Mae West: Brave of Her

MAE WEST staged "The Drag" in 1927 but her gay play was shut down by the authorities before it could reach the lights of Broadway. A British theatre director decided to dust it off and present it to an English audience this summer.
• • Polly Stenham wrote this article. This is Part 6.
• • "Brutal! Vulgar! Dirty! Mae West and the gay comedy that shocked 1920s America" • •
• • "The Drag" is not judgmental • •
• • Polly Stenham  wrote:   The play feels very non-judgmental: it just poses the situation. I’m constantly trying to remind myself how radical it was. Mae West had a lot of status, she was a public woman, so I think it was very brave of her to put it on. Women today are still outnumbered in the arts. Back then, 90 years ago, she was a playwright in an extremely male-dominated profession. That’s radical in itself — — but if you consider the kind of plays she wrote, she can be seen as an activist too. Outsiders always appeal to me and that’s what West was.
• • Polly Stenham  wrote:  While "The Drag" is very much of its time, the play is certainly still relevant. I think it’s easy to forget, living in a liberal city like London and working in the arts, as I do, that it’s still tough for gay people around the world. Just look at the reports about Chechnya’s detention centres for gay men.
• • Mae's strong compulsion • •    . . .
• • This was Part 6.  Part 7 continues tomorrow.
• • Source: "Brutal! Vulgar! Dirty! ..." by Polly Stenham for The Guardian [U.K.]; published on Wednesday, 5 July 2017.
• • On Monday, 28 August 1933 in Hollywood • •
• • According to a news item in The Hollywood Reporter published on Monday, 28 August 1933, Alexander Hall and George Somnes were set to co-direct the Mae West motion picture  "Belle of the Nineties."  However, these men were later replaced by Leo McCarey.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • All in all The Mae West Revue is a show that is playing to capacity audiences every performance.  It is a show that is being acclaimed as the finest on any night club stage.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "I've always liked athletes because they don't smoke, don't drink, and understand the importance of keeping their bodies in top working order — — and a hard man is good to find."
• • Quote, Unquote • •

• • A California paper mentioned Mae West.
• • One of Mae West’s successes, “Night After Night” will play a return engagement Wednesday and Thursday. Miss West has suddenly sprung into great popularity with screen fans, and her admirers will be attracted by this production.
• • At the York Theatre on Wednesday and Thursday, August 30th—31st — — Return Engagement of Mae West in “Night After Night” — —  only 15 cents admission.
• • Wednesday Night at York Theatre is Grocery Night!
• • Source: Item in Eagle Rock Advertiser (Eagle Rock, California); published on Monday, 28 August 1933 
• • The Mae West Blog celebrates its 13th anniversary • •  
• • Thank you for reading, sending questions, and posting comments during these past eleven years. Not long ago, we entertained 3,497 visitors. And we reached a milestone recently when we completed 3,700 blog posts. Wow!   
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started thirteen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 3775th blog post. Unlike many blogs, which draw upon reprinted content from a newspaper or a magazine and/ or summaries, links, or photos, the mainstay of this blog is its fresh material focused on the life and career of Mae West, herself an American original.

• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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• • Photo: • • Mae West • • in 1932 • •
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