Beggar's Opera and Polly

''Gamesters and Highwaymen are generally very good to their Whores, but they are very Devils to their Wives.'' With The Beggar''s Opera (1728), John Gay created one of the most enduringly popular works in English theatre history, and invented a new dramatic form, the ballad opera. Gay''s daring mixture of caustic political satire, well-loved popular tunes, and a story of crime and betrayal set in...