Mae West: A Young Outsider

Starring Australian actress Melita Jurisic as the American icon MAE WEST, a new play “Arbus and West” was onstage in Melbourne until March 30th. Naturally, Mae would have stipulated that her name was placed first in the title. Let’s enjoy a spirited review by drama critic Robert Reid. This is Part 4.
• • “Arbus and West” — — A one-way gladiatorial battle • •
• • The icon vs the young outsider • •
• • Robert Reid wrote: By the end of the play, Mae West comes to agree with Diane Arbus [i.e., that her image has become somewhat of a prison].
• • Robert Reid wrote: The play uses Arbus and West as ciphers for attitudes sometimes adopted in the name of feminism (despite neither of the historical women having declared any kind of allegiance to the feminist political movements of their day). Arbus is the young outsider. Through her, the play gives voice to a restrained and academic kind of 1960s feminism that’s contrasted with the behaviour of West, which stands in for an older, brassier and tougher generation’s attitude towards the relationships of power between the sexes.
• • Diane Arbus is little more than her camera • • . . .
• • To be continued on the next post.
• • Source: Witness, stage review; published on Wednesday, 6 March 2019.
• • On Tuesday, 5 April 1927 • •

• • On Tuesday, 5 April 1927 at Jefferson Market Court [on Sixth Avenue in Greenwich Village], the jury returned with a guilty verdict. As she left the courtroom, followed by reporters, photographers, and a mob of well-wishers, Mae told them, "You've got to fight in this world!" She added, "You've got to fight to get there — — and fight to stay there."
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • "Sex is good for you," says Mae West. An interview published in The Australian Women's Weekly began with that provocative, bold opening when they printed a profile of the sultry star.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: “I’ve never had anything to worry about.”
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • Motion Picture mentioned Mae West.
• • “Mae West” • •
• • And while Broadway gets the hot-cha Velez girl, Hollywood gets Mae West, who is Broadway's idea of a daring damsel.
• • The movies really captured her first for "Night After Night," to play a wisecracking night-club hostess [sic] — — but when she stole the picture from George Raft, they wouldn't let her go. For she's that rare kind of "find" — — and Mae is exotic with a devastating sense of humor. So now she's playing Lady Lou in "She Done Him Wrong" — with Cary Grant the not-altogether-unfortunate "Him." …
• • Source: Motion Picture; issue dated for April 1933
• • The evolution of 2 Mae West plays that keep her memory alive • • 
• • A discussion with Mae West playwright LindaAnn LoSchiavo — — 
• • http://lideamagazine.com/renaissance-woman-new-york-city-interview-lindaann-loschiavo/

• • The Mae West Blog celebrates its 14th anniversary • •  

• • Thank you for reading, sending questions, and posting comments during these past fourteen years. Not long ago, we entertained 3,497 visitors. And we reached a milestone recently when we completed 4,100 blog posts. Wow!  

• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started fourteen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 4185th 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 1927 • •
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