The Threepenny Opera Characters

Meet the Cast

Macheath, a.k.a. "Mac the Knife"

Macheath, also known by the super-scary nickname "Mac the Knife," is the protagonist of Brecht's The Threepenny Opera. If you didn't catch it by the nickname, he's not someone you really want to me...

Jonathan Jeremiah Peachum

You could accuse Peachum of a lot of things, but he'd defend his honor and reputation to the death. He's a businessman, even if his business is shady; a family guy, even if he treats his daughter l...

Polly Peachum

Daughter to Mr. and Mrs. Peachum and sort-of-wife to Mac the Knife, Polly Peachum is a girl who's caught in the middle. Between her mean old dad and her crazy killer husband, she's got her hands fu...

Jackie "Tiger" Brown

The High Sheriff of London: he's probably a respectable guy, right? If you've learned anything by now from The Threepenny Opera, it's that no one is respectable, and least of all a cop. As constabl...

Celia Peachum

Celia is Mr. Peachum's wife. She doesn't have too much of a dynamic role in the play. She seems to be there to set Peachum up for his stinging, mean attacks. She's like a sidekick, or a lapdog.When...

Lucy Brown

We only see Lucy for a couple of scenes, but it's a doozy. She bursts in on Polly and Mac's prison visit, claiming that she, not Polly, is Mac's wife. When she doubts that she's on the winning side...

Low-Dive Jenny

An old friend and lover of Mac, Jenny is the prostitute who betrays him at Mrs. Peachum's bidding. She sings with Mac of longing for the old days when they used to be together, but also reveals som...

Mac's Friends and Associates

Mac is in charge of a merry band of bandits with exciting nicknames like Crooked Fingers or Bob the Saw. They are mostly indistinguishable from one another, and spend a lot of time making Mac mad w...