Courting Mae West

Mae West: MidSumma in Melbourne

2012-01-28T09:26:00.002-05:00

This Saturday — — today on 28 January 2012 — — Marie-Therese Byrne will take the role of MAE WEST in "Courting Mae West," a serious-minded comedy written by LindaAnn Loschiavo. A one-time only presentation Down Under, the play will have a rehearsed reading under the direction of Cameron Menzies during the Midsumma Festival, now in its 24th year.
• • Australia's trendy L.O.T.L. Magazine said: "Those in the mood for some titillating theatre should consider 'Courting Mae West,' part of Midsumma's Playing in the Raw season."
• • She broke the law — — but the law didn't break her! • •
• • Based on true events during the Prohibition Era — — from December 1926 until December 1932 — — the play follows a pre-Hollywood Mae West, age 33, as she socializes in the drag cabaret where she had cast "The Drag" (in Act I, Scene 1), a daring production she plans to bring to Broadway. Unfortunately, she gets arrested and jailed instead (Act 1, Scene 3). Censorship, courtroom battles, bankruptcy, and other crises will dog her footsteps, forcing the Brooklyn bombshell to climb the ladder of success wrong by wrong. Finally, a Paramount Pictures star at 39 years old, Mae gets to bring her box-office blockbuster "Diamond Lil" to the silver screen on her own terms by the end of 1932.
• • Veteran actress Marie-Therese Byrne will portray the 33-year-old Broadway star — — and outspoken Jefferson Jail inmate. Her bio notes that Bryne's vast experience stretches across decades and includes theatre, opera, film, and television. A consummate performer with a powerful presence, she has thrilled audiences in productions as versatile as Five Minute Call, The Secret Garden, Dimboola, Seven Little Australians, The Sound of Music and Summer of the Saw. Her stunning voice has seen her work with the Victorian State Opera on Joan of Arc, Aida and Carmen along with The Merry Widow and Di Fledermaus. On screen she appeared in the Aussie films The Castle, and Evil Angels along with appearances on Blue Heelers, Neighbours, Sons and Daughters, Phoenix, Prisoner, Australia's Most Wanted and Flying Doctors.
• • The various men, judges, attorneys, news dealers, directors, and drag queens in Mae West's life will be brought to life by the actors Paolo LoLicata, Marc Opitz, and Joshua Hackett.
• • WHAT: "Courting Mae West: Sex, Censorship & Secrets" by US playwright and Mae West authority LindaAnn Loschiavo
• • WHEN: Saturday, 28 January 2012 — — from 2.00pm — 4:30pm
• • WHERE: Midsumma Playing-In-The-Raw at The Chapel [Melbourne, Australia]
• • VENUE: Chapel Off Chapel, in the City of Stonnington, has earned, both nationally and internationally, an excellent reputation as a progressive arts and entertainment venue.
• • Restrictions: R18
• • Special thanks to Robert Chuter for selecting "Courting Mae West" for Midsumma Playing-In-The-Raw's series.
• • Tell them you heard about it on The Courting Mae West Blog.
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• • The legal battles fought by Mae West and Jim Timony are dramatized in the play "Courting Mae West: Sex, Censorship, and Secrets," set during the Prohibition Era. Watch a scene on YouTube.
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Source:http://courtingmaewest.blogspot.com/atom.xml

Courting Mae West
Mae West
• • Photo: Mae West • • Mae West in 1926 • •
NYC
Mae West.

Mae West: MidSumma, Melbourne

2012-01-24T05:12:00.005-05:00

At the end of January, Marie-Therese Byrne will take the role of MAE WEST in "Courting Mae West," a serious-minded comedy written by LindaAnn Loschiavo. At a one-time only presentation in Australia, the play will have a concert reading during Midsumma Playing-In-The-Raw. Many thanks to Robert Chuter!!
• • Based on true events during the Prohibition Era — — from December 1926 until December 1932 — — the play follows a pre-Hollywood Mae West, age 33, as she socializes in the drag cabaret where she had cast "The Drag" (in Act I, Scene 1), a daring production she plans to bring to Broadway. Unfortunately, she gets arrested and jailed instead (Act 1, Scene 3). Censorship, courtroom battles, bankruptcy, and other crises will dog her footsteps, forcing the Brooklyn bombshell to climb the ladder of success wrong by wrong. Finally, a Paramount Pictures star at 39 years old, Mae gets to bring her box-office blockbuster "Diamond Lil" to the silver screen on her own terms by the end of 1932.
• • Actress Marie-Therese Byrne will portray the 33-year-old Broadway star — — and Jefferson Jail inmate. Her bio notes that Bryne's vast experience stretches across decades and includes theatre, opera, film, and television. A consummate performer with a powerful presence, she has thrilled audiences in productions as versatile as Five Minute Call, The Secret Garden, Dimboola, Seven Little Australians, The Sound of Music and Summer of the Saw. Her stunning voice has seen her work with the Victorian State Opera on Joan of Arc, Aida and Carmen along with The Merry Widow and Di Fledermaus. On screen she appeared in the Aussie films The Castle, and Evil Angels along with appearances on Blue Heelers, Neighbours, Sons and Daughters, Phoenix, Prisoner, Australia's Most Wanted and Flying Doctors.
• • WHAT: "Courting Mae West: Sex, Censorship & Secrets"
• • Directed by Cameron Menzies
• • Starring Marie-Therese Byrne
• • WHEN: Saturday, 28 January 2012 at 2.00pm
• • WHERE: Midsumma Playing-In-The-Raw at The Chapel [Melbourne, Australia]
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• • The legal battles fought by Mae West and Jim Timony are dramatized in the play "Courting Mae West: Sex, Censorship, and Secrets," set during the Prohibition Era. Watch a scene on YouTube.
___________
Source:http://courtingmaewest.blogspot.com/atom.xml

Courting Mae West
Mae West
• • Photo: Mae West • • Mae West & Barry O'Neill on trial, 1927 • •
NYC
Mae West.

Mae West Down Under in 2012

2011-08-08T05:14:00.008-04:00

"COURTING MAE WEST: Sex, Censorship, and Secrets" will be presented on Saturday 28 January 2012 in Melbourne, Australia as part of the city's 24th Midsumma Festival. Based on true events during the Prohibition Era, LindaAnn Loschiavo's serious-minded comedy will be seen at this centrally located theatre: Chapel Off Chapel, 12 Little Chapel St, Prahran Melbourne, Australia.
• • The 24th Midsumma festival will run from Sunday 15 January to Sunday 5 February, 2012.
• • Robert Chuter, Artistic Director, FLY-ON-THE-WALL THEATRE, will oversee this production with an Australian cast. Making a name for themselves since 1985 as one of the most prolific and hardworking theatre companies in the country, Fly-On-The-Wall has gathered a loyal following and established themselves as one of the premiere “cult” producing houses. Unafraid of controversial content but always with a sharp eye for beauty, the company has been responsible for some of Melbourne’s most legendary productions and grown through various transformations over the years: From its early stages as Ghostshirts through to the grandeur of the outdoor productions at Ripponlea Estate as Performing Arts Productions (earning them the title of “The Merchant/ Ivory of Melbourne theatre”), to its current incarnation.
• • PHOTO: LindaAnn Loschiavo poses with Mae West, actress Yvonne Sayers, at the Algonquin Theater in NYC in July 2008
• • PHOTO CREDIT: Conrad Bradford
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• • Annual Mae West Tribute 2011 • •
• • "Mae West in Bohemia — — Gin, Sin, Censorship, and Eugene O'Neill"
• • Mae West's birthday is August 17th. Join a vivacious group of Mae mavens on Sunday afternoon, 14 August 2011. The title of this year's illustrated historical theme walk is "Mae West in Bohemia — — Gin, Sin, Censorship, and Eugene O'Neill." Rare vintage illustrations will show you how the buildings and blocks looked as these two theatre people saw them. At the final stop on West Third Street, you will see how caricaturist Al Hirschfeld sketched O'Neill and his stage plays from the 1920s on.
• • Sites will include the Village speakeasies where Eugene O'Neill [1888 — 1953] drank himself into oblivion and met the characters he would put in his plays, and where Mae socialized and bent elbows with Texas Guinan, Walter Winchell, Jack Dempsey, and Barney Gallant; significant theatres; the courthouse where Eugene and Mae battled against censorship; and off-beat addresses that made an impact on the career of these playwrights. Get ready to walk on the wild side.
• • Raffle prizes! Each Mae West walking tour ends with a raffle of Mae-themed prizes.
• • When: Sunday, 14 August 2011 — — rain or shine
• • Where: This Illustrated Walking Tour begins promptly at 3:00 PM at 62 West Ninth Street, where a gay cabaret once stood that inspired Mae West to write "The Drag" (and hire their drag queens for the cast). This tour focuses on 18 sites around Washington Square and ends at the Eugene O'Neill and Al Hirschfeld exhibition. Time: 90 — 120 minutes.
• • Cost: $10 per person
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• • The legal battles fought by Mae West and Jim Timony are dramatized in the play "Courting Mae West: Sex, Censorship, and Secrets," set during the Prohibition Era. Watch a scene on YouTube.
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Source:http://courtingmaewest.blogspot.com/atom.xml

Courting Mae West
Mae West
• • Photo: Mae West • • "Courting Mae West" in 2008 • •
NYC
Mae West.

