The Beggar's Opera Book

"Set in London's underworld, The Beggar's Opera is at once a devastating satire on moral and financial corruption and a ground-breaking piece of theatre. Combining spoken dialogue with popular songs, John Gay's play is in effect the first musical, and it was a theatrical sensation when it opened in London in 1728." "Witty and fast-moving, its characters have become household names. Through the eternal triangle of Polly Peachum, the innocent but feisty heroine, Lucy Lockit, her wronged rival, and Macheath, their unreliable, irrepressible highwayman lover, Gay explores the pleasures and dangers of romantic and social aspiration. And in the figure of Peachum, the double-dealing thief-taker, he embodies the ruthless self-interest of his age and the fine line between respectability and criminality." This is the only student edition to reprint the music as well as the words for the songs. The playtext, in modern spelling, is fully annotated. A detailed introduction sets the play in context, exploring its innovative combination of classical and popular genres, its satiric meanings, and its stage history.