Mae West: Queer Politics

MAE WEST wrote “The Drag” and was proud to put “seventeen fairies on stage.” Banned in her era, the play has been making the rounds anew. This is Part 3 of 4 parts.
• • “The Drag” by Mae West in D.C. on Friday, 7 June 2019 • •
• • Mae West's progressive queer politics • •
• • Sarah Hookey wrote: “The Drag” was written in collaboration with West's cast of gay male actors and expresses Mae West's progressive queer politics. After previews in Connecticut and New Jersey, "The Drag" was Broadway-bound but was banned by the New York Society for the Suppression of Vice. West and her cast were arrested on charges of obscenity for her Broadway production of "Sex," a sentimental drama about a self-sacrificial sex worker.

• • Sarah Hookey wrote: The gay community in 1920s New York was quite visible and integrated with thriving drag and ball scenes, but Broadway remained leery about police enforcement, denying openly gay actors principal parts. Because of "The Drag" and "The Captive" (a slightly earlier lesbian drama by Edouard Bourdet that appeared on Broadway), New York State passed a law prohibiting the representation or discussion of homosexuality on the stage.
• • Mae West's work challenges the silencing of gay voices • •  . . .  
• • “The Drag” by Mae West in D.C.  will be concluded on the next post with Part 4.
• • Source: Broadway World; published on Tuesday, 21 May 2019.
• • On Thursday, 28 June 1934 • •
• • On Thursday, 28 June 1934 this article appeared in the Nevada State Journal as well as other newspapers in the USA and abroad.
• • "It Ain't No Sin," starring Mae West, Hit by Churchmen • •
• • NEW YORK, June 27, AP — — A Mae West movie of the same type that established the swaggering actress as the premier screen siren and one featuring Dolores Del Rio as the French Madame du Barry became the first victims of a militant church campaign for decency in pictures. ...
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Jennifer Jones is stealing Mae West's switchy walk.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "I'd like to be on television. It would give me a chance to come up and see you some time."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • Forbes mentioned Mae West.
• • Beth Bernstein wrote: On screen, legendary actresses from the early 20th century until the present day have peaked our fascination with diamonds.
• • Beth Bernstein wrote: Mae West dripped in diamonds in real life and on celluloid. As the burlesque, bejeweled ‘Lady Lou’ in “She Done Him Wrong” (1933) based on her stage character of Diamond Lil, West wore her diamond bracelets stacked and her necklaces layered.  …
• • Source: Forbes;  published on Wednesday, 3 April 2019
• • 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 4,200 blog posts. Wow!  

• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started fourteen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 4245th 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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Mae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • "The Drag" was raided in 1927 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest
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Mae West: Flirty, Dirty

MAE WEST wrote “The Drag” and was proud to put “seventeen fairies on stage.” Banned in her era, the play has been making the rounds anew. This is Part 2 of 4 parts.
• • “The Drag” by Mae West in D.C. on Friday, 7 June 2019 • •
• • Clinical theories of sex • •
• • Sarah Hookey wrote: It is also an important relic of American LGBTQIA history, demonstrating both the coldly clinical, psychoanalytic theories of same-sex love and the constant policing, brutalizing, and suppression of openly LGBTQ+ people in the early 20th century by the law.

• • Sarah Hookey wrote: Best known for her eyebrow-raising double entendres, Mae West (1893-1980) was an actress, sex symbol, and writer known for flirty and dirty wordplay. Defying convention with her sex-positive comedic stylings, she was an incredibly successful star of the silver screen in movies such as I'm No Angel, Klondike Annie and Every Day's a Holiday.
• • Mae West's progressive queer politics • •  . . . 
• • “The Drag” by Mae West in D.C.  will be continued on the next post.
• • Source: Broadway World; published on Tuesday, 21 May 2019  
• • On Monday, 27 June 1949 • •
• • Richard Coogan was still appearing on Broadway in the role of Captain Cummings opposite Mae West in "Diamond Lil" when he auditioned for a TV series.  Coogan was cast as Captain Video on the DuMont Television Network on Monday, 27 June 1949. 
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • When the hue and cry over censorship arose, Mae West seemed to be the personal worry of most fans and Hollywood as well. Their fears were needless. Mae wasn't and isn't worried.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "Well, if you’ve got the goods, and you know how to deliver them, you don’t have to cry about the show business."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • Footwear News mentioned Mae West.
• • 10 Times the Platform Shoe Changed the World for Women • •
• • Shannon Adducci wrote:  The Great Depression may have plagued the decade, but it was also Hollywood’s golden era, and both the storylines and costumes had an over-the-top decadence to them. Ahead of the release of “The Wizard of Oz,” shoemaker Salvatore Ferragamo created his instantly iconic rainbow platform for Judy Garland.
• • Shannon Adducci wrote:  Meanwhile, Mae West’s double-decker platforms matched her larger-than-life persona.  . . .
• • Source: Footwear News;  published on Wednesday, 5 June 2019
• • 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 4,200 blog posts. Wow!  

• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started fourteen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 4244th 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/
________
Source: https://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xml   
Mae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • "The Drag" was raided in 1927 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest
NYC  Mae West