Director Carmen Capalbo Dies at 84

Capalbo’s production of the Brecht-Weill classic ultimately ran for 2,611 performances, and in 1956, departing from its practice of honoring only Broadway productions, the American Theater Wing awarded a special Tony Award to the show and Lenya won the Tony for best featured or supporting actress in a musical.

The director’s other Broadway credits are Graham Greene’s The Potting Shed, William Saroyan’s The Cave Dwellers, and Ellick Moll’s Seidman and Son.

Before his success with Threepenny, Capalbo directed plays at the Cherry Lane Theater, including Sean O’Casey’s Juno and the Paycock and Clifford Odets’ Awake and Sing! His later credits include a 1970 production of Brecht and Weill’s The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny, which starred Estelle Parsons and Barbara Harris.

He is survived by a son, Marco; a daughter, Carla; and a sister, Jenny First.