The offer, which is named "3PennyTix," is presented by The Atlantic Theater Company and the mobile phone app TodayTix. The lottery program is completely mobile.
"Atlantic Theater has always strived to be innovative with the work we put on stage and are excited to do the same with '3PennyTix,'" Neil Pepe, Atlantic's artistic director, said in a statement.
"One of our missions is to make going to the theater easy and affordable for everyone. Naturally, we are thrilled at the opportunity to offer this first-of-its-kind lottery for The Threepenny Opera!" Merritt Baer, CEO and co-founder of TodayTix, added.
Theatregoers can enter the lottery by downloading TodayTix on their phones and selecting any performance up to a week in advance. Lottery winners will be notified four hours before the selected performance begins.
The Threepenny Opera, featuring Academy Award winner F. Murray Abraham and Tony nominees Laura Osnes and Mary Beth Peil, will begin previews March 12, prior to an official opening April 7. It will play a limited eight-week engagement through May 4 at the Linda Gross Theater. The revival of Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill's musical, featuring an English adaptation by Marc Blitzstein, will be directed and choreographed by Martha Clarke.
The cast includes Abraham (Mauritius, Angels in America), Sophie Bortolussi (Sleep No More, The Drowned Man: A Hollywood Fable), Jon David Casey ("Numb3rs," A Perfect Wedding), Timothy Doyle (Fortune's Fool, Salomé), Lilli Cooper (Spring Awakening, Wicked), Rick Holmes (Peter and the Starcatcher, Spamalot), John Kelly (James Joyce's The Dead, Dog Days), Lindsey Dietz Marchant (Then She Fell), Sally Murphy (August: Osage County, Fiddler on the Roof), Mary Beth Peil (Follies, The King and I), Osnes (Cinderella, Bonnie & Clyde), Emmy Award winner Michael Park (Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, "As the World Turns"), Cristina Spina (Kaos, The Brothers Karamazov) and John Watkins (Sleep No More, "Son of a Hundred Maniacs").
"Based on John Gay's The Beggar's Opera, The Threepenny Opera follows the charismatic scoundrel Macheath (Park) and his criminal exploits in 19th century London," press notes state. "When Macheath marries Polly Peachum (Osnes), the straight-laced daughter of powerful, miserly merchant JJ. Peachum (Abraham), their unlikely union unleashes the chaos of manhunts, bribes, and imprisonment. In this 'opera for beggars,' an assortment of salacious characters maneuver for advantage, revealing a profoundly corrupt society."
The Threepenny Opera will feature scenic design by Robert Israel, costume design by Donna Zakowska, lighting design by Christopher Akerlind, sound design by Clive Goodwin, musical direction by Gary Fagin and animal training by William Berloni. Casting is by Tiffany Little Canfield, CSA, Telsey + Company.
Visit AtlanticTheater.org and TodayTix.com for more information.
