City of Mahagonny The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny, is a parable of greed in America by Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Wiell. Shown here is a unit set that illustrates the construction of a temporary den of vice on the beaches of Florida. The surround of this set is comprised of newspaper clippings from the business section describing the rise and fall of our stock market. In typical Brechtian fashion, the set is littered with signage, curtains, and lights to further aid the principles of "alienation in the theater."