Mae West: Cape Cod Drag

Shocking and controversial in its time, a play by MAE WEST continues to be revived for open-minded audiences. This recent production was on the boards in Cape Cod. This is Part 9 of 9 segments.
• • Theatre Review:  Doing the Time Warp in Mae West’s Play “The Drag” • •
• • Howard Karren wrote: David Drake directs with aplomb, and though the humor is a tad creaky, the philosophical arguments a bit musty, and the ending and dénouement somewhat abrupt, he preserves the satire and the common-sense humanity in Mae West’s approach that keeps it relevant.
• • Howard Karren wrote: Ellen Rousseau’s set arrives straight out of a Fred-and-Ginger musical, and the two acts in two hours whiz by quickly and energetically — no small feat with a large cast of local talent.
• • Howard Karren wrote: “The Drag” has a comic breeziness that makes it an ideal spring re-introduction to a season of great theater.
• • Howard Karren wrote: It’s important as LGBTQ history and reminds us of just how courageous and insightful an artist Mae West was.
• • Drama Queens
• • The event: The Drag, a play by Mae West
• • The time: Onstage through Sunday, 5 June 2022
• • The place: Provincetown Theater, 238 Bradford St.
• • Source: The Provincetown Independent; published on Wednesday, 25 May 2022.
• • On Wednesday, 14 July 1920 • •
• • Sadly, on 14 July 1920, Mae West filed for a divorce from Guido Deiro [1886 — 1950], charging him with abandonment. She had moved back with her parents, who were living in the borough of Queens in New York.
• • On Wednesday, 14 July 1999 — Paul Novak died • •

• • "Paul Novak: Beach hunk who became Mae West's faithful friend" • •
• • Paul Novak [24 February 1923 — 14 July 1999] • •
• • With Paul Novak's constant protection and his concern for her diet and exercise, Mae West survived until her 87th year, when she had a series of strokes.
• • On 22 November 1980, when she died in her sleep, there was her faithful companion Paul Novak at her bedside.
• • Mae West admitted that Novak was "a good guy," adding, "Of course there's 40 guys dyin' for his job!" In her last years, it’s been said that Mae West continually asked him to contact an attorney so that she could change her Will in his favor, but he later stated, "I always said to her, 'Now now, dear, there's plenty of time to do that.' I guess I thought she would live forever. How did she ever pick me — — just a wrestler and roustabout?' "
• • Chester Ribonsky (Paul Novak), sailor, bodybuilder and bodyguard: born Baltimore, Maryland 1923; died in Santa Monica, California on Wednesday, 14 July 1999.
• • July 2004: Mae West Blog launches • •
• • What are we up to, writing about the Brooklyn-born bombshell for eighteen years now?
• • We’re here to keep Mae mavens up to date, correct errors, celebrate each revival of a play she wrote, post the latest Westian stage and book reviews. And answer our fan mail!
• • The light’s still on. Come up and see Mae every day.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Mae West's least favorite film may have been “Myra Breckinridge" (1970).
• • You might as well have cautioned Michael Sarne not to film this screenplay, which was such an abortion that the novelist Gore Vidal disowned it.
• • According to Stanley Musgrove, costume designer Edith Head hinted at her monumental Myra B. misery when she told him, "God, I'm glad I drink!"
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "I didn't start out to collect diamonds — — but somehow they just kept piling up."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • A Midwest newspaper mentioned Mae West.
• • The Urbana Daily Courier mentioned Mae West and Alfonso, the nobleman who was once King of Spain.  
• • Yes, this July 14, 1934 news item sounds completely ridiculous, which is why it's being posted today.
• • European cablegrams announced recently the impending divorce of Alfonso, the ex-King of Spain.  ...  Recent press dispatches from London say that Mae West had offered Alfonso the leading male role [sic] in her next picture, to be called "Me and the King." The play was written by Prince Alexis of Thurn and Taxis, through whom Alfonso was approached [sic]  ...
• • Source: The Urbana Daily Courier (Illinois); published on Saturday, 14 July 1934
• • 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 18th anniversary • • 
• • Thank you for reading, sending questions, and posting comments during these past eighteen years. Not long ago, we entertained 3,497 visitors. And we reached a milestone recently when we completed 5,000 blog posts. Wow! 
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started eighteen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 5,037th 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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• • Be sure to bookmark or follow The Mae West Blog
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • David Lee illustration c. 1978 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest

