How do you revive a show by Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill in the wake of Urinetown? Very carefully! Given that Urinetown is a hilarious parody of this seminal style of musical theater (among other styles), there is the danger that contemporary productions of actual Brecht-Weill works might induce unwanted giggles from those who have been regaled by the antics of Officer Lockstock, Little Sally, and cohorts. But that danger is skillfully avoided in the Williamstown Theatre Festival's current production of The Threepenny Opera.

Upon entering the mainstage theater at Williams College in western Massachusetts, we see a large set piece (designed by John Conklin) on which is painted a fragmented [...]