Mae West: Gin, Sin, and O'Neill

2011-07-10T08:57:00.015-04:00

Act I, Scene 1 of the stage play "Courting Mae West" begins in Bohemia, inside the gay cabaret that inspired MAE WEST to write her play "The Drag." During the 1920s, Paul & Joe's was an Italian restaurant that catered to people involved at Jefferson Market Court by day — — and then turned into a colorful pansy party after dark. Clues to the cross-dressing scene were planted in The New York Times, for instance, where revelers, notable drag queens, and scene-makers could notice that a "diamond-encrusted pansy brooch" had been "lost" at 62 West Ninth. Hmmm, a missing pansy brooch! Hint hint.
• • On 14 August 2011, to celebrate Mae's birthday, a walking tour will start at Paul & Joe's former location [a restaurant now called The Lion].
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• • Annual Mae West Tribute 2011 • •
• • "Mae West in Bohemia — — Gin, Sin, Censorship, and Eugene O'Neill"
• • Mae West's birthday is August 17th. An upcoming Mae West event that is open to the public will be held on Sunday afternoon, 14 August 2011. The title of this illustrated historical theme walk is "Mae West in Bohemia — — Gin, Sin, Censorship, and Eugene O'Neill." Rare vintage illustrations will show you how the buildings and blocks looked as these two theatre people saw them.
• • Sites will include the Village speakeasies where Eugene O'Neill [1888 — 1953] drank himself into oblivion and met the characters he would put in his plays, and where Mae socialized and bent elbows with Texas Guinan, Walter Winchell, Jack Dempsey, and Barney Gallant; significant theatres; the courthouse where Eugene and Mae battled against censorship; and off-beat addresses that made an impact on the career of these playwrights. Get ready to walk on the wild side.
• • Raffle prizes! Each Mae West walking tour ends with a raffle of Mae-themed prizes. Sponsors may inquire about suitable product placements for August 14th.
• • When: Sunday, 14 August 2011 — — rain or shine
• • Where: This Illustrated Walking Tour begins promptly at 3:00 PM at 62 West Ninth Street, where a gay cabaret once stood that inspired Mae West to write "The Drag" (and hire their drag queens for the cast). This tour focuses on 18 sites around Washington Square and ends at the Eugene O'Neill and Al Hirschfeld exhibition. Time: 90 — 120 minutes.
• • Cost: $10 per person
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• • The legal battles fought by Mae West and Jim Timony are dramatized in the play "Courting Mae West: Sex, Censorship, and Secrets," set during the Prohibition Era. Watch a scene on YouTube.
___________
Source:http://courtingmaewest.blogspot.com/atom.xml

Courting Mae West
Mae West
• • Photo: Mae West • • Paul & Joe's in 1926 • •
NYC
Mae West.

Mae West: Sex on 26 April 1926

2011-04-26T13:46:00.003-04:00

Written by "Jane Mast" and starring MAE WEST as Margy LaMont, "Sex" opened in April — — on 26 April 1926. The Broadway debut occurred a few blocks north of Columbus Circle at Daly’s 63rd Street Theatre, the only playhouse available at the time. Today is the 85th anniversary of Mae's achievement. Writing and staging "Sex" would change her life.
• • Two days later (on 28 April 1926) Variety took an early stand against the play: “Mae West … has broken the fetters and does as she pleases here. After three hours of this play’s nasty, infantile, amateurish, and vicious dialog, after watching its various actors do their stuff badly, one really has a feeling of gratefulness for any repression that may have toned down her vaudeville songs in the past. If this show could do one week of good business it would depart with a handsome profit, it’s that cheaply put on.”
• • Phooey on you, Variety. Unstoppable "Sex" not only sold out its premiere but it also offered 385 performances with general admission tickets sold for $3.50. According to Mae West, orchestra seats were $10.
• • "Papa" Charlie Jackson [c.1885 — 1938] was an early African-American blues man and songster and it's believed he was born in New Orleans. It is generally accepted that Jackson died in Chicago, Illinois in 1938 at age 53. Jackson appeared in minstrel shows with a hybrid instrument: a cross between a guitar banjo and a ukulele. Though numerous details of his life as a performer remain unclear, it's known that his recording career began in 1924 when he was signed to the Paramount label. When he recorded "Papa's Lawdy Lawdy Blues" and "Airy Man Blues," these hits registered as the first commercially successful and self-accompanied recordings by a male singer of the blues. The track "Salty Dog Blues" turned out to be his most famous song. Shortly after, Jackson would cut records with Hattie McDaniel, Ma Rainey, and Ida Cox — — a vocalist billed as the "sepia Mae West."
• • "Shake That Thing" [1925] • •
• • In 1925, with lyricist C. Johnson, Charlie Jackson composed "Shake That Thing," a 3 minute song published by Shapiro, Bernstein & Co., Inc., 488 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10022. Accompanied by the group Smithsonian Blues, Papa Charlie Jackson recorded this himself — — a sultry blues number that Mae heard and introduced to her Broadway audience in her 1926 show, while backed by a jazz band. She also selected the cool blues song "My Sweet Man" (and other pieces by talented black composers such as W.C. Handy) to feature in "Sex." The police officials who came to spy and take notes were especially interested in her bare midriff as she shimmied. The exotic movements of Mae's bellybutton were preserved in the trial transcripts in 1927.
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• • The police raid in February 1927 is dramatized in Act I of the stage play COURTING MAE WEST. This is one panel from the COURTING MAE WEST comic book written and designed by playwright LindaAnn Loschiavo and delightfully illustrated and hand-colored by artist Michael DiMotta. Do not copy this panel nor reuse it without permission. Be nice.
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• • The legal battles fought by Mae West and Jim Timony are dramatized in the play "Courting Mae West: Sex, Censorship, and Secrets," set during the Prohibition Era. Watch a scene on YouTube.
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Source:http://courtingmaewest.blogspot.com/atom.xml

Courting Mae West
Mae West
• • Photo: Mae West • • on Broadway as Margy LaMont • •
NYC
Mae West.

Mae West on 19 April 1927

2011-04-19T06:03:00.004-04:00

"The Beaux arts-style Palace, originally called the Loew's Poli Theater, opened in 1922 and was once the biggest venue in the state, seating about 3,600 for live entertainers including MAE WEST," writes Ken Dixon today in his article for the CT Post. "It closed about 35 years ago. ... Scared off by estimates that a study of Bridgeport's long-vacant vaudeville-era theaters would cost about $619,000, a legislative committee Monday voted to require state officials to perform the study with existing funds. ..."
• • Mae-mavens already know that in 1927, "The Drag" premiered at Poli's, a stock burlesque house in Bridgeport, Connecticut located on the most prominent boulevard downtown.
• • During the early 1920s, impresario Sylvestre Poli brought the Poli Palace to the Nutmeg State.
• • Designed by architect Thomas W. Lamb and eventually renamed Loew's Palace Theater [1325 Main Street, Bridgeport, CT 06604], this landmark was the biggest movie theater ever erected in Connecticut — — and the largest among Bridgeport's 20-plus theaters. Poli's was actually one of two theaters built inside a single building (the other being the Majestic).
• • Despite the public's curiosity about the controversial vaudevillian Mae West, and her latest play "The Drag," Jim Timony could only manage to secure half a week at Poli's Park, which was then in use as a burlesque house in Bridgeport. It was a dreary and wintery Monday on 31 January 1927 when the Morals Production Company hoisted a banner over the trolley cars criss-crossing Main Street. Pedestrians were intrigued by this saucy announcement: "The Drag" by the author of SEX — — more sensational than Rain or The Captive!"
• • While they were lodging at the Arcade Hotel, Beverly West and Edward Elsner (Mae's sister and director) were arrested at 5 AM on 2 February 1927. Both the play and the arrest were the talk of Bridgeport.
• • 19 April 1927 • •
• • The sentencing of Mae West, Jim Timony, and the cast of "Sex" took place on 19 April 1927 in Jefferson Market Court. That trial and the dramatic verdict end Act I of the stage play "Courting Mae West: Sex, Censorship, and Secrets."
• • This is a photo of that pivotal moment in the courtroom when the play was last presented in New York City at the Algonquin Theatre in July 2008. Mae West was portrayed by actress Yvonne Sayers. The role of Texas Guinan went to Eileen Glenn and Gloria M. Buccino was Matilda West.
• • The legal battles fought by Mae West and Jim Timony are dramatized in the play "Courting Mae West: Sex, Censorship, and Secrets," set during the Prohibition Era. Watch a scene on YouTube.
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Source:http://courtingmaewest.blogspot.com/atom.xml

Courting Mae West
Mae West
• • Photo: Mae West trial with Matilda West and jury reenactment onstage • • 19 April 1927 • •
NYC
Mae West.