Mae West: Depraved “Inverts”

Shocking and controversial in its time, a play by MAE WEST continues to be revived for open-minded audiences. This recent production was on the boards in Cape Cod. This is Part 6 of 9 segments.
• • Theatre Review: Doing the Time Warp in Mae West’s Play “The Drag” • •
• • Howard Karren wrote: The Jazz Age was the 20th century’s first major era of sexual revolution, and West, in The Drag, details contrasting approaches to homosexuality at the time, particularly in discussions between a doctor and judge.
• • Howard Karren wrote: The judge, played by Nicholas Dorr, is the father of the play’s central character, Rolly Kingsbury (Thom Markee), who is newly married to Clair (Racine Oxtoby), whose father is the doctor (Bill Salem).
• • Howard Karren wrote: The judge advocates merciless punishment for depraved “inverts,” and the doctor, in contrast, proposes compassion and treatment.
• • “The Drag” by Mae West ― continued • • …    
• • Source: The Provincetown Independent; published on Wednesday, 25 May 2022.
• • On Tuesday, 11 July 2006 • •

• • The CD "Fabulous Mae West and Other Wonderful Girls" features a photo of Mae on its cover. Sepia Records released this collection on Tuesday, 11 July 2006.
• • July 2004: Mae West Blog launches • •
• • What are we up to, writing about the Brooklyn-born bombshell for eighteen years now?
• • We’re here to keep Mae mavens up to date, correct errors, celebrate each revival of a play she wrote, post the latest Westian stage and book reviews. And answer our fan mail!
• • The light’s still on. Come up and see Mae every day.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Buxom country singing star Dolly Parton is to star in a made for television film about man-hungry actress Mae West. "They came to me and said I'd be perfect for the role,'' she told TV Guide.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "To err is human — — but it feels divine."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • An article in The Spectrum mentioned Mae West.
• • "Memory lane filled with lost favorites, the Great One" • •
• • Duke Hunt writes about Saratoga, NY: During the 1920s and throughout the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s, Hollywood starlets and celebrities came in droves for the magic of the minerals. Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, and many others played gigs at the old Saratoga Hotel by night and attended the races by day.
• • Duke Hunt continues that Mae West was said to travel there every summer for mineral baths said to keep her skin young and smooth. ...
• • Source: The Spectrum; posted on Monday, 11 July 2011
• • 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 18th anniversary • • 
• • Thank you for reading, sending questions, and posting comments during these past eighteen years. Not long ago, we entertained 3,497 visitors. And we reached a milestone recently when we completed 5,000 blog posts. Wow! 
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started eighteen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 5,034th 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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• • Be sure to bookmark or follow The Mae West Blog
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • a test shot during the 1960s • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest

Mae West: “The Drag” as Payback

Shocking and controversial in its time, a play by MAE WEST continues to be revived for open-minded audiences. This recent production was on the boards in Cape Cod. This is Part 5 of 9 segments.
• • Theatre Review: Doing the Time Warp in Mae West’s Play “The Drag” • •
• • Howard Karren wrote: Her humor and her own show-business persona were deeply influenced by drag queens of the era.
• • Howard Karren wrote: The Drag can be seen as a form of payback.
• • Howard Karren wrote: She wrote it but didn’t cast herself in it. It was a gift to her queer friends.
• • Howard Karren wrote: In this Provincetown production, the play, at the ripe old age of 95, feels remarkably modern.
• • Howard Karren wrote: David Drake, as dramaturge, has streamlined West’s dialogue and eliminated distracting and dated elements of the plot.
• • “The Drag” by Mae West ― continued • • …  
• • Source: The Provincetown Independent; published on Wednesday, 25 May 2022.
• • On Sunday, 8 July 1928 in the Journal American • •

