Mae West: Homegrown Sex

During Prohibition, sin was in and Broadway was no exception, noticed MAE WEST.
• • The rialto was frequently overrun with crowd-pleasing "dirt plays," shows such as John Colton's Shanghai Gesture [Martin Beck Theatre, 1926], starring Florence Reed in the role of an Oriental madam Mother Goddam — — an occidental overlord who presided over an elaborate bordello with specialty suites such as the Gallery of Laughing Dolls. Other examples were The Half Caste [1926], White Cargo [1924], and Lulu Belle [1926].
• • Sin, however, had a black syntax.
• • All of these theatre pieces obeyed an unwritten rule that fallen women had to suffer and repent. And these exotic tanned temptresses were always positioned off-shore — — Samoa and the South Pacific being popular as the pants seat of Satan's circus.
• • "In Sex, Mae West broke with Broadway moralities," notes Lillian Schlissel, "and made sin a domestic product. The scenes in the brothel were set not in the tropics but in Montreal." The final act was set in Connecticut.
• • Sex opened in April 1926 at Daly 63rd Street Theatre and was still attracting ticker-buyers during the holiday season and beyond [December 1926 — February 1927].
• • Eighty years later, in a neat mirror-image, Sex is back onstage [through 23 December 2007] and enjoying a healthy box office.
• • Nicole Gluckstern gives it a mixed review for the San Francisco Bay Guardian. Unfortunately, Gluckstern is unable to write well nor get to the bottom of what gives this script its febrile and uncanny life — — but it's only a "mini" so take a look.
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• • Nicole Gluckstern writes: While the prostitute with the heart of gold is a character about as stock as Pantaloon, it has to be admitted that when Mae West played the role, she made it her own.
• • As well she might — seeing as she wrote the scripts too. West's brand of unapologetic sexuality and smart banter exemplified the brave new (and distressingly short-lived) social standards of the Jazz Age. But for all that, Sex can't avoid feeling a little dated, as would any play in which marriage equals the only possible happy ending.
• • You certainly can't fault the earnest cast of the Aurora Theatre's production for any lingering unease about the content. Their slapstick energy and open-armed embrace of the more farcical elements of the show make for acceptable entertainment of the uncerebral variety, and there are a couple of truly standout performances. West's breakout character Margy LaMott (Delia MacDougall) and her naval officer paramour Lt. Gregg (Steve Irish) share splendid chemistry, and Maureen McVerry manages to be both neurotically appealing and appalling as Clara Stanton, a society woman who holds a dirty little secret of her own. The hilariously sleazy calypso number "At the Café Port au Prince," sung by Danny Wolohan, is also memorable.
(Also see Picks.) (Nicole Gluckstern)
• • Sex Aurora Theatre, 2081 Addison, Berk; (510) 843-4822, www.auroratheatre.org. Extended run: through 23 December 2007.
— — Source: — —
• • San Francisco Bay Guardian — — www.sfbg.com/
• • Mini Review written by: Nicole Gluckstern
• • Stage listings are compiled by Deborah Giattina
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
________
Source:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xml
Mae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • 1934 • •
NYC
Mae West.