Review: Macheath, Polly and the Gang Wash Up in Five Points
After all, this show with a libretto by Kate Tarker and music by Dan Schlosberg was billed as a new take on John Gay's 'Beggar's Opera,' which punctured the cultural pretensions of 18th-century London and inspired Brecht's darker indictment of social inequality in 'The Threepenny Opera' (1928).
'Can you afford your rent?'
'No!' the audience shouted back.
'Can you afford health insurance?'
'No!'
'Can you afford to support a lawless, self-serving government of con men?'
This time, the 'no' came out as a roar.
At that point, it almost seemed possible that a revolution might start up right here on this artificial island developed by the billionaire Barry Diller. But as the sun set, the heat drained out of the day and with it the performance. With toothless satire, goofy humor and an absence of memorable tunes, 'The Counterfeit Opera' falls short of its wildly successful historical models.
The closing chorus — 'Class wars repeat. Con men don't sleep. Fight to break the dark spell of a world made of deceit!' — was met with mild-mannered applause and a version of a standing ovation that masks competition for the exits. The meteorological chance of political action breaking out was back to zero.
More unforgivably, perhaps, the piece fails to infuse the material with a distinct New York flavor. Aside from a few quips at the expense of Boston and New Jersey, this self-declared 'Beggar's Opera for a Grifter's City' feels like it could unfold anywhere.
Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Wall Street Journal
22 minutes ago
- Wall Street Journal
Children's Books: ‘Everyday Bean' by Stephanie Graegin
Stephanie Graegin uses observant lines of text and affectionate, detailed illustrations to tell 10 short stories about a tiny hedgehog named Bean in 'Everyday Bean.' Most of the tales in this humane and beguiling collection for children ages 3-7 run no longer than a handful of lines over three or four pages. In one, Bean has great success in spooking other forest creatures by pretending to be a ghost: 'I'm much better at this than I expected,' she thinks. She is looking forward to making her grandmother jump, too, but day turns to night and still Grandma (who is also a hedgehog) has not emerged from the house. Bean eventually shouts her hope that the old lady will come outside. 'Absolutely not!' Grandma shouts from inside. 'There's a ghost out there!' A ghost figures in the cavalcade of horribles summoned at bedtime in the humorous rhyming pages of Huw Aaron's 'Sleep Tight, Disgusting Blob.' In most respects, this lullaby for readers ages 4-8 runs according to type, with a parent ushering a child through the stages of evening ritual—teeth-brushing, bath-taking, pajama-donning—and saying tender things at tuck-in and lights-out. The difference is that the protagonists here are heaps of green slime (with googly eyes and cheery smiles) and the characters the narrator enlists are not winsome animals or cute human children but creepy creatures such as minotaurs, mummies and vampires. 'Closed is the Cyclops's glowering eye. / Steady is the Brain's gentle throb,' we read. 'Settled and snoring is the Beast of the Moor. / Shush now, my horrible Blob.' It will not be to every parent's taste for an author to make light of demons and evil, as Mr. Aaron briefly does here, but the less finicky are likely to relish this entertaining variation on an old nursery staple. A stormy confrontation leads to domestic bliss in 'The Fierce Little Woman and the Wicked Pirate,' a revival of Joy Cowley's 1984 text with new illustrations by Miho Satake. The fierce little woman, as we see her, is a redhead who lives in a house at the end of a jetty. During the day she knits and plays bagpipes. At night she enjoys listening to 'the sea breathing in and out under her door.' When a wicked pirate asks to be allowed into her home, the fierce little woman refuses to admit him. (In earlier editions, this fellow was haughty, pale and Captain Hook-ish; here he is a brawny sea dog with a dark complexion and a big gold earring.) Only when the pirate confesses his fear of the dark does the woman relent, and in short order the two are married. Happy scenes of the husband and wife later gamboling with their three children ('who are never fierce, and only sometimes wicked') give warmth and charm to this picture book for readers ages 4-6.