Alan Brooks and Mae West

2010-09-29T11:08:00.002-04:00

"Pleasure Man" written by MAE WEST had its opening night on 1 October 1928 padlocked by the police. Alan Brooks who portrayed Rodney Terrill died at the end of September — — on 29 September 1936 — — in Saranac Lake, NY, at age 48. Did the stressful 1930s obscenity trial contribute to his early demise?
• • Actor Alan Brooks, who played the title role, swore on the witness stand that he was astonished to discover that his character in "Pleasure Man" had died from being castrated. The debonair 42-year-old leading man testified in smart-looking spats and a gorgeous suit.
• • In January 1917, the performer also had to sue The Palace over a salary dispute. The court ruled in his favor and the determined vaudevillian walked away with his weekly wages of $665.
• • Born as Irving Hayward on 25 January 1888 in New York City, Alan Brooks was active on The Gay White Way from 1909 — 1932. During that interval, Brooks was cast opposite Lionel Barrymore in "The Piker" [1925] and helmed his own Broadway trifecta when he wrote, directed, and starred in the comedy "Merchants of Venus" [1920].
• • The life of an actor has never been an easy one whether onstage or during the drama of the witness stand.
• • The legal battles fought by Mae West and Alan Brooks are dramatized in the play "Courting Mae West: Sex, Censorship, and Secrets," set during the Prohibition Era. Watch a scene on YouTube.
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Source:http://courtingmaewest.blogspot.com/atom.xml

Courting Mae West
Mae West
• • Photo: Mae West trial with Alan Brooks and Texas Guinan during a break • • 1930 • •
NYC
Mae West.

Mae West: Three on the Ninth

2010-02-09T18:44:00.005-05:00

MAE WEST was arrested on 9 February 1927 along with the cast of "Sex," the cast of "The Virgin Man," and the cast of "The Captive."
• • • • Playing the role of Mr. Clean, attempting to disinfect the sewer Broadway had become, New York City's Acting Mayor Joseph V. McKee made sure the news men were informed the night before.
• • After 10:00 PM, Helen Menken, Dorothy Hall, and Mae West were charged with "contributing to a common nuisance" and "obscene exhibition" and found themselves face to face with each other and answerable to Magistrate John Flood Wells, who set bail at $1,000 each.
• • On February 10th, the local newspapers actually focused more on Miss Hall and Miss Menken than on Mae West, who was still an unknown and not the Broadway star Helen Menken was during the 1920s.
• • The raid and arrest in 1927 are dramatized in the full-length play "Courting Mae West." Watch a scene on YouTube.
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Source:http://courtingmaewest.blogspot.com/atom.xml

Courting Mae West
Mae West
• • Photo: Courting Mae West Comic Book • • 1927 • •
NYC
Mae West.

Mae West on Ice

2009-12-24T00:21:00.002-05:00

MAE WEST and diamonds were almost synonymous even before the creation of her most memorable character: Diamond Lil. ''I hadn't started out to collect diamonds, '' she said, ''but somehow they piled up on me.'' The onstage Diamond Lil was a singer in a Bowery saloon of the 1890's — — a bad girl with a good heart, who murdered her girlfriend, wrecked a Salvation Army hall, and sang ''Frankie and Johnny,'' wrote The New York Times [on 23 November 1980].
• • Jewelry and Christmas go together as nicely as red goes with green on holiday decorations. If you are hoping that Santa scatters some glitter around your tree, filling your New Year with sparkle plenty, then here are some precious gem quotes to meditate on.
• • "Diamonds is my career!" — — from "Diamond Lil" by Mae West
• • "What shall I wear? ... God! But he's swell. What about my diamonds? Yes, I'll wear them, too. What will he say about the diamonds? But, no, he won't ask. He'll just think and that's what I want him to do — — think!" — — from "The Constant Sinner" by Mae West
• • I never worry about diets. The only carrots that interest me are the number of carats in a diamond. — — Mae West
• • No gold-digging for me; I take diamonds! We may be off the gold standard someday. — — Mae West
• • "She has more ice than a case of champagne. You can signal ships when you're hauling that kind of jewelry!" — — from "Courting Mae West"
• • Jewelry takes people’s minds off your wrinkles. — — Sonja Henie
• • Perhaps time’s definition of coal is the diamond. — — Kahlil Gibran
• • This diamond has so many carats it’s almost a turnip. — — Richard Burton
• • I really think that American gentlemen are the best after all, because kissing your hand may make you feel very very good but a diamond and a sapphire bracelet lasts forever. — — Anita Loo
• • "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" — — a song written by Jule Styne and Leo Robin
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Source:http://courtingmaewest.blogspot.com/atom.xml

Courting Mae West
Mae West
• • Photo: Mae West • • 1934 • •
NYC
Mae West.

Mae West: Raid at the Biltmore

2009-10-01T03:54:00.004-04:00

When it premiered at the Biltmore on 1 October 1928, MAE WEST's gay play "Pleasure Man" had a $200,000 box office advance. The police raided the show, however, and shut it down the same night. Perhaps this was an easy target, since the Biltmore Theatre was on the same block as the precinct: 47th Street, west of Broadway.
• • The infamous raid at the Biltmore on 1 October 1928 is dramatized via a backstage visit to Mae's dressing room at the Royale Theatre, as the actress prepares to go onstage as the diamond-draped Bowery queen and consort of mobster Gus Jordan.
• • "Courting Mae West" is seeking a co-producer and backers for a for-profit production.
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• • "Courting Mae West" — — excerpt from ACT II, Scene 1 • •
• • • MAE WEST
That you, Jim?
• • • TEXAS GUINAN (TEXAS, age 44, enters MAE’s room clad in furs and diamonds)
The “butter and egg man” sent me, angel-pie.
• • • MAE WEST
The speakeasy hostess film-star herself! Still shooting in Flatbush? How’s it rolling, Texas?
• • • TEXAS GUINAN
It’s top-hat heavy. There’s a comical danse macabre with a District Attorney and a Judge.
• • • MAE WEST
Legal beagles! Don’t spoil my mood. Backers shouldn’t come backstage. It’s unlucky.
• • • TEXAS GUINAN
Pat from Variety visited the set of Queen of the Night Clubs. I steered her to your show tonight.
• • • MAE WEST
Oy! Variety’s always given me a black eye in print. They get my knickers in a knot.
• • • TEXAS GUINAN
This chick is a FAN. Pat admires the up-from-nothing Fellatio Alger characters in your plays.
• • • MAE WEST
My stomach’s full of “opening night” butterflies. Got enough congrats to wallpaper with.
(MAE shows TEXAS telegrams that arrived via Western Union)
• • • TEXAS GUINAN (TEXAS examines the telegrams)
• • • MAE WEST (MAE puts on stage jewelry for her role as the star of Diamond Lil)
Bet it warms Pat’s heart — to sit with you, basking in the glow of your investment-grade jewelry.
• • • TEXAS GUINAN
We would’ve had yuks. (pause) But you’ll be busy tonight — a little grape told me as it whined.
• • • MAE WEST
The Bowery Queen here is about to go on! Diamonds is my career…. NIX the BAD NEWS!
• • • TEXAS GUINAN
You need to know! Before he left for D.C., our Mayor gave his okay for a raid — at the Biltmore.
• • • MAE WEST (MAE is outraged and jumps out of her seat)
WHAT! It’s our opening night at the Biltmore! Tex, who told you there’ll be a raid tonight?
• • • TEXAS GUINAN
Walter Winchell doesn’t call me the gatekeeper of gossip for nothing.
• • • MAE WEST
Pleasure Man has a $200,000 advance. Who wants to sink my ship on its maiden voyage?
• • • TEXAS GUINAN
It’s pressure from the Prevention of Vice cranks. They’d convict the 12 apostles, if they could.
• • • MAE WEST
Convict! Stop with the unlucky words. My mother suffered when they jailed me last year.
• • • TEXAS GUINAN
I’ve learned to see the sunny side. Prison is one place where my diamonds seem safe.
• • • MAE WEST
Sunny! My trial ate my bankbook. I wanted to buy my parents a house. Now another raid!
• • • TEXAS GUINAN
Scandal is a career move. This time play the damsel in distress on the witness stand.
• • • MAE WEST
Mae West doesn’t do PATHETIC. (pause) Tex, what can be done to trouble-shoot this?
• • • TEXAS GUINAN
Honey-child, the problem with trouble-shooting is that, invariably, trouble shoots back.
• • • MAE WEST
Aww! My butterflies just went into battle formation. Diamond Lil goes on in thirty minutes.
• • • TEXAS GUINAN
Relax. You’ll get fried on the front page and it’ll boost your box office higher than a zeppelin.
• • • MAE WEST
Our Biltmore premier was sold out. An injunction can keep the show on — maybe. (MAE exits, bad posture revealing her agony from stomach cramps)
• • • TEXAS GUINAN
Never met a chick who was hurt by a headline. Give the little girl a nice big (pause) handcuff. (TEXAS exits with great style)
• • • • • • [LIGHTS: dim lights in MAE’s dressing room, Royale Theatre]
— — Excerpt: — —
• • • © "Courting Mae West: Sex, Censorship, and Secrets" by LindaAnn Loschiavo
• • • This play is protected under U.S. copyright law.
• • • NO permission is being given to duplicate this text anywhere else. Thank you.
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
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Courting Mae West
Mae West
• • Photo: Mae West • • the raid at the Biltmore • •
NYC
Mae West.

