The Threepenny Opera: Act 1, Scene 2 Summary & Analysis

In an empty stable in the heart of Soho, Macheath and Polly Peachum are looking for a place to celebrate their marriage. Polly, in a wedding dress, laments having to be in such a dingy space, but Macheath insists that he loves Polly so much he doesn’t care where they’re wed. One of Macheath’s thugs, Money Matthew, carries a lantern and a gun as he checks the stable out and makes sure it’s empty. Polly continues complaining, but Macheath promises her he’s going to gussy up the space.

Sure enough, a wagon arrives, and thugs carrying stolen furniture, carpets, and all the tools to transform the space arrive. Macheath hates filling the room with “junk,” but he knows it’s what Polly wants. As they arrange the furniture, the men—Macheath’s thugs and cronies—greet the happy couple one by one. Hook-finger Jacob, Robert the Saw, Wally the Weeper and others gleefully deliver presents they’ve stolen or killed for, and Macheath is furious—he wanted them to “avoid bloodshed.” Polly cries as she realizes that so many people died for her wedding furnishings—and that, even so, there still aren’t tables or chairs. 

Macheath’s henchmen begin making an improvised table, apologizing profusely to Polly for their oversight. When Wally the Weeper offers to “go out again” for more furnishings, however, Polly stops her fussing and admits that “it could be worse.” The men sing as they create a makeshift bench for the couple. Macheath asks Polly to get the wedding breakfast ready. She asks if it’s stolen—he tells her “of course.” Polly, frustrated, asks what Macheath would do if the police came to the door. Macheath tells her he’d “show [her] what [her] husband can do.” Money Matthew tells Polly to rest easy—the police are busy securing the streets ahead of the Queen’s coronation.

Everyone sits down to eat the stolen wedding breakfast, served on stolen plates from the Savoy Hotel. As the men begin stuffing their faces, Macheath urges someone to sing a song—he says he’d hoped his men would know enough manners to sing something for the newlyweds before tucking into their food. As Macheath berates the men for making today “another damn, sad, ordinary, dirty day like any other,” a knock comes at the door. The men are afraid the cops have arrived after all—but instead, Reverend Kimball enters.

Macheath and Polly welcome the reverend warmly. Macheath asks his men to sing a song for Kimball, and three of them stand to sing a “Wedding Song for Poorer People.” The song tells of a poor but amorous couple who decide to get married even though the bride is a prostitute and the groom is a criminal. Macheath rails against his men for singing such a “paltry” song. Before another argument can break up, Polly stands up and offers to sing a song of her own—one she once saw a barmaid sing. Though the “filthy dirty” barmaid’s customers often teased her, once they heard her sing this song, they revered her.

Polly begins singing “Pirate Jenny.” The song is a character song about a poor barmaid who smiles each day as she rinses dirty glasses, scrubs floors, and makes beds at a dingy inn. Though her customers wonder what she could possibly have to smile about, the barmaid harbors a great secret. “One fine afternoon,” she predicts, a ship will come to the harbor and blast the neighborhood to bits, sparing only her—for she has all along been the queen of the pirates, hiding out under a false identity. The pirates will raze the town violently, then bring her the surviving men in chains and ask her which is to be killed; “All of them!” she’ll reply, before boarding her ship and sailing off with her crew. Macheath applauds his wife’s artful song but tells Polly it’s wasted on the “swine” she’s sung it for.

One of Macheath’s men bursts into the room and announces that the cops have come to bust up the wedding after all—and the sheriff, Tiger Brown, is leading them inside. Macheath’s men are terrified, but Macheath seems pleased. As Tiger Brown enters, Macheath greets him warmly, calling him “Jacky.” Brown playfully chastises Macheath for stealing furniture and squatting in a stable. The two men embrace—they’re clearly friends. Macheath introduces Polly to the sheriff and points out all his friends—whom the sheriff has no doubt, Macheath says, “seen [around] before.” Brown greets the men warmly, explaining he’s here in a “private capacity” and will forget their crimes for the day.

Macheath urges Brown to sit down and enjoy himself. He then begins reminiscing about their old days together serving in the army in India. Macheath suggests they regale the others with a song they used to sing—the “Song of the Heavy Cannon.” The two men sing the satirical song, which speaks of the army’s disinterest in individuality, racism, and brutality. The song ends by demonstrating how service to the “heavy cannon” kills men or turns them “barmy;” still, the army will never start recruiting. 

When the song is over, Macheath continues telling his men about the close friendship between himself and Tiger Brown. The two were “boyhood friends,” and though their lives have taken them in different directions (to say the least,) they are still as close as Castor and Pollux, the twins of Grecian myth. Macheath reveals that he doesn’t undertake even the “smallest job” without giving Brown some of the proceeds, while the sheriff always warns Macheath when a raid is coming. “It’s all a matter of give and take,” concludes Macheath.

Brown says he has to be off—he can’t allow anything to go wrong with the upcoming coronation. Before he goes, Macheath asks if Scotland Yard has any records that could be used against him—for his new father-in-law is a “repulsive old swine” who might try to dig something up on him. Brown assures Macheath there isn’t a single record against him—he’s seen to it. Macheath urges everyone to stand at attention as Brown exits the barn.

After Brown goes, Money Matthew tells his “Captain” that he has a surprise for him. Macheath’s gang heads to the back of the room, where a large carpet is hanging. They position themselves behind the carpet and begin singing “Wedding Song for Poorer People” again. At the end of the first verse, they tear down the carpet to reveal their gift—a magnificent stolen wedding bed. They finish the song at the top of their voices, then leave Macheath and Polly alone.  Alone at last, the two exchange sweet nothings and sing to one another. Even though their marriage has been a decidedly nontraditional one—and will be illegitimate in the eyes of many—they pledge to make their love last forever.