Yahoo
22 minutes ago
- Yahoo
NHL Fans Absolutely Lose It After Avalanche Sign Brent Burns
NHL Fans Absolutely Lose It After Avalanche Sign Brent Burns originally appeared on Athlon Sports. The Colorado Avalanche officially signed veteran defenseman Brent Burns to a one-year, $1 million deal for the 2025–26 season on July 2. Advertisement The move will see the Avs add one of hockey's most colorful personalities and most durable players to their blue line as they try to launch another push toward Stanley Cup contention next season. Burns, 40, played all 82 games last season for Carolina, logging nearly 21 minutes a night while contributing 29 points and helping the Hurricanes reach the second round of the playoffs. The veteran, who was drafted with the No. 20 pick in the 2003 draft, is entering his 22nd season in the NHL, and has appeared in all 82 regular-season games in all of the last four seasons. Burns' résumé includes 910 points through 1,497 regular-season games, a Norris Trophy award as the best defenseman in the league, and six All-Star appearances. Advertisement The Avalanche, who needed depth on defense, are betting on Burns as a bottom-pairing option and a veteran locker room presence. The reaction to the news of Burns' signing on Reddit was instant and definitely chaotic. "Where the actual (expletive) did this signing come from lmfaoooo," one fan posted. "God this was out of nowhere lol," another account echoed. "Burns looks very confused in the picture... wait, I'm Brent Burns and I don't remember that," another person joked. New Colorado Avalanche defenseman Brent Burns warms up before a Carolina Hurricanes Sabau-Imagn Images "This man is always a Shark to me," one nostalgic user wrote, referencing Burns' best years in San Jose. "Legend of the locker room and hopefully will be the same for the Avs," a Hurricanes fan posted. Advertisement "He's on a 911 Ironman streak at 40. Absolute unit," another user noted. "Fitting he goes to Colorado when he looks like a sasquatch," another joked. "A defenseman that has long waited to have his name on the Cup joining the Avs? That's Joe Sakic's music," another person said about the Avs GM landing Burns. Related: Panthers Not the Favorites in Initial 2026 Stanley Cup Odds Related: Avalanche, Lightning Among Teams Looking to Land 6-Time All-Star This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 3, 2025, where it first appeared.
Forbes
25 minutes ago
- Forbes
‘KPop Demon Hunters' Dethroned In Netflix's Top 10 List By A New Movie
KPop Demon Hunters While KPop Demon Hunters has performed exceptionally on Netflix's Top 10 list, another new Netflix original movie has come along to unseat it. And it is a very, very bad one, by all accounts. That would be The Old Guard 2, the sequel to the 2020 action film that apparently did well enough to warrant a sequel. It was well-reviewed, actually. It had an 80% critic scores and a solid 71% audience score, in the context of Netflix originals, quite good indeed. The Old Guard 2? It's a disaster. The film has a dismal 28% score from critics, a 52% drop, and so far, it's not beloved by fans either where it clocks in with a 43% score. Here's the synopsis of the Charlize Theron thriller: Top 10 The film has drawn in actress Uma Thurman this time around and given her a sword for the first time since Kill Bill, but that isn't enough, and if you liked the first one, you may want to skip this one. What you do not want to skip is KPop Demon Hunters, no matter where it ends up on the Top 10 list or how far it falls. The film is incredible with a 94% critic score and from Sony Animation, the group behind the Spider-Verse movies, and you can tell from the unique animation style here. The movie is so good that its soundtrack is charting high on Billboard, and there's already talk of a sequel given the reception. It's been high on the Top 10 list since its release well over two weeks ago, and I'd say that definitely makes it one of the most successful Netflix original movies we've seen in a while. So, skip The Old Guard 2 (maybe watch the first one, if you haven't) and check out KPop Demon Hunters. I know you will probably not regret either piece of advice. Follow me on Twitter, YouTube, Bluesky and Instagram. Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.