Mae West & Texas Guinan Tour

2009-08-15T01:55:00.008-04:00

The famous speakeasy hostess Texas Guinan backed Broadway shows including "Diamond Lil" starring MAE WEST. As New Yorkers prepare for the "Gaudy Girls on The Great White Way" walking tour on August 16th, here's a small section from the opening of ACT II of "Courting Mae West," a play based on true events during the Prohibition Era.
• • Mae West's gay play "Pleasure Man" had a $200,000 box office advance when it premiered at the Biltmore on 1 October 1928. The police raided the show, however, and shut it down the same night. Perhaps this was an easy target, since the Biltmore Theatre was on the same block as the precinct: 47th Street, west of Broadway.
• • The infamous raid at the Biltmore on 1 October 1928 is dramatized via a backstage visit to Mae's dressing room at the Royale Theatre, as the actress prepares to go onstage as the diamond-draped Bowery queen and consort of mobster Gus Jordan.
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• • "Courting Mae West" — — excerpt from ACT II, Scene 1 • •
• • • MAE WEST
That you, Jim?
• • • TEXAS GUINAN (TEXAS, age 44, enters MAE’s room clad in furs and diamonds)
The “butter and egg man” sent me, angel-pie.
• • • MAE WEST
The speakeasy hostess film-star herself! Still shooting in Flatbush? How’s it rolling, Texas?
• • • TEXAS GUINAN
It’s top-hat heavy. There’s a comical danse macabre with a District Attorney and a Judge.
• • • MAE WEST
Legal beagles! Don’t spoil my mood. Backers shouldn’t come backstage. It’s unlucky.
• • • TEXAS GUINAN
Pat from Variety visited the set of Queen of the Night Clubs. I steered her to your show tonight.
• • • MAE WEST
Oy! Variety’s always given me a black eye in print. They get my knickers in a knot.
• • • TEXAS GUINAN
This chick is a FAN. Pat admires the up-from-nothing Fellatio Alger characters in your plays.
• • • MAE WEST
My stomach’s full of “opening night” butterflies. Got enough congrats to wallpaper with.
(MAE shows TEXAS telegrams that arrived via Western Union)
• • • TEXAS GUINAN (TEXAS examines the telegrams)
• • • MAE WEST (MAE puts on stage jewelry for her role as the star of Diamond Lil)
Bet it warms Pat’s heart — to sit with you, basking in the glow of your investment-grade jewelry.
• • • TEXAS GUINAN
We would’ve had yuks. (pause) But you’ll be busy tonight — a little grape told me as it whined.
• • • MAE WEST
The Bowery Queen here is about to go on! Diamonds is my career…. NIX the BAD NEWS!
• • • TEXAS GUINAN
You need to know! Before he left for D.C., our Mayor gave his okay for a raid — at the Biltmore.
• • • MAE WEST (MAE is outraged and jumps out of her seat)
WHAT! It’s our opening night at the Biltmore! Tex, who told you there’ll be a raid tonight?
• • • TEXAS GUINAN
Walter Winchell doesn’t call me the gatekeeper of gossip for nothing.
• • • MAE WEST
Pleasure Man has a $200,000 advance. Who wants to sink my ship on its maiden voyage?
• • • TEXAS GUINAN
It’s pressure from the Prevention of Vice cranks. They’d convict the 12 apostles, if they could.
• • • MAE WEST
Convict! Stop with the unlucky words. My mother suffered when they jailed me last year.
• • • TEXAS GUINAN
I’ve learned to see the sunny side. Prison is one place where my diamonds seem safe.
• • • MAE WEST
Sunny! My trial ate my bankbook. I wanted to buy my parents a house. Now another raid!
• • • TEXAS GUINAN
Scandal is a career move. This time play the damsel in distress on the witness stand.
• • • MAE WEST
Mae West doesn’t do PATHETIC. (pause) Tex, what can be done to trouble-shoot this?
• • • TEXAS GUINAN
Honey-child, the problem with trouble-shooting is that, invariably, trouble shoots back.
• • • MAE WEST
Aww! My butterflies just went into battle formation. Diamond Lil goes on in thirty minutes.
• • • TEXAS GUINAN
Relax. You’ll get fried on the front page and it’ll boost your box office higher than a zeppelin.
• • • MAE WEST
Our Biltmore premier was sold out. An injunction can keep the show on — maybe. (MAE exits, bad posture revealing her agony from stomach cramps)
• • • TEXAS GUINAN
Never met a chick who was hurt by a headline. Give the little girl a nice big (pause) handcuff. (TEXAS exits with great style)
• • • • • • [LIGHTS: dim lights in MAE’s dressing room, Royale Theatre]
— — Excerpt: — —
• • • © "Courting Mae West: Sex, Censorship, and Secrets" by LindaAnn Loschiavo
• • • This play is protected under U.S. copyright law.
• • • NO permission is being given to duplicate this text anywhere else. Thank you.
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• • Walking Tour: "Gaudy Girls on The Gay White Way: Mae West & Texas Guinan in the Theatre District"
• • When: 4:00 PM on Sunday — — 16 August 2008 — — rain or shine
• • Meet: Shubert Alley, 44th Street, West of Broadway, New York, NY 10036
• • Price: $10 [this walking tour lasts about 90 minutes]
• • Previous walking tour photos can be seen on the Mae West Blog — — MaeWest.blogspot.com.
• • For more details, do read previous posts on this blog.
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Source:http://courtingmaewest.blogspot.com/atom.xml

Courting Mae West
Mae West
• • Photo: Mae West portrayed by Yvonne Sayers, Texas Guinan portrayed by Eileen Glenn • • one of the trial scenes in Courting Mae West • •
NYC
Mae West.

