Last week, while in San Francisco, Alice and I went to a play. This was no ordinary play. This was a Marxist-cum-Fascist (although I think the latter bit was an unhappy accident of human nature, not authorial intent) musical by Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht. Left-wing propagandist entertainment in San Francisco? I'm stunned!
Happy End is a tale of a murderous gangster who reluctantly falls in love with a plucky Salvation Army lass, and of the cast of wacky (if ultimately unpleasant) characters surrounding them. [No, it's not Guys and Dolls, but you're forgiven for being confused.] The score wasn't that great, in my opinion, but then I have only slight appreciation for Weill and Brecht, since experimental German theatre has never been my thing. There were a few good songs, such as "The Bilbao Song", "The Mandalay Song", and "Surabaya Johnny", but the sum of the parts is really greater than the whole, in this case. However, it was a good experience just to see live theatre again.
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