Darcy Lythgoe

In The Threepenny Opera, Captain Macheath (Mack the
Knife), head of The City’s underworld, marries Polly
Peachum, daughter of Jonathan Peachum, who controls
The City’s beggars.  Mr. Peachum retaliates by trying to have
Macheath hanged. This is complicated by the fact that the
chief of police, Tiger Brown, is an old friend of MacHeath’s.
Under pressure from Peachum, he puts out a warrant for
Macheath, who has gone visit Low Dive Jenny and the
whores. Betrayed by Jenny, Macheath faces the gallows
and ignomious end.

Perhaps Brecht and Weill’s most famous collaboration,
The Threepenny Opera, was written in 1928.
A condemnation of Weimar republic decadence and the
failures of capitalism, Threepennny is a reworking of John
Gay’s The Beggar's Opera, and contains Weill’s most
famous song, “The Ballad of Mack the Knife” as well
as such memorable works as “The Army Song” and
“Pirate Jenny.”

The Threepenny Opera broker box office records in it
original Berlin run, 1928-1933. Blitzstein’s English adaptation
opened Off-Broadway at the Theater de Lys on March 10,
1954 and ran for six years and 2,611 performances, becoming
one of the longest-running musical shows in the history of
American theater at the time.   Weill’s wife Lotte Lenya won
the 1956 Tony as best featured actress in a musical, and Bea
Arthur made her Broadway debut in the role of Lucy Brown.

THE HUNGER ARTISTS THEATRE COMPANY’S
10^th ANNIVERSARY SEASON CONTINUES WITH
BERTOLT BRECHT AND KURT WEILL’S MASTERPIECE
THE THREEPENNY OPERA
July 21-August 20, 2006

FULLERTON, CA –  The Hunger Artists Theatre Company’s 10^th Anniversary Season continues with Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill’s darkly comic musical masterpiece of greed and corruption The Threepenny Opera, in an adaptation by Marc Blitzstein co-directed by Shannon and Kelly Flynn, with musical direction by P. Matthew Park, July 21-August 20, 2006. Jason Lythgoe as Mack the Knife heads an all-star ensemble cast that includes Christina Acero, RJ Castaneda, Cynthia Deere, Richard DeVicariis, John Downey III, Jeremy Gable, Troy Guthrie, Scott Keister, Abbe Loomer, Jessica Lynch, Karen Merrill, Kimberly K. Mitchell, Terri Mowrey, Martine Park, Samantha Smith and Marissa Thompson.

Shawn Fiddler designs lights for The Threepenny Opera. Set design is by David Scaglione. Brenda Scaglione designs costumes. Jill Johnson and Christina Acero design sound. Choreography is by Susy Davis. Jessica Topliff serves as production stage manager, assisted by Brey Barrett. Jeremy Gable serves as Associate Director

Bertolt Brecht (1898-1956) was one of the most influential and controversial theatre artists of the 20^th Century.  From his earliest works, Brecht was convinced that theatre could be a powerful tool to inspire people to take action against the injustices of the economic and political systems around them.  He devised a revolutionary critique of contemporary theater and utilized a variety of techniques and devised to provoke, unsettle and alienate his audiences.

Kurt Weill (1900 –1950) was a German Jewish composer active from the 1920s who left Germany for Paris before eventually settling in America and becoming a US citizen. He was a leading composer for the stage, frequently collaborating with Brechta. He also wrote a number of concert works.

                                Christina Acero …...… Beggar, Molly

RJ Castaneda ……....... Bob the Saw, Beggar, Smyth

Cynthia Deere ……….. Dolly

Richard DeVicariis ...... Mr. Peachum

John Downey III …...... Beggar, Matt

Jeremy Gable ……...… Balladeer, Filch, Rev. Kimball, Smith

Troy Guthrie ……...…. Tiger Brown

Scott Keister ……...…. Crook Fingered Jake

Abbe Loomer ……...... Beggar, Betty

Jessica Lynch ……..... Coaxer #1

Jason Lythgoe …..….. Captain Macheath (Mack the Knife)

Karen Merrill ………... Mrs. Peachum

Kimberly K. Mitchell... Walt, Beggar

Terri Mowrey …….…. Low Dive Jenny

Martine Park ……….... Coaxer #2

Samantha Smith …...... Polly Peachum

Marissa Thompson ….. Lucy Brown