Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny (Masterplots II: Drama, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Bertolt Brecht
- First Published: 1929
- Type of Plot: Opera; epic theater
- Time of Work: The mid-nineteenth century
- Setting: The mythical American West during the gold rush
- Principal Characters: Paul Ackermann, Jacob Schmidt, Heinrich Merg, Joseph Lettner, Leocadia Begbick, Trinity Moses, Willy (Fatty) the Bookkeeper, Jenny
- Genres: Satire, Drama, Musical drama, Epic theater, Opera
- Subjects: Class conflict, Nineteenth century, Prostitution or prostitutes, West, U.S., Greed, Ethics, Corruption, Hedonism
- Locales: West (U.S.)
The Play
At the beginning of Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny, an old truck carrying three fugitives from the law, Leocadia Begbick, Trinity Moses, and Willy (also known as Fatty) the Bookkeeper, breaks down in the middle of a desert in the American West. Although they intended to become rich by prospecting for gold, presumably on the West Coast, they decide that it would be simpler and more lucrative to build a city and lure rich prospectors into their town with liquor and women. Mahagonny, which is erected in a couple of weeks, attracts Jenny Smith from Oklahoma...
[The entire page is 2787 words long]
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