Nothing could be more dramatic than the current mayoral election, but an upcoming adaptation of The Threepenny Opera, set against the backdrop of a NYC mayoral inauguration, might come close.
The Band's Visit co-stars Katrina Lenk and George Abud will reunite on stage in a bold, contemporary adaptation of Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill's classic musical, premiering Off Broadway next year. Titled 3Penny Opera and conceived and directed by Abud, the musical will run January 15–25, 2026, at The Theatre at St. Jean’s on the Upper East Side.
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First staged in Berlin in 1928, The Threepenny Opera follows the exploits of charming yet ruthless criminal Macheath (aka Mack the Knife), whose marriage to Polly Peachum, the daughter of a powerful beggar king who controls the city’s panhandlers, leads her outraged parents to plot to have him arrested and hanged. As the story unfolds, the lines blur between criminals and supposedly respectable citizens.
With its biting satire and unforgettable score, The Threepenny Opera is a razor-sharp critique of corruption, capitalism, class warfare and moral decay. Abud's 3Penny Opera puts that anarchic, in-your-face energy in today's New York City, where those themes may never have felt more relevant, especially when viewed through the lens of immigration and power politics.
Lenk, a Tony winner for The Band’s Visit, will play Jenny, while Abud stars as Macheath, the outlaw whose romantic entanglements and moral ambiguity ignite the story’s class conflict. The cast also features Tony nominee Barbara Walsh as Polly Peachum, alongside Paula Gaudier (Paula/Young Polly), Mahira Kakkar (Tiger Brown) and Aline Salloum (Mrs. Peachum).
Music director Jake Landau will oversee new orchestrations and additional lyrics, and the show will feature choreography by Brianna Mercado and costume designs from Raul Luna. Additional casting and the rest of the creative team will be announced at a later date.
Off-Brand Opera commissioned the adaptation from Abud, and it promises to bring a (possibly painful) new relevance to a musical that never seems to age as much as we might hope it will. Expect songs like “Pirate Jenny” and “Mack the Knife” to ring out with fresh meaning.
Tickets for the limited run of 3Penny Opera will go on sale soon.
