Seattle Shakepeare Company's artistic director Stephanie Shine continues a highly successful 20th anniversary season with a new production of a tricky musical, The Threepenny Opera.
This Grand Guignol of a script, based on the 18th century Beggar's Opera, serves as an emotional granddaddy to such entertainments as Sweeney Todd. Unabashedly savage in its critique of society's woes, its cutthroat crew of characters cheerfully inform the audience that anyone could turn to begging, murder, theft, or prostitution if faced with an empty belly.
Catching up with Shine after opening night, she discussed why Seattle Shakespeare decided to produce its first musical, an artistic gamble that increased the company's normal production costs by approximately 25% but has already payed off in increased ticket sales. As per one Seattle Shakespeare employee, the company made its ticket goals for The Threepenny Opera before the show opened last week.
As the artistic director of Seattle Shakespeare Company what inspired you to select a play that isn't Shakespeare?
The need for artistic expansion, a perfect actor, and necessity!
While planning for our 20th Anniversary, I wanted to offer our audiences something that would challenge and excite all of us as a promise to push ourselves into new territory with classic plays. My friend and colleague, Gregg Loughridge suggested doing the Beggar’s Opera and that brought The Threepenny Opera to mind. I knew that it hadn’t been produced professionally in Seattle for nearly thirty years, so it seemed that our community might appreciate the opportunity to experience it.
We have an actor in our company, John Bogar, who was born to play Mack the Knife. I wouldn’t have put the play in our season if John wasn’t there to anchor the cast.
Now that Mackie's back in town (after an absence of 30 years), how do you hope audiences will react?
I hope they will marvel and delight in Weill’s score and be moved by Brecht’s unique storytelling craft. I think the direct addresses that characters share with the audience will remind them of Shakespeare and I’m hoping they feel comfortable enough to interact when called upon.
Why switch from your regular venue at the Center House to Intiman?
We are at the Intiman because of our shared living arrangement at the Center House theatre with Book-It. There was not enough time in the calendar year to provide both companies with the number of weeks needed to produce our full seasons around other Seattle Center festival events. So we went looking for another theater on the Seattle Center Campus that might allow us to use their space. Intiman is dark during late winter and the staff was very receptive to the idea of hosting us.
The Intiman is more than twice the size of our cozy Center House Theatre, but we thought Threepenny Opera could withstand the space and increased capacity, recognizing that Brecht and Weill would have an appeal all of their own and that we would draw new audiences. The folks at Intiman have been extraordinary hosts, amazingly generous and supportive.
As the director of the play, what are the key moments or emotions that you want your actors to convey to your audience?
I was emotionally driven throughout this process by the context in which the play was written. To honor that, I devised a framing devise that I hope will heighten the audiences appreciation for the courage Brecht and Weill had to write and produce this play when they did. Debuting in Germany in 1928, this play will be outlawed by Hitler in1933. [In Shine's production] the artists are protesting in a remarkable way, by touching people’s consciences and hearts, asking them to examine their society. Remembering this will illuminate a modern audience’s reaction and will give the play the great weight it deserves.
We often speak of the issues being faced by Shakespeare's characters still being relevant and universal. It's why it can be so easy to update a play like Hamlet or Othello to a contemporary setting. Does The Threepenny Opera have the same qualities?
I think the fabric all the characters are living within this play are more universal than what an individual character might be facing. Unlike a Shakespeare play where we recognize ourselves in the characters and their actions, the characters in Threepenny may seem foreign to us. What we will recognize, and what is painfully relevant, are the corrupt social underpinnings of the society Brecht depicts for us along with his urgent plea for us to wake up, be aware, and ultimately do something about our situation.
I definitely heard the audience laughing and commenting on the number of jokes centered the bankers grinding down the poor! The characters at times seem to be commenting as much on our own recent economic crash as the one that Weil and Brecht experienced in Germany – or maybe that’s why a show like this remains topical today?
The characters themselves seem to live in two realities. The first they inhabit within the play with other characters. The second has them step outside the action of the play and comment to the audience about the action. As a result, we may not have compassion for the people living in [the first reality], but we will care about our society.
The show has an amazing score. Taking "Mack the Knife" off the table, what is your favorite song in this musical? And why?
That is like asking which child is my favorite! The entire score dances in my head continuously. I have been humming several of the tunes for weeks now because they are that intoxicating. In the forefront of what I can’t stop humming are the Army Song and the first act finale (the World is Mean). Both tunes are heavily rhythmic and playful with very dark lyrics.
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The Threepenny Opera is currently playing at Intiman Theatre at the Seattle Center. Find out more at Seattle Shakespeare's website. The show closes March 6 and early ticket reservations are recommended.
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