Word: brecht
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...leaves the Loeb to make way for the Summer School Repertory Theater's next production, Odets's Awake and Sing! One of those faceless people in the Harvard bureaucracy sent The Crimson an anonymous note pointing out that it was "bullshit", to say that the local production of the Brecht-Weill play drew unanimous praise. That's probably true, but it is also probably true that our correspondents' mother wears army boots. In any case, the show at the Loeb is undeniably excellent and it would be a shame to miss it before it closes tomorrow night. This evening...
...Threepenny Opera continues its smash run at the Loeb this week. Everyone who sees this production of Brecht's masterwork praises it, and about the only fault to be found with the whole show is that some of the actors aren't up to snuff as singers. So what? The Summer Rep has reportedly realized all the political potential of the play, and that alone is reason enough to go see it. Shows tonight thru Thursday begin at 8; for the next two days admission is $4.95, the price goes up a buck on Thursday...
...direction is intelligent, fluid, and painstaking. The orchestra, under Arthur Finstein's musical direction, is as successful as the singers it accompanies. Linda Martin's costumes enhance the personality of each character, and Zack Brown's ingenious set has only one troublesome flaw: A screen showing the descriptions Brecht wrote for each scene--a means of emphasizing that the drama existed in the performance and not in the accident of suspense--is impossible to read from the lower rows or the side sections...
...Threepenny Opera is often cited for its lyrical and musical inventiveness, qualities which the Loeb production brings to the fore. But the lasting power of the play lies in the persistence of the problems which were paramount to Brecht's political concerns--the perversion of human character by poverty and exploitation, the evils of monied power, and the shallowness of middle class virtue in capitalist society. The themes of his musical are broad, stark, and important--and all the more forceful for the Repertory's outstanding performance...
...Threepenny Opera, premier production of the Harvard Summer School Repertory Theater's 1974 season, begins its first weekend of performances tonight and tomorrow. It's hard to imagine this professional production of the Bertolt Brecht classic being very bad. For the official line see Peter Shane's review which appears elsewhere in this issue. The curtain goes up at 8 p.m. tonight; tomorrow's show starts at 9. The Loeb is charging $5.95 a head for the weekend performances, so you may do well to wait for one of the cheaper weekday showings...