AllMovie

Dr. Jonathan Miller, onetime Beyond the Fringe trouper, who was one of the leading lights of the PBS Shakespeare productions of 1978-83, serves as director of The Beggar's Opera. This adaptation of John Gay's lusty 18th-century "play with song" stars The Who's Roger Daltrey as robber captain MacHearh. Stratford Johns co-stars as Peachum, king of beggars, whose licentious daughter Polly falls in love with MacHeath, while Bob Hoskins is appropriately scrungy as an "on the take" constable. Originally taped for British television, The Beggar's Opera received American air play on public and cable TV.