For more information call:

Frank Theatre, 612.724.3760, info@franktheatre.org

Frank Theatre presents the Brecht/Weill masterpiece

THE THREEPENNY OPERA,?

April 11-May 4, 2014 at The Southern Theater

"Who is the bigger criminal, the man who robs a bank or the man who founds a bank?"

Minneapolis, MNFrank Theatre will present the Kurt Weill-Bertolt Brecht masterpiece, THE THREEPENNY OPERA, April 11-May 4, 2014, at the Southern Theater, 1420 S. Washington Ave, Minneapolis, MN 55454. Performances are Thur-Sat at 8:00 PM and Sunday at 2:00 PM. Featuring musical notables Bradley Greenwald (Macheath), Janis Hardy (Mrs. Peachum), Gary Briggle (Mr. Peachum), Vern Sutton (Street Singer), Molly Sue McDonald (Jenny Diver) and others, the show will be directed by Frank Artistic Director Wendy Knox with musical direction by Sonja Thompson, choreography by Wynn Fricke, set design by Joseph Stanley, lighting by Karin Olson and costumes by Kathy Kohl, stage managed by Spencer Putney. Tickets can be purchased at http://www.franktheatre.org; reservations and information at (612) 724-3760.

Written in 1928 as an opera for beggars, THE THREEPENNY OPERA changed the course of opera and musical theatre. Based on THE BEGGARS OPERA, written by John Gay in 1728, THREEPENNY dispensed with the traditional operatic form in favor of cabaret and the sound of 1920s Berlin dance bands as reflected in Weills jazz-based score, and added a sharp political perspective and Brechts biting text to create a work that became one of the most influential works of the century. The opening number, Mack The Knife, has become one of the most recorded songs of all time.

Set in the Victorian underworld of London just as the Queens coronation is about to take place, THREEPENNY is populated with cynical prostitutes, petty thieves, con men and corrupt officials, and revolves around the notorious criminal Macheath, known as Mack the Knife. Macheath has married Polly Peachum, much to the ire of her father, Jonathan Peachum, who runs a shop renting costumes for panhandlers. When Peachum threatens to have Macheath arrested, Polly reveals that Macheath and Chief of Police Tiger Brown served in the army together and that they are cronies. Mrs. Peachum bribes a former lover of Macheaths to turn Macheath in and he ends up in jail. He manages to escape and Brown is forced to arrest him again. The ending of the play, in a brilliant parody of an operatic deus ex machina, has the Queen pardon Macheath in a delightfully grandiose finale.

Frank Theatre is a professional theatre company committed to producing unique work which stretches the skills of the artists who create the work while simultaneously challenging the everyday perceptions of the audience through the exploration of ideas and issues of social, political and/or cultural concern. Frank Theatre is a Twin Cities' based company, founded in 1989 by Artistic Director Wendy Knox. THE THREEPENNY OPERA caps our 25^th anniversary season. Frank Theatre has staged over 50 productions including an Ivey-award winning MISTERMAN by Enda Walsh, our acclaimed production of CABARET, an original adaptation of Kafkas METAMORPHOSIS, David Sedaris SANTALAND DIARIES, Judith Thompsons PALACE OF THE END, Marina Carrs By the Bog of Cats at the Guthries Dowling Studio, and an Ivey-award winning production of The Pillowman; Frank has also staged Bertolt Brechts Mother Courage and Her Children, Suzan-Lori Parks Venus, Carson Kreitzers The Love Song of J. Robert Oppenheimer, Marc Blitzsteins The Cradle Will Rock and others. More information is available at www.franktheatre.org.

ABOUT THE PERFORMANCES

Performance Schedule 4/11/14 - 4/13/14

Friday 4/11/14, 8:00 Opening (Tickets $25-$27)

Saturday 4/12/14, 8:00 Curtain (Pay-what-you-can, Suggested Minimum $10)

Sunday 4/13/14, 2:00 Curtain (Tickets $23-$25) (Post-show discussion)

Performance Schedule 4/17/14 - 4/20/14

Thursday 4/17/14, 8:00 Curtain (Tickets $23-$25)

Friday 4/18/14, 8:00 Curtain (Tickets $25-$27)

Saturday 4/19/14, 8:00 Curtain (Tickets $25-$27)

Sunday 4/20/14, 2:00 Curtain (Tickets $23-$25) (Post-show discussion)

Performance Schedule 4/24/14 - 4/27/14

Thursday 4/24/14, 8:00 Curtain (Tickets $23-25)

Friday 4/25/14, 8:00 Curtain (Tickets $25-$27)

Saturday 4/26/14, 8:00 Curtain (Tickets $25-$27)

Sunday 4/27/14, 2:00 Curtain (Tickets $23-25) (Post-show discussion)

Performance Schedule 5/01/14 - 5/04/14

Thursday 5/01/14, 8:00 Curtain (Tickets $23-$25)

Friday 5/02/14, 8:00 Curtain (Tickets $25-$27)

Saturday 5/03/14, 8:00 Curtain (Tickets $25-$27)

Sunday 5/04/14, 2:00 Curtain (Tickets $23-$25) (Closing)

# # #