T.H. McCulloh’s Pick

“The Threepenny Opera,” UC Irvine: One production stands out in my mind above all others I saw in Orange County during 1992. One of the reasons is that it was the West Coast premiere of Michael Feingold’s fairly new English translation of the Kurt Weill-Bertolt Brecht opera. Curiosity was joyously satisfied through a superior production in November. Eli Simon’s staging steered just short of camp, yet controlled enough to allow this best-of-adaptations to prove its merit. Technical excellence and marvelous voices highlighted this gem of a production.