A new take on the legendary satire – The Beggar’s Opera – that has criticized corruption and picked on politicians for centuries. The Counterfeit Opera sets the antihero robber Macheath in the streets of 1850s Manhattan, where grifting gangs and working women find themselves too poor to win, but too smart to fail. With book and lyrics by Kate Tarker, original music by Dan Schlosberg, direction by Dustin Wills – and tickets for $25 – this new people’s opera makes for a rip-roaring, watch-your-pockets evening – trading in charm, mystery, and steamy romance, until the closing bell.