The 1944 play by pacifist and avowed communist Bertholt Brecht, which he adapted loosely from a Chinese folk tale, takes place in a fictional Russian village just after the end of a Nazi occupation. It weighs capitalist notions of private property against the ideal of communally owned property, and explores which system better serves a country's citizens. Heavy political themes aside, Brecht liked to entertain and delight his audiences, hence the play is also a lighthearted look at a village chock full of eccentric characters.

Up front is the Singer, a classic Brechtian narrator similar to the Street Singer in his earlier masterpiece Threepenny Opera. Such characters went on to influence American playwright Thornton Wilder's Stage Manager character in Our Town.

"I move the story along," explains junior Theo McArthy of his role as the Singer. "The acting is done by my audience who sits around me and takes on the parts of the story I tell. It's a fun part."  Theo sees this as a play about "people who abuse their advantages and take them for granted...but still push themselves to do something good."

Director Catherine Clark gave Theo the greenlight to write his own songs for the show. He started out on ukelele but quickly switched to guitar. "There are a few surprises in there though," he promises. "For instance, one day I was fiddling around with my violinist's bow and remembered Jimmy Page playing guitar with a bow so I decided to try it on my acoustic guitar. It makes this chilling, discordant voicing that became a major instrument in the play."

 The play marks the BFS directing debut of Catherine Clark, who studied directing in college but until now has served primarily as the technical director for the school's productions. "Brecht appeals to my aesthetic preference for stylized theatre," she said, "and his plays all have social and political messages.  Brecht is also a good choice for me as someone coming to direction through design--there's lots of room for strong visual choices."

Senior Anna Eden agrees about the love story. She's playing Grusha. "This play if definitely about love, however cheesy that may sound. My character is basically forced to take this baby and by the end of the show the audience sees that she loves the child as if it were her own. She risks everything for Michael, the child."

Azdak, who provides great comic relief, and Grusha, come together in the end for the Solomonic trial that will determine who gets custody of Michael. Tierney views Azdak as a Robin Hood figure. "He takes bribes from the rich before trying their cases, though he almost never decides in their favor." He appreciates that the play never takes itself too seriously, and that "it asks the audience to question what really makes people family."