Because we all know how well Marxism worked out

[el_gato_de_mono]

Anna and I went to see "Threepenny Opera" at Rice today, and it was superb. Strong cast, strong pit, well lit, well directed, well costumed, the whole nine yards. Patrick's sunglasses and hat as a blind beggar get a special mention, because they are awesome. I see a photo of him wearing them posted on Facebook, but it doesn't do it justice

Comments

[el_gato_de_mono]

I figured the dialogue was updated, and I know the costumes are supposed to be period, but again, I felt like the music, characters, and tone of the show were modern, and I figured those were all part of the original intent.

Now that you mention it, I have absolutely no idea what Nazi economic policies were all about. *wikipedias* I am intrigued by the description, "In response to the instability created by the Great Depression, the Nazis sought a Third Way managed economy that was neither capitalism nor communism." Under economic policy, they did list a bunch of reasonable sounding goals like lowering unemployment, preventing hyperinflation and improving living standards. They /also/ list substantial rearmament, and then go on to say, "Underlying economic policy was the use of terror as an incentive to agree and comply. Nazi language indicated death or concentration camp for any business owner who pursued his own self interest instead of the ends of the State." Lovely.

None of that seemed to have anything to do with the show, which didn't really suggest an alternative to the whole "nasty, brutish, and short" thing. How would state involvement help people when it seems well established in the play that you can't trust state actors any more than run-of-the-mill cutthroats? It seemed more nihilistic than Nazi-istic. Or maybe it's just soooo depressing that good ol' Adolf started to seem like a nice guy in comparison.