The Threepenny Opera

Macheath Mack the Knife notorious bandit and womanizer runs afoul of Jonathan Peachum when he marries Peachums daughter Polly in a ceremony of doubtful legality Peachums resolve to have Mack sent to the gallows is complicated by the fact that Macks old army buddy is the chief of police Tiger Brown Peachum and his wife commence a series of strategems to ensnare Mack bribing prostitutes to turn him in exercising their influence over the police and ultimately threatening to ruin the coronation of Queen Victoria by having all the beggars in London whom Peachum controls line the parade route Mack is imprisoned escapes and is imprisoned again When his hour of execution arrives however a mounted messenger appears with the Queens reprieve which includes a baronetcy and an annual pension of 10000 pounds