Threepenny Opera to Open April 20 at Studio 54; Cumming, Dale, Falco, McKay to Star

Alan Cumming, Jim Dale, Edie Falco, and Nellie McKay will headline the Roundabout Theatre Company production of Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill’s The Threepenny Opera, to run March 24-June 11 at Studio 54. Directed by Scott Elliott, the show will open officially on April 20. Additional casting will be announced shortly.

An adaptation of John Gay’s The Beggar Opera, the musical is a dark satire of respectable society that brings audiences into the underworld of the dapper criminal Mack The Knife (Cumming) and his wry love affair with Polly Peachum (McKay). The Threepenny Opera premiered on Broadway in 1933 after playing in Germany. It later had a lengthy Off-Broadway run from 1955 to 1961 and was revived on Broadway twice, in 1976 with Raul Julia in the lead and in 1989 with Sting in the lead.

The design team for the Roundabout production includes Derek McLane (sets), Isaac Mizrahi (costumes), and Jason Lyons (lighting). Elliott’s directing credits include Broadway productions of Three Sisters, The Women, and Present Laughter. He is also set to direct the upcoming Broadway revival of Barefoot in the Park. In addition, he is artistic director of The New Group and is directing that company’s soon-to-open production of Mike Leigh’s Abigail’s Party.

Cumming won a Tony Award for his performance as the Emcee in Cabaret and last appeared on Broadway in Design for Living. Dale, who will play Mr. Peachum, won a Tony for playing the title role in Barnum and received Tony nominations for his work in A Day in the Death of Joe Egg and Candide; he is also world-renowned for reading the popular series of Harry Potter books on audiotape. Falco, who will play Jenny Diver, has starred on Broadway in night, Mother, Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune, and Side Man and is well known for her Emmy Award-winning role of Carmela on The Sopranos. McKay is a popular recording artist and concert performer.