• • A reporter from the Journal American visited Mae West backstage after a performance of "Diamond Lil."
• • He wrote a lengthy account of Mae West's formula for writing a play: "hire a room in a hotel, lock yourself in and go to work for as many hours as you can stand the pace. Then you grab a little sleep, get up and resuscitate yourself with a few tons of cold water and start all over again. And so on until ...."
• • Source: The Journal American; published on Sunday, 8 July 1928.
• • July 2004: Mae West Blog launches • •
• • What are we up to, writing about the Brooklyn-born bombshell for eighteen years now?
• • We’re here to keep Mae mavens up to date, correct errors, celebrate each revival of a play she wrote, post the latest Westian stage and book reviews. And answer our fan mail!
• • The light’s still on. Come up and see Mae every day.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Robert B. McKenzie, who had a fatal heart attack in Manunuck, Rhode Island on Friday, 8 July 1949, worked with Mae West twice in two motion pictures.  
• • The portly Irishman was seen in a bit part in "I'm No Angel" as "man at rooming house" and in "My Little Chickadee" where he was a townsman.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "The only thing I know about Milwaukee is that they make beer there. It's pretty good beer — but it never was good enough to make me get married and then forget about it."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • An Illinois newspaper mentioned Mae West.
• • "Off to the Theatre" • •
• • Beverly Bryant wrote: Mae West is back again in "Goin' to Town," which comes to the Princess Theatre Sunday for three days. Mae is at her voluptuous best. The plot concerns the story of a cow-town dance hall girl who wins a bunch of oil wells when her fiance dies. . . .
• • Beverly Bryant wrote: No longer swathed in the clothes or the social amenities of the "Gay Nineties," Mae West becomes an up-to-date girl with ultra-modern ideas in modern surroundings. The opening scenes of "Goin' to Town" are laid in the middle west where Mae West acquires a lot of money by the process of getting rid of her wealthy husband. Then she really starts going places.  . . .
• • Source: The Urbana Evening Courier; published on Saturday, 6 July 1935
• • 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 18th anniversary • • 
• • Thank you for reading, sending questions, and posting comments during these past eighteen years. Not long ago, we entertained 3,497 visitors. And we reached a milestone recently when we completed 5,000 blog posts. Wow! 
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started eighteen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 5,033rd 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  
• • Be sure to bookmark or follow The Mae West Blog
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • onstage in "Sex" in 1927 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest

Mae West: Voluptuous Figure

Shocking and controversial in its time, a play by MAE WEST continues to be revived for open-minded audiences. This recent production was on the boards in Cape Cod. This is Part 3 of 9 segments.
• • Theatre Review: Doing the Time Warp in Mae West’s Play “The Drag” • •
• • Howard Karren wrote: At a young age, Mae rose from burlesque to Broadway, and, finally, in the 1930s, to Hollywood, where she quickly became the highest-paid star on studio contract.
• • Howard Karren wrote: She was not exceptionally pretty, but her figure was voluptuous, and her manner was forthright, clever, and confident in expressing sexual desire.

• • Howard Karren wrote: Her fame was self-made: West wrote most of her own material, and she scoffed at those in power who wished to silence her — she turned attempts to censor her into self-promotion.
• • Howard Karren wrote: This worked with her hit play “Sex,” for which she was temporarily jailed.
• • “The Drag” by Mae West ― continued • • …   
• • Source: The Provincetown Independent; published on Wednesday, 25 May 2022.
• • On Wednesday, 6 July 2022 • •
• • Everything You Need to Know about Elsa Schiaparelli Ahead of the Shocking! Exhibition in Paris.
• • Laird Borrelli-Persson wrote: Elsa Schiaparelli, who was known for her amusing prints, outdid herself in July 1937 with a particularly clever “passion thermometer” motif that depicted mercury rising between the poles of ‘Indifference’ and ‘Passion.’
• • Fashion’s love affair with the Italian designer has never been tepid, and is once again reaching boiling point as “Shocking! The Surreal World of Elsa Schiaparelli” is set to open on July 6th at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris.
• • “Shocking!” was the name of the perfume Elsa created for Mae West, the Hollywood headliner she costumed in 1937 for her upcoming film “Every Day’s a Holiday” (1938).
• • Source: Vogue; published on Friday, 1 July  2022.
• • July 2004: Mae West Blog launches • •
• • What are we up to, writing about the Brooklyn-born bombshell for eighteen years now?
• • We’re here to keep Mae mavens up to date, correct errors, celebrate each revival of a play she wrote, post the latest Westian stage and book reviews. And answer our fan mail!
• • The light’s still on. Come up and see Mae every day.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Mae West tendered this complaint to Hollywood insider Ellen Grant: "Last year they had me married to Jim Timony, my manager, this year they have me married to several guys named Wallace — — I suppose next year they'll have me arrested for bigamy!'' Which sort of sums up her attitude on the subject.  
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • About "Myra B." Mae West said: "They didn't use enough of me or my material until the budget had been run up high."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • An article on business mentioned Mae West.
• • "The 'Mae West philosophy' might just bring down your business" • •
• • Earl Bell wrote: Mae West is credited as saying, “Too Much of a Good Thing Can Be Wonderful.”  
• • Earl Bell wrote: While this might have worked in her life, it can spell disaster in the business world. ...
• • Source: Earl Bell’s article for http://www.fromlefttoright.com; published on Wednesday, 6 July 2011
• • 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 18th anniversary • • 
• • Thank you for reading, sending questions, and posting comments during these past eighteen years. Not long ago, we entertained 3,497 visitors. And we reached a milestone recently when we completed 5,000 blog posts. Wow! 
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started eighteen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 5,031st 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  
• • Be sure to bookmark or follow The Mae West Blog
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • in 1926 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest

