Mixed reviews

Mahagonny, my favorite opera, indeed my favorite work of narrative, is not for everyone. For this reason, it is unimaginable that reviews of any production would ever reach a consensus. So with the current L.A. production. The LA Times' opera critic, Mark Swed, didn't like it:

[Director John] Doyle and his crew do cringe. They don't penetrate so much as make a few pin pricks, a technique that turns out to work much better for Sondheim's wit than for Brecht and Weill's profundity.

Many readers who saw the opera agreed:

John Doyle did not do his homework properly or simply did not understand the rich and vibrant material he had to work with. This production of "City" was a bore and an insult to the Brecht/Weill collaboration. Why try to make Weill and Brecht into Sondheim? [Doyle is famous for his direction of Sondheim.]
.....
I sat through endless heavy-handed exposition, its snore-inducing effects magnified by static stage direction. Particularly surprising is the unsatisfying music. There is no tension-release that one expects from music driving a story. Instead, the passages just end abruptly. One only realizes the scene is over because the house lights suddenly go out. I went with a friend of mine and we are both avid musical theater-goers. We both agree that this made for a thoroughly underwhelming night at the opera.

Yet a minority of readers/viewers loved this version of Mahagonny:

Wonderful take on MAHAGONNY. James Conlon's brisk and insightful reading of the score is a delight as is John Doyle's wonderful and biting production. Audra McDonald and Patti Lupone bring great vitality and vocal mastery to the stage and Anthony Griffey is terrific as Jimmy. Highly recommended and still remarkably relevent.

The LA Weekly also liked it:

The marvelous score, a striking blend of ragtime, jazz, music hall and opera best known for “Moon of Alabama,” is still a winner, and the story — an allegory about political and moral corruption — remains eternally relevant.

I'll be so thrilled just to see it live, I can't imagine not "liking it," though I may not prefer it to the remarkable Lotte Lenya recording.

Mahagonny could never satisfy everyone, it's not that kind of material. Those expecting "traditional" opera, like one reader above, are doomed to disappointment from the start. Those afficionados who have seen many productions (!) will get to argue about which they prefer. I just feel lucky to be able to see it in my lifetime.