Mae West: Lil Fulfilled

2009-07-18T03:59:00.003-04:00

The summer air was feverish with applause during July 1928 when MAE WEST was riding a big box office wave at the Royale Theatre.
• • Though this Broadway showplace [located at 242 West 45th Street] had first hung out its shingle during January 1927, and has become known for long-running musicals, a non-musical was the theatre's first bonanza: Mae West’s "Diamond Lil," which wriggled in on 9 April 1928 and maintained its sunny side up for over 170 performances.
• • Time Magazine took its temperature [issue dated Monday, 23 April 1928].
• • Time's theatre critic, sparing no flair, admitted Lil had his heart at hello: "Diamond Lil" — — Propped up under the armpits by a dress that might have been designed by the stage carpenter, Mae West played the role that she had written about a bygone queen of Manhattan's underworld. Diamond Lil was a harlot whose heart was as big and golden as the enormous swan shaped bed that stood in her elaborate cubicle above Gus Jordan's saloon and brothel. None the less, she was hardboiled; when a Salvation Army captain came to save her soul, she planned to seduce him and when a lady threatened a double cross, Diamond Lil stabbed her in the tenderloin district. Despite her efforts, Gus Jordan, the Bowery boss, is caught eventually, for white slave trafficking. The Salvation Army captain, really a member of the police force, is his captor; Diamond Lil cuddles into his arms at the end saying, "Boy, I knew you could be had.''
• • Actress West plays her heroine with an eloquent and minatory calm, which contrasts well with the chryselephantine magnificence of her appearance. There are old-time tough songs, outmoded slang words ("moll," "dick," "corset"), and singing waiters, one of whom yodels, in the musty barroom, the same song with which he recently amused Manhattan cabaret patrons. "Diamond Lil" is an entertaining melodrama, concluded Time's man on the aisle.
• • You just don't hear critics uttering "minatory" these days, do you? Minatory — — means of a menacing or threatening nature
• • And how about that $25 phrase "the chryselephantine magnificence"? Chryselephantine — — (adjective) means made of, or overlaid with, gold and ivory, as certain objects made in ancient Greece.
• • The Royale Theatre on West 45th will be one of the tour stops on 16 August 2009.
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• • Walking Tour: "Gaudy Girls on The Gay White Way: Mae West & Texas Guinan in the Theatre District"
• • When: 4:00 PM on Sunday — — 16 August 2008 — — rain or shine
• • Meet: Shubert Alley, 44th Street, West of Broadway, New York, NY 10036
• • Price: $10 [this walking tour lasts about 90 minutes]
• • Subway: N or R [BMT] train to West 42nd Street; 1 [IRT] train to Times Square
• • Previous walking tour photos can be seen on the Mae West Blog — — MaeWest.blogspot.com.
• • For more details, do read this blog and/ or post any questions.
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Source:http://courtingmaewest.blogspot.com/atom.xml

Courting Mae West
Mae West
• • Photo: Mae West • • onstage in 1928 as Diamond Lil • •
NYC
Mae West.

Gaudy Girls on The Gay White Way

2009-07-16T05:58:00.007-04:00

Join us for an a-MAE-zing afternoon focused on Mae West & Texas Guinan!
• • On 16 August 2009, come up and enjoy an a-MAE-zing experience — — a walking tour of historical sights in the Times Square area. This year the Annual Mae West Birthday Tour also commemorates speakeasy hostess Texas Guinan, the generous friend who backed all of Mae’s Broadway shows during the 1920s.
• • Walking Tour: "Gaudy Girls on The Gay White Way: Mae West & Texas Guinan in the Theatre District"
• • When: 4:00 PM on Sunday — — 16 August 2008 — — rain or shine
• • Meet: Shubert Alley, 44th Street, West of Broadway, New York, NY 10036
• • Price: $10 [this walking tour lasts about 90 minutes]
• • Subway: N or R [BMT] train to West 42nd Street; 1 [IRT] train to Times Square
• • Attire: why not wear a Mae West-inspired hat?
• • Info: T. 212-614-9683 — — or post your RSVP or tour question here
• • Online: MaeWest.blogspot.com — — TexasGuinan.blogspot.com
• • Who: Playwright LindaAnn Loschiavo makes the tour educational and entertaining.
• • LindaAnn Loschiavo's history play "Courting Mae West" was onstage in July 2008 at the Fresh Fruit Festival. She is working on a biographical travel guide "Mae West's New York, 1899—1959" and will show some of her unusual theatre memorabilia and vintage photos during the tour and reveal secret addresses tied to Mae West that have not been disclosed before. These rare pictures show the area as it looked during the 1920s when Mae West and Texas Guinan had their name on several marquees.
• • Surprises: Prizes and other nice things are part of the fun
• • Members of the press may attend on August 16th as our guest. RSVP required.
• • • • Mae West Walking Tours You Might Have Enjoyed • • • •
• • 2006 TOUR: Our regular Mae-mavens will recall seeing the historical exhibition "Onstage Outlaws: Mae West and Texas Guinan in a Lawless Era,” which opened to the public after a Gala Roaring-20s theme Press Preview on Mae’s birthday 17 August 2006. And on Sunday afternoon 20 August 2006, more than two dozen beautiful people gathered on West Ninth Street to enjoy a special treat — — "Washington Square Women: Mae West and Texas Guinan in Greenwich Village" — — followed by a Jazz Era brunch served with champagne and the Cos-MAE-Politan cocktail, garnished with two strategically placed plump raspberries.
• • 2007 TOUR: On Friday evening 17 August 2007, a fascinating guided adventure — — "The Mae West Side Story" — — escorted numerous intrepid walk-abouts to three of Mae's former residences along with other sites linked to the Brooklyn bombshell.
• • 2008 TOUR: On Sunday afternoon 17 August 2008, the captivating Diamond Divas led a group of over two dozen Mae-mavens to several locations in Greenwich Village linked to her stage career, gay themes, courtroom woes, and the work of individuals she admired such as Lillian Russell, Tony Pastor, Texas Guinan, Eugene O'Neill, and Rae Bourbon. The 2008 walking tour — — "Mae West's Walk on the Wild Side" — — celebrated the 115th birthday of the Empress of Sex with an extravagant musical program, performed live by Met Opera soprano Marlena de la Mora and Sharon Weinman, which included these numbers: "Everything's Coming up Mae West"; "Mon Coeur S' Ouvre a Ta Voix"; "The Prisoner's Song"; "Frankie and Johnny"; "Come Down Ma Evening Star"; "I Could Have Danced All Night"; "Gentleman Jimmy"; and a grand finale taken from the score of "Diamond Lil."
• • Tour photos can be seen on the Mae West Blog.
• • For more details, do read this blog and/ or post your email. [Your info will not be posted nor available so that miscreants and rascals can access it.]
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Source:http://courtingmaewest.blogspot.com/atom.xml

Courting Mae West
Mae West
• • Photo: Mae West's pal • • Texas in Times Square with police 1927 • •
NYC
Mae West.

Mae West's Drag Raging

2009-06-20T02:32:00.003-04:00

Written in 1926, MAE WEST's controversial play "The Drag" will be onstage this weekend and next. If you're not in the Midwest, you can still enjoy a video of this production [link below].
• • Announcing that a "Boundary-pushing play on drag and homosexuality opens," scribe Ellen Harris (reporting from Iowa) gives us a preferential peek into the backstage prepping.
• • Ellen Harris writes: The cast members of Dreamwell Theatre’s The Drag sweated and sang their way through rehearsal in the cramped quarters at the First Baptist Church on June 10, utilizing the borrowed attic to the best of their combined abilities.
• • “It’s a garret for theater,” said first-time director Chuck Dufano about the less-than-ideal practice space.
• • Since the beginning of May, Dufano and his cast and crew have rehearsed The Drag, a 20-century play written by silver-screen star Mae West. This presentation, a Dreamwell Theatre production, will be performed at the Universalist Unitarian Society, 10 S. Gilbert St., at 7:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and June 26-27, 2009.
• • “The play as a whole is very serious,” Dufano said. “But with [the 1920s-era songs] and drag bits in between, it interjects a lightness. It’s a great commentary, really.”
• • The performing arts — particularly theater — are known for its support and acceptance of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community. Unsurprisingly, Mae West felt comfortable using her sex-symbol status to educate the public on matters of a delicate, discreet nature. Her first big play, titled Sex, led to her prosecution in 1927 by New York City officials on charges of questionable morality. Her subsequent eight-day incarceration helped propel West into fame. Her next piece, The Drag (written that same year), never had a Broadway première — the Society for the Suppression of Vice (a Prohibition-era institution dedicated to supervising the morality of the public) promised to banish the play.
• • The Drag, a severely dated presentation on homosexuality and drag culture, follows a few days in the life of Rolly Kingsbury, a wealthy, unhappily married man whose secret life of queers and queens takes a giant toll on his personal and professional lives.
• • Seasoned actor (and UI alum) T.J. Besler plays the tormented and confused Kingsbury, using small mannerisms — such as the touch of a hand upon a shoulder — to illustrate his longing for something other than his wilting flower of a wife, performed by Wartburg College graduate Becca Robinson.
• • Besler, whose résumé is full of various dramas and musicals, cited the diverse cast of The Drag as part of its community appeal.
• • “There are homosexual cast members, there are heterosexual cast members,” he said. “I think it’s great.”
• • Though originally written as three acts of straight dialogue, Dufano and music director Elisabeth Ross decided that some 1920s-era music would lighten the darker nature of the play. Almost every character gets a melodic spotlight, belting famous tunes such as “The Man I Love” and “Making Whoopie.” Ross, a UI graduate teaching elementary music in the area, assisted the actors in preparing to burst into song, as actors are wont to do in musical theater.
• • “There are a lot of really awesome voices here,” Ross said. “I think they make [the song interludes] work.”
• • Dreamwell is observing June’s Gay Pride Month, producing The Drag in conjunction with Pride Fest activities. Various Iowa City establishments, such as Studio 13, 13 S. Linn St., will host gay-community events, such as tonight’s cabaret and Saturday’s drag show. The celebrations in the city are testament to the community’s support of all of its denizens.
• • Robinson, The Drag’s female lead and a member of Dreamwell Theatre’s board, applauds the social and political efforts of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender organizations.
• • “This struggle has been going on [forever],” she said. “In this current time, when we see some advances are really starting to be made, it’s a reminder of how long they’ve taken to get there, how far they’ve come, and how much further they’re going to go.”
• • The essence of that era is evident in the language of The Drag. Terms such as “degenerates” and “moral lepers” are used when describing “victims of moral depravity” — namely, the gay men whose lifestyles are described in a physician’s book, one of the key set properties in the production. There is a scene in which a judge argues for homosexuals to be institutionalized, jailed, or sent to an asylum to deal with their “curse.”
• • Robinson is quick to explain the controversial moment.
• • “I feel like the dated bits are balanced by the fact that there are very ‘out’ homosexual characters who aren’t ashamed of what they are and who are having a really wonderful time,” she said.
• • However far society has come, some arguments that the play presents seem strikingly familiar. Debates about feminine versus masculine behavior and nature versus nurture as it relates to sexual development — these discussions are as recent as Miss California Carrie Prejean’s decrowning and the legalization of same-sex marriage in Iowa.
• • As Iowa has progressed, so has the theater. Though a constant haven for those who feel outcast by societal norms, even the performing arts have held antiquated views on sexual identity — West’s characterizations in The Drag are a prime example. The play may unpleasantly surprise audiences with its terminology, but the innuendo of the delightful drag queens (so honored by the title) draws more than enough laughs from the crowd.
• • “I think the show has something for everyone,” Besler said. “No matter what point of view you’re coming from.”
• • "The Drag" is onstage here: Universalist Unitarian Society — — 10 S. Gilbert Street, Iowa City, Iowa 52240.
• • NOTE: A slide show along with a video that shares song numbers from Mae West's play "The Drag" can be seen online currently — — http://www.dailyiowan.com/2009/06/18/Arts/11739.html
— — Source: — —
• • Article: "Boundary-pushing play on drag and homosexuality opens"
• • Byline: Ellen Harris | Staffwriter
• • Published in: The Daily Iowan — — www.dailyiowan.com
• • Published on: 18 June 2009
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• • The serious-minded comedy "Courting Mae West" by Greenwich Village playwright LindaAnn Loschiavo, set during 1926 — 1932, explores Mae West's legal woes surrounding "The Drag" and "Sex." Scenes in Act I dramatize Mae's interactions with her drag queen cast, the police raid on 9 February 1927, and the tense aftermath at Jefferson Market Police Court.
• • Using fictional elements, the text is anchored by true events and has several characters who are based on real people: actress Mae West; Beverly West; Jim Timony; Texas Guinan; a news seller on Sixth Avenue and West 9th Street; and Sara Starr, based on the Greenwich Village flapper Starr Faithfull, whose death inspired John O'Hara's novel "Butterfield 8" and a dozen other books.
• • "Courting Mae West: Sex, Censorship, and Secrets" has attracted the attention of a theatre owner and Is now seeking a co-producer for a for-profit off-Broadway production.
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Source:http://courtingmaewest.blogspot.com/atom.xml

Courting Mae West
Mae West
• • Photo: Mae West • • 1927 newspaper • •
NYC
Mae West.

Mae West: "The Drag" Returns

2009-06-19T01:04:00.004-04:00

MAE WEST's controversial play "The Drag" will be onstage not far from the cornfields of the Midwest this weekend. Don't miss it.
• • Deanna Howard's feature in The Iowa City Press-Citizen gives some background.
• • Deanna Howard writes: The second play of Dreamwell Theatre's season of "inciting theatre" is none other than Mae West's play, "The Drag." Organizers chose "The Drag" to coincide with local Gay Pride festivities.
• • "It's a chance for today's LGBT population to see how far we've come in the way of the social mindset, as how familiar some of the struggles are to our own today," said director Chuck Dufano.
• • "Things might get a little bizarre ... which is all in keeping with any good gay pride festival."
• • Dreamwell presents "The Drag" at 7:30 p.m. this Friday and Saturday and June 26—27, 2009 at the Universalist Unitarian Society. ...
• • Mae West wrote the play in the mid-1920s.
• • "For its time, it was a daring script," Dufano said. "She allowed gay men to speak in their own voice."
• • It's an interesting play because while it was cutting-edge then, by today's standards it's rather backwards, Dufano said.
• • "The Drag" centers on Rolly Kingsbury, a judge's son, who is set to inherit the family's ironworks business.
• • Kingsbury's marriage crumbles when the secret of a past affair with a man comes to light, as well as an affiliation with the local drag community.
• • Iowa City resident Gary Tyrrell plays one of the drag queens, Clem, in the production.
• • Growing up, Tyrrell was often encouraged to suppress his feminine side, to be ashamed of it.
• • Being in "The Drag" has allowed Tyrrell to come to grips with his childhood. He's enjoying the opportunity to show off his feminine side on stage. "It's been a lot of fun," Tyrrell said. "It's a good story. It has a lot of fun music from the Roaring 1920s."
• • Universalist Unitarian Society — — 10 S. Gilbert Street, Iowa City, Iowa 52240.
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
— — Source: — —
• • Article: "Dreamwell presents 'The Drag'"
• • Play part of local Gay Pride events
• • Byline: Deanna Howard | Staffwriter
• • Published in: The Iowa City Press-Citizen — — www.press-citizen.com/
• • Published on: 18 June 2009
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• • The serious-minded comedy "Courting Mae West" by Greenwich Village playwright LindaAnn Loschiavo, set during 1926 — 1932, explores Mae West's legal woes surrounding "The Drag" and "Sex." Scenes in Act I dramatize Mae's interactions with her drag queen cast, the police raid on 9 February 1927, and the tense aftermath at Jefferson Market Police Court.
• • Using fictional elements, the text is anchored by true events and has several characters who are based on real people: actress Mae West; Beverly West; Jim Timony; Texas Guinan; a news seller on Sixth Avenue and West 9th Street; and Sara Starr, based on the Greenwich Village flapper Starr Faithfull, whose death inspired John O'Hara's novel "Butterfield 8" and a dozen other books.
• • "Courting Mae West: Sex, Censorship, and Secrets" has attracted the attention of a theatre owner and Is now seeking a co-producer for a for-profit off-Broadway production.
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Source:http://courtingmaewest.blogspot.com/atom.xml

Courting Mae West
Mae West
• • Photo: Mae West • • 28 March 1927 trial • •
NYC
Mae West.

Mae West: Haunting Bridgeport

2009-05-12T02:51:00.002-04:00

MAE WEST might have put the blame on Bridgeport — — but did she go back to bedevil a playhouse?
• • During the early 1920s, impresario Sylvestre Poli brought the Poli Palace to the Nutmeg State.
• • Designed by architect Thomas W. Lamb and eventually renamed Loew's Palace Theater [1325 Main Street, Bridgeport, CT 06604], this landmark was the biggest movie theater ever erected in Connecticut — — and the largest among Bridgeport's 20-plus theaters. Poli's was actually one of two theaters built inside a single building (the other being the Majestic).

• • Despite the public's curiosity about the controversial vaudevillian Mae West, and her latest play "The Drag," Jim Timony could only manage to secure half a week at Poli's Park, which was then in use as a burlesque house in Bridgeport. It was a dreary and wintery Monday on 31 January 1927 when the Morals Production Company hoisted a banner over the trolley cars criss-crossing Main Street. Pedestrians were intrigued by this saucy announcement: "The Drag" by the author of SEX — — more sensational than Rain or The Captive!"
• • While they were lodging at the Arcade Hotel, Beverly West and Edward Elsner (Mae's sister and director) were arrested at 5 AM on 2 February 1927. Both the play and the arrest were the talk of Bridgeport.
• • Ghost-busting and career-boosting • •
• • Currently researching a local squad of spirit-chasing cops, whose haunts are the historic Bridgeport theaters, John Burgeson has alerted readers of The Connecticut Post to the intersection of ghost-busting and career-boosting aims currently afoot on Main Street.
• • Writing from Bridgeport, John Burgeson asks the famous question: When the ghosts that haunt Bridgeport's old Poli Palace theater get out of line, who you gonna call?
• • Why the cops, of course — — or, more specifically, the East Coast Paranormal Police.
• • Now, the newly formed ECPP might have a shot at fame. On Monday, a TV producer was in town to shoot footage of the ghost-hunting cops in action inside the Poli Palace and Majestic theaters downtown on Main Street, two long-abandoned, historic showplaces that score high on the creepiness scale.
• • "Today, we're doing a pitch tape for a new show we have in mind," said Rob Johnson, a production coordinator for Pangolin Pictures. "We understand that the Poli Palace might be haunted and Jim Myers suspects that there might be a poltergeist here."
• • Jim Myers, a 12-year veteran with the Bridgeport Police Department, is the man behind the ECPP, which has been getting help from one of the heavy hitters in the ghost-hunting business, famed psychic and Monroe resident Lorraine Warren.
• • Pangolin Pictures, which has three Emmy Awards to its credit, is primarily a producer of nature films for cable networks. These include "Tarantulas: King of Spiders" and "Jaws and Claws."
• • Johnson notes that while there are other ghost-hunter shows, Pangolin likes the fact that Myers uses "police training" to investigate strange occurrences.
• • "We think that's an interesting angle that will be new to paranormal shows," he said. "In 'Ghost Hunters,' they're plumbers by trade. Jim's group all have had police training."
• • On Monday, Johnson and his assistant, Gina Fitch, were busy shooting footage of Myers and his 11-person team as they explored the dusty innards of the Poli Palace and two attached buildings, the Majestic theater and the Savoy Hotel.
• • In 2007, the direct-to-video cop action flick starring Steven Seagal shot in downtown Bridgeport included scenes filmed at the Poli and Majestic theaters. The showcases continued screening movies sporadically into the early 1970s, long past their glory days as venues for elaborate live entertainment, and later for first-run Hollywood movies. Through the early 1950s, it wasn't unusual for movie stars to turn out on opening night to boost attendance.
• • While plans have been floated over the years to restore the theaters, nothing has ever become of them. Johnson hopes that the pitch tape, which will be about five minutes long, will be pedaled to the various cable channels, such as Discovery, National Geographic Channel, TLC, the History Channel and so forth. He said that it may take six months or longer for the channels to decide whether to proceed with the idea.
• • "It's just a quick piece to show Jim and his team, and what they can do," Johnson said, "and to show the network what it would look like as a series."
• • If a network picks up the idea, the ECPP would be central to the show, which would follow the team as it checks out various reports of paranormal activity up and down the East Coast, Johnson said.
• • Bridgeport City Historian Mary Witkowski, also interviewed Monday by Johnson, said there's no shortage of reasons why there might be strange goings-on inside the theaters.
• • Mae West: Is that you? • •
• • "First it could be the Golden Hill Paugusset [Indian] tribe, whose graves may have been disturbed when they built there. It could be Dutch Schultz, the rum-runner who was murdered in New Jersey — — he did a lot of business in Bridgeport back in the 1930s. Or, it even could be Mae West ---- she had performed here, got into trouble and spent the night in jail," Witkowski said. "Maybe she wants to get back at us."
• • Myers said he has 16 to 18 members in the ECPP, and all are trained in police work. "I actually come in here on a weekly basis because the city gave me the key, so I can keep an eye on the place," Myers said. "I've seen a couple of photos that were taken here that were pretty strange."
— — Source: — —
• • Article: "Ghost-hunting cops haunt historic Bridgeport theaters"
• • Byline: By John Burgeson
• • Published in: The Connecticut Post — — www.connpost.com
• • Published on: 11 May 2009
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• • The arrest at the Arcade Hotel after "The Drag" is dramatized in the play "Courting Mae West." Beverly's drunken antics and Mae's strategies are featured in Act I, Scene 2. You can watch a portion of this surprising scene on YouTube.
• • The "scene of the crime" is still in business: Arcade Hotel — 1001 Main St, Bridgeport, CT 06604; Tel (203) 333-9376.
• • "Courting Mae West: Sex, Censorship, and Secrets" has attracted the attention of a theatre owner and Is now seeking a co-producer for a for-profit production.
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Source:http://courtingmaewest.blogspot.com/atom.xml

Courting Mae West
Mae West
• • Photo: Mae West • • Poli's 1927 • •
NYC
Mae West.

Mae West: Diamond's Ira

2009-05-02T00:35:00.006-04:00

In 1928, MAE WEST approached Ira Hands to stage her latest play "Diamond Lil" at the Royale Theatre on Broadway.
• • Born on 24 June 1872 in Geneva, Illinois, Ira A. Hards aspired to be an actor. After a round of performances, touring in regional theatres, the personable 29-year-old made his Broadway debut in "Don Caesar's Return" [1901]. He began keeping company with Ina Hammer, who was also getting cast in mainstage productions in Times Square, and the theatre couple married. In between starring in an acclaimed silent film version of "King Lear" and on Broadway, busy Ina Hammer branched out as a stage director and soon took on another role: as a real-life mother with a sweet newborn daughter.
• • In September 1928, as things were winding down in Manhattan for the beauteous Bowery queen Diamond Lil, Ira Hands escorted his daughter Ina Isola Hards down the aisle when she wed Lieutenant Gordon Philip Saville of the Army Air Corps. Things were going well for the versatile theatre pro, who had developed new skills: directing, dialogue coaching, and producing.
• • Booth Tarkington [1869 — 1946] was especially indebted to Ira Hands for directing his Broadway plays "Magnolia" [1923] and "The Intimate Strangers" [1921]. After Mae's arrest in 1927, Booth Tarkington was commisioned to write an article — — and "When Is It Dirt?" [published in Collier's, The National Weekly, on 14 May 1927] discussed the issue of censorship and government intervention.
• • Ira Hards did well enough to maintain a residence in Manhattan and a country house in Connecticut. He found time to establish his own stock company at the Westchester Playhouse in Mount Kisco, New York, and devoted himself to a group called Young Actors' Development.
• • Among the many highlights of his busy three decades long career in the theatre world, Ira Hards directed and staged the original 1927 production of "Dracula" (starring Bela Lugosi) that ran for 261 performances at the Fulton Theatre on West 46th Street. Coincidentally, Hards's Stage Manager for "Dracula" was Carl Reed, who became Mae West's producer for the ill-fated Broadway run of "Pleasure Man" (1928) at the Biltmore Theatre.
• • When Ira Hards died in Norwalk, Connecticut in the month of May — — on 2 May 1938 — — The New York Times referred to the 65-year-old as a retired producer who presented many Broadway plays. His wife Ina passed away 15 years later in 1953.
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• • The serious-minded comedy "Courting Mae West" by Greenwich Village playwright LindaAnn Loschiavo, set during 1926 — 1932, explores Mae West's legal woes surrounding "The Drag" and "Sex." Scenes in Act I dramatize Mae's interactions with her drag queen cast, the police raid on 9 February 1927, and the tense aftermath at Jefferson Market Police Court. Scenes in Act II depict Mae's involvement with "Diamond Lil," "Pleasure Man," and her ensuing legal turmoil.
• • Using fictional elements, the text is anchored by true events and has several characters who are based on real people: actress Mae West; Beverly West; Jim Timony; Texas Guinan; a news seller on Sixth Avenue and West 9th Street; and Sara Starr, based on the Greenwich Village flapper Starr Faithfull, whose death inspired John O'Hara's novel "Butterfield 8" and a dozen other books.
• • "Courting Mae West: Sex, Censorship, and Secrets" has attracted the attention of a theatre owner and Is now seeking a co-producer for a for-profit production.
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Source:http://courtingmaewest.blogspot.com/atom.xml

Courting Mae West
Mae West
• • Photo: Mae West • • April 1928 • •
NYC
Mae West.

Mae West: Jail Exit

2009-04-27T05:36:00.003-04:00

On 27 April 1927, shortly after daybreak, MAE WEST was released from her jail cell.
• • The week before, one of her hometown papers ran with this headline: "Common Nuisance Mae West Goes to Jail."
• • On 20 April 1927 Mae West had been sentenced to ten days in the Women's Workhouse (then located on Welfare Island) in the middle of the East River.
• • During the trial in March and early April — — presided over by Judge George Donnellan — — Mae West had argued in a written statement that her plays were a work of art. Her lawyers made a case that "Sex" was a morally instructive drama. Mae did not take the stand. At Jefferson Market Court, Justice Donnellan had suggested a guilty verdict would be fitting, before the jurors went off to deliberate. Six hours later, the verdict came in. At her sentencing, Mae West was fined $500 and given 10 days to repent at an off-shore detention center.
• • The warden shortened her sentence by two days for good behavior.
• • The play "Courting Mae West" dramatizes the trial and the melee in court when the verdict comes in.
• • Mae was paid $1,000 to write about her experiences for a women's magazine. Some of her essay appears elsewhere on this blog. [Mae donated the $1,000 to the workhouse to establish a library for female inmates.]
• • Released from the lock-up on April 27th, Mae told the reporters — — who were waiting for her like Stage Door Johnnies — — that she had enough material for several plays now. Criminal street cred served the playwright well when she sat down to write "Diamond Lil" about a woman with a thing for bling, whose motto is, "My career is diamonds."
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• • The serious-minded comedy "Courting Mae West" by Greenwich Village playwright LindaAnn Loschiavo, set during 1926 — 1932, explores Mae West's legal woes surrounding "The Drag" and "Sex." Scenes in Act I dramatize Mae's interactions with her drag queen cast, the police raid on 9 February 1927, and the tense aftermath at Jefferson Market Police Court.
• • Using fictional elements, the text is anchored by true events and has several characters who are based on real people: actress Mae West; Beverly West; Jim Timony; Texas Guinan; a news seller on Sixth Avenue and West 9th Street; and Sara Starr, based on the Greenwich Village flapper Starr Faithfull, whose death inspired John O'Hara's novel "Butterfield 8" and a dozen other books.
• • "Courting Mae West: Sex, Censorship, and Secrets" has attracted the attention of a theatre owner and Is now seeking a co-producer for a for-profit production.
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Source:http://courtingmaewest.blogspot.com/atom.xml

Courting Mae West
Mae West
• • Photo: Mae West • • 27 April 1927 • •
NYC
Mae West.