Mae West: Forgotten?

According to Playbill, MAE WEST’s playwriting has been “forgotten.” Do you agree? We do not.
• • 7 Forgotten Female Playwrights from Eras Past With Lots to Say • •
• • Meet a few of history's playwrights who questioned their place in the world (and the men who were running it.) • •
• • Mae West: “Sex” (1926) • •
• • Protagonist Margy LaMont talking to antagonist and “dirty charity” Clara: “Say, you’ve got a nerve putting yourself on a pedestal above me. The things I’ve done, I had to do for a living. I know it was wrong. I’m not trying to alibi myself. But you’ve done those same things for other reasons.”

• • Playbill’s Leah Putnam wrote: A silver screen icon, Mae West wrote a few plays, including “Sex” which landed her in jail for eight days as religious groups protested the show (sic). The play, which also starred West [as Margy LaMont], follows a cast of prostitutes trying to better their lives.
• • Note: It was Mae’s efforts to launch “The Drag,” her new homosexual play, that brought City Hall’s guillotine down on her.
• • Playbill’s Leah Putnam wrote: It opened April 26, 1926 to a commercially successful Broadway run of 375 performances and played to over 325,000 audience members before it was shut down for obscenity in February 1927.
• • Playbill’s Leah Putnam wrote: Mae West wrote the controversial work under the pen name Jane Mast.
• • Source: Playbill; published on Wednesday, 20 April 2022.
• • On Wednesday, 12 May 1971 • •
• • On Wednesday, 12 May 1971 Mae West, UCLA’s Woman of the Century, spoke to students after a screening of her 1933 classic movie “I’m No Angel.”
• • On Tuesday, 12 May 1998 • •
• • The record album "Mae Day: Masquers Club Salutes Mae West" was released on Tuesday, 12 May 1998 on the label Bacchus. The original recording date was on Saturday, 14 April 1973.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Mae West won't have to worry about getting a job now: she's formed her own movie production company. Mae West Empire Pictures Co., James Timony, Mae's business manager said today, was incorporated at Sacramento, the state capitol, with Louis R. Lurie of Sacramento, as president. Mae is a vice president of the $5,000,000 corporation.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "Well, they've sued me for everything else."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • The foreign fashion press mentioned Mae West in May.
• • "London Says Mae West Curves Are Fashion's Whims" • •
• • Writing from London, Nell Murray wrote: Just to demonstrate that there must be some truth in the announcement from America that the female form divine for 1934 would weigh at least 12 pounds heavier than it did last year (in order to accommodate the threatened Mae West curves), a London dress designer took note ...
• • Source: Sunday Mail (Brisbane, Queensland); published on Sunday, 6 May 1934
• • 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 17th anniversary • • 
• • Thank you for reading, sending questions, and posting comments during these past seventeen years. Not long ago, we entertained 3,497 visitors. And we reached a milestone recently when we completed 4,900 blog posts. Wow! 
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started seventeen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 4,992nd 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  
• • Be sure to bookmark or follow The Mae West Blog
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • sketch of Mae in "Sex" in 1926 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest