Little Mac, Little Mac, You’re the Very Man! – Location, Tickets, Reviews
Inspired by John Gay’s The Beggar’s Opera from 1728 (also the source material for Brecht and Weill’s 1928 The Threepenny Opera), Little Mac, Little Mac, You’re the Very Man! is a musical comedy presented by Less Than Rent theater company at the Kraine Theater in the East Village.
The satirical Little Mac, Little Mac relocates the story of Macheath, the thief, from 18th Century London to the Wild West, U.S.A. Like The Threepenny Opera’s critique of capitalism and corruption, Little Mac, Little Mac also comments harshly on American culture and its economic system.
The central character, Little Mac, is a naive outlaw chased from town by Mr. Peachum, an oil tycoon and the town’s sheriff. On the run, Little Mac encounters dozens of characters who take him on a journey through the prototypical American experience, he inherits a farm from his grandfather, Old McDonald, and turns it into a McDonald’s; attends an inventors club with Henry Ford and Benjamin Franklin; learns about Ponzi schemes from Bernie Madoff; joins a mob led by Jay Gatsby and Al Capone; and discovers he can’t afford medical treatment after an injury. All of that is in, just, the first act.
Maxamoo
It takes some time to get comfortable with the extreme absurdity of this production, but once we accepted Lucille Ball and Ethel Rosenberg as party cohosts and George Washington as JFK’s running mate, it was easier to enjoy the ride. Little Mac, Little Mac contains amusing elements and a charming cast, but unfortunately, the totality of the effort is sophomoric. Shallow gags obscure the underlying message and the abundance of characters and scenes overwhelm the storytelling. There’s a bold vision at the core of this play and we were excited by it but the production needed tighter execution.
Public Opinion
Have you seen Little Mac, Little Mac, You’re the Very Man!? What did you think? Comment below or tweet us at @maxamoo.
Critics’ Reviews
NYTheater Now
Little Mac is very smart, very well-crafted, and admittedly a lot to take in in a single sitting.
Stage and Cinema
Mac the Dull Knife
TICKETS
$15-$18 (click here for tickets)
DATES
Performances through April 27, 2014
LOCATION
Kraine Theater
85 East 4th Street
New York City
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RUNNING TIME
2 hours, 1 intermission
CAST & CREW
(partial list)
Written by Sean Patrick Monahan and James Presson
Directed by Charlie Polinger
Original music by Alexander Sage Oyen
Featuring Tom Sanchez, Sarah Daniels, Sam Diserens, Rachel B. Joyce, Jillian Rorrer, Cory Asinofsky, Asley Denise Robinson, Alex Kramer, Anthony Vaughn Merchant, Matthew George, Eugenio Vargas, Joe Flynn, Lance Lemon
OFFICIAL WEBSITE
Less Than Rent – Little Mac, Little Mac, You’re the Very Man!