Review Excerpts
“’AN ORIGINAL COINING OF ‘THREEPENNY OPERA’’….This is not the prettified, palatable, rousingly sung ‘Threepenny Opera’ we’ve grown accustomed to and its going to antagonize people uneducated in Brecht, like those who booed Monday night’s preview, which I attended…. Randall Duk Kim comes forward as the Streetsinger, wearing a wicked leer and black eyepatch, to rasp out the ‘Moritat’ (‘The Ballad of Mack the Knife’). We are immediately gripped, since Brecht’s alienation (as has often been said) can’t really turn off our emotions….”
–Stanley Eichelbaum, SAN FRANCISCO EXAMINER (4/9/1975)
“’A SAVAGE ‘THREEPENNY’’….As the streetsinger, Randall Duk Kim, a black patch over one eye, looks grand in a traditional British busker’s flashily pearl-buttoned black tails and top hat, but he lacks the essential chained vitality, the insidiously ingratiating force that should set the tone for the production….”
–Judy Stone, SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE (4/10/1975)
“’ACT CAPTURES IRONY OF BRECHT’S CYNICAL PLAY’….Randall Duk Kim opens the stark drama as the Streetsinger weaving his way through a maze of variously shaped cardboard boxes that open ingeniously to present us with surprises. They serve as jails, bordellos, closets, parlors and a stage from which pop hands and props bearing demonstrative evidence supporting the thesis of the songs. Knives, a set of false teeth, a bomb and the body of Mackie’s last victim are contained therein, as the ‘Mack the Knife’ ballad is sung. This is a far cry from the Louis Armstrong version but it has a searing, caustic effect that matches the play’s astringent style….”
–Barbara Bladen, SAN MATEO TIMES
