The Threepenny Opera

I should explain

That I come from a poor family

I’m aware how stupid that sounds

A poor family

But it’s true

We were poor

We were beyond poor actually

But since that’s not really—

We were poor

I was poor

Then all of a sudden

I’m getting paid a lot of money

To get up onstage

And pretend to be, I don’t know

A maid

A lawyer

An archeologist

A unicorn

God—once

The Devil—twice

Suddenly I’m rich

For playing make-believe

It felt…odd

I have a brother who works at a free clinic

A doctor

And at my career peak

I made more than him

It didn’t feel…right

And at the time

I was also very close friends

With lots of artists

And, since we’re talking about the 80’s

Someone obviously has to mention HIV

AIDS, yes, I’m going there

And yes, I’m going to mention Healthcare

Because I had it

And others didn’t

And again, I’m a maid

I’m walking onstage

Saying ‘Mum, Lord Gersham has arrived’

And walking off again

And I’m set

Okay?

I’m set for life

I worked with that company until I retired

And when I did

I had a nice house

My kids went to good schools

--And now, that wasn’t just me

That was my husband

Who owned a nice business

But it was partly me

We had extra because of me

And other people

Not just actors, but directors, writers

Sculptors, dancers—

They went without

Not because of me, but—

…But I still felt guilty

Hell, I’m dead and I feel guilty

I can’t help it

Sometimes I took these lousy roles

That I didn’t want

But I felt it was my job

To take them

And in some respect

It was

But I could have passed

In reality, I could have

I could have sat a few out

And said—Give that role

To somebody who really wants it

Who’s hungry for it

Give it to someone

Who needs some extra money

And wants a chance

To stand on the great Orpheus Stage

Who knows?

Maybe if I’d have done that

I would have felt a little better about myself

Because artists are supposed to be generous

We’re supposed to help each other

Lift each other up, you know?

Sappy as that sounds

I was greedy

People say—starving artists

Well, believe me

I’ve starved

But not while I worked at the Orpheus

We closed our doors

To an entire community

And some of us—not all of us

But some of us—like me

Didn’t say anything

Because we were scared

Somebody better was going to come along

And take our cushy jobs from us

And to add insult to injury

We became really bad actors in the process

You want the story of the acting company?

That’s the story

Is it the whole story?

No

But it’s the one that’s still going

So that’s the one you need to hear