Amazing stuff. Brecht was scathingly satirical but also deeply human and truly a titan of 20th century drama. You don't have to agree with his politics to understand that he was incredibly talented. The way he really digs into just how vile Mac and Peachum really are -- and how they're not that different from another at the end of the day, it's just how they conduct and justify their thievery and criminal behavior -- is just stupendous. Of course, we all know at the end of the day that there really are no happy endings and it's all just a show bc the audience will never accept the truth: that being poor is no picnic, and it usually doesn't end well. That fact doesn't change when you leave the theater; don't draw distinctions between Mac, Jenny, and Polly and the homeless people you see shivering in their rags. I recommend the Willett & Mannheim translation, while listening to the 1976 Broadway cast recording (with Raul Julia as Mac!) which uses roughly the same translation whenever a song comes up