Polly then comments that he will never return and sings a song about losing her lover. Mac promises not to forget her and leaves. Polly tells Mac that she had a dream in which she way the moon and it looked like 'a worn-down penny'. She is desperate to have him stay with her and laments the short time they have been together. Polly pleads with Mac to leave immediately and not to look at any other women while he is away. Matthew at first takes credit, but the other men all credit Macheath with the crime, thereby forcing Matthew to agree with them.Īfter the gang leaves Polly and Mac remain alone. He asks Matthew who set the Children's Hospital on fire in the last week (alluding to the seven dead children mentioned in the prologue). Mac then berates Matthew for drinking too much. She turns on him and screams that if he ever says anything against her she will have the other men rip him to shreds. Polly tries to take charge, but Matthew is reluctant to work for a woman. He lastly puts Polly in charge of the business. He tells them to go ahead and work without him during the Coronation. Mac immediately acts friendly towards them. Polly asks him how he can look his men in the eye and still plan on hanging them, but they walk in before he can complete his answer. He plans to turn the entire gang over to Tiger Brown once he does not need them anymore. He informs Polly that he is planning on switching into banking soon since it is safer and more reliable. Mac then reads off a list of his men and tells her which ones to promote and which ones to send to jail.

She tries to be sentimental but he brusquely interupts her and shows her the account ledgers. Macheath agrees that he should flee and tells her to take over the business for him. Mac does not believe her until she produces the list of charges they have against him it is a very long list with everything from murder to arson to underage sex. She says that her father threatened Brown and forced him to issue an arrest warrent for Mac. Polly arrives at the stable where Mac is currently living and tells him that he must leave immediately.

The Threepenny Opera by Bertolt Brecht