Sean Power - Reviews & Interviews

The Threepenny Epic Cabaret
2 May 1996 - Now Magazine:
"INFECTIOUS BRECHT"

INFECTIOUS BRECHT

THE THREEPENNY EPIC CABARET, by Stan Rogal and Bald Ego Theatre, directed by Adam Nashman, with Christopher Brauer, Christine Brubaker, Selina Martin, Sean Power, Lisa Ryder, Kristen Thomson, Bob Wiseman and Rogal. Presented by Bald Ego and Theatre Passe Muraille at Passe Muraille Backspace (16 Ryerson). To May 12, Tuesday-Saturday at 8 pm, matinees Saturday 4 pm, Sunday 2:30 pm. S12.50-S15, matinees pwyc. 504-7529. Rating: NNN

The Threepenny Epic Cabaret takes up a historical debate. Was Bertolt Brecht. whose Threepenny Opera inspires this show, a dramatic genius or a shameless thief? The answer is both, as Brecht, a good Marxist, surely knew - intellectua1 property is theft.

Written by Stan Rogal and the company, the piece chronicles the creation of the Threepenny Opera, evoking the unpredictable and often chaotic process of creative collaboration. At times, the show sags under the burden of its ambition - to pay homage to Brecht, experiment with his style and comment on historical revisionism. Like Brecht, Bald Ego pillages freely - vaudeville, cabaret, the songs of Kurt Weill. Moments of lunatic inspiration and rousing music alternate with forced jollity and awkward exposition.

But the company's energy is infectious. There's a great deal of fun in this Adam Nashman-directed production, and some memorable characterizations - Sean Power's gauche and charismatic Brecht, Kristen Thomson's maniacal Helene Weigel, Christine Brubaker's overlooked, buttoned-down Elisabeth Hauptmann. The show is not great art, but at its best it vividly captures the volatile mix of competition, inspiration, playfulness and sexual tension that can produce a work of genius.