Mae West Sentenced

2009-04-19T04:32:00.004-04:00

April 19th was a memorable date for MAE WEST.
• • By 19 April 1911, while touring on the vaudeville circuit in Minneapolis, Mae had uttered five obscenities and owed Little Gorman, treasurer of their Curse Club, fifty cents for these infractions. In truth, by cursing and acting up, Mae was showing the troupe how rapidly dissatisfied she had become with "marital bliss" and her limp biscuit of a bridegroom Frank Wallace.
• • On 19 April 1933, bombshell Jayne Mansfield [1933 —1967] was born. Twenty-three years later, the starlet would be making the moves on Mickey Hargitay, then starring in the Mae West Revue. Miss Mansfield married the muscleman in 1957.
• • On 19 April 1962, Curtis Cooksey, who had co-starred with Mae in "Diamond Lil" [1928], and had created the leading man role of the handsome Captain Cummings during the play's maiden voyage on Broadway, committed suicide. Charismatic Curtis Cooksey, who was born on 9 December 1891 in Indiana, had contracted cancer and did away with himself at age 70.
• • • • Sentenced on 19 April 1927 • • • •
• • Most unforgettably, on 19 April 1927, actress Mae West was sentenced for her performance in "Sex," the Broadway play she wrote, cast, and starred in. She was given ten days in prison and the jail time seems to have done her good — — from a publicity standpoint. As she left the courtroom, followed by reporters, friends, fans, and gawkers, Mae predicted, "I expect this will be the making of me!"
• • Though Mae West was sentenced to 10 days, she actually only served 8 days. The actress received "time off for good behavior."
• • Last summer (July 2008), the cast of "Courting Mae West" acted out the chaos inside that Greenwich Village courtroom on 5 April 1927. The scintillating Yvonne Sayers, who portrayed Mae West, was on trial with Eric Eastman, who played her "Sex" co-star and co-defendant, Barry O'Neill. The judge's verdict ended Act I.
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• • The serious-minded comedy "Courting Mae West" by Greenwich Village playwright LindaAnn Loschiavo, set during 1926 — 1932, explores Mae West's legal woes surrounding "The Drag" and "Sex." Scenes in Act I dramatize Mae's interactions with her drag queen cast, the police raid on 9 February 1927, and the tense aftermath at Jefferson Market Police Court.
• • Using fictional elements, the text is anchored by true events and has several characters who are based on real people: actress Mae West; Beverly West; Jim Timony; Texas Guinan; a news seller on Sixth Avenue and West 9th Street; and Sara Starr, based on the Greenwich Village flapper Starr Faithfull, whose death inspired John O'Hara's novel "Butterfield 8" and a dozen other books.
• • "Courting Mae West: Sex, Censorship, and Secrets" has attracted the attention of a theatre owner and Is now seeking a co-producer.
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Source:http://courtingmaewest.blogspot.com/atom.xml

Courting Mae West
Mae West
• • Photo: Mae West • • 1927 • •
NYC
Mae West.

Mae West: May 1st

2009-04-07T03:09:00.002-04:00

MAE WEST grew bigger in Hollywood. Just five feet tall in her bare tootsies, the Brooklyn bombshell grew by almost half-a-foot when a sculptress from the Hollywood Wax Museum finished with her.
• • Here's a bit about the celebrated Mae West wax figure — — to be auctioned on the first day of May.
• • Catalogue description: Mae West looks sultry wearing a black floor length gown, black heels, and black feather boa as if she's about to say "Come up sometime and see me!" This figure, designed by Leah DeLio, is one of the original figures of the Museum and revamped by Hollywood Wax Museum curator Ken Horn. The wax head was sculpted and portrait painted in oil and the figure stands 5 ft. 5 in. tall. [estimated value: $2,000 — $3,000].
• • During the Hollywood Wax Museum Auction, this lifesize sculpture will be offered by Profiles in History [26901 Agoura Road, Calabasas, CA 91301].
• • Will you bid on Mae three weeks from now? Tell us!
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Courting Mae West
Mae West
• • Photo: Mae West • • Mae Wax • •
NYC
Mae West.

Mae West: April 5

2009-04-05T06:36:00.003-04:00

April was the cruelest month for MAE WEST in 1927.
• • On 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."
• • On 19 April 1927, actress MAE WEST was sentenced for her performance in "Sex," the Broadway play she wrote, cast, and starred in. She was given ten days in prison and the jail time seems to have done her good — — from a publicity standpoint. As she left the courtroom, followed by reporters, friends, fans, and gawkers, Mae predicted, "I expect this will be the making of me!"
• • Though Mae West was sentenced to 10 days, she actually only served 8 days. The actress received "time off for good behavior."
• • Here is the cast of "Courting Mae West" acting out the chaos inside that Greenwich Village courtroom on 5 April 1927. The scintillating Yvonne Sayers, who portrays Mae West, is in the center of the frame, supported by Eric Eastman who plays her co-star and co-defendant, Barry O'Neill.
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• • The serious-minded comedy "Courting Mae West" by Greenwich Village playwright LindaAnn Loschiavo, set during 1926 — 1932, explores Mae West's legal woes surrounding "The Drag" and "Sex." Scenes in Act I dramatize Mae's interactions with her drag queen cast, the police raid on 9 February 1927, and the tense aftermath at Jefferson Market Police Court.
• • Using fictional elements, the text is anchored by true events and has several characters who are based on real people: actress Mae West; Beverly West; Jim Timony; Texas Guinan; a news seller on Sixth Avenue and West 9th Street; and Sara Starr, based on the Greenwich Village flapper Starr Faithfull, whose death inspired John O'Hara's novel "Butterfield 8" and a dozen other books.
• • "Courting Mae West: Sex, Censorship, and Secrets" has attracted the attention of a theatre owner and Is now seeking a co-producer.
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Source:http://courtingmaewest.blogspot.com/atom.xml

Courting Mae West
Mae West
• • Photo: Mae West • • 1927 trial • •
NYC
Mae West.

Mae West & "The Drag"

2009-03-24T05:25:00.005-04:00

Here's another opportunity to see "The Drag" by MAE WEST — — or to be cast in the production.
• • In Iowa Dreamwell's Artistic Director decided to present a season with a theme of "Inciting Theatre."
• • Their season opens with Ibsen's “An Enemy of the People," a play from 1882. Dreamwell is using a new translation and has cast women in several male roles to modernize it.
• • Then in late June, Dreamwell Theatre will present a play written by 1930s screen legend and sex symbol Mae West.
• • Rachael Lindhart, secretary and active member of the volunteer company, does not expect insurgence, rioting, padlocks, nor police raids in Iowa City even though she is aware that "The Drag" (which was doing its out-of-town tryouts back in January 1927) opened to an “avalanche of condemnation,” as one of Mae's biographers phrased it. Rachael Lindhart says Mae West’s “The Drag” was one of the first plays to portray gay men in a sympathetic light. Before “The Drag,” homosexual characters were used to add a more comedic element.
• • Subjects that were deemed unlawful or offensive to good citizens are considerably less so these days, however, Rachael Lindhart insists that the theater’s history of sparking debate is essential to the development of today’s dramas. By presenting a bill of old controversies, Dreamwell pays tribute to those brave playwrights who paved the way for modern vanguards of the stage.
• • “We have a history of somebody’s gotta be first,” Rachael Lindhart says. “There are a lot of things that we need to talk about from the stage that aren’t easy. I hope that this season will make people think that they should perhaps see a play before they condemn it.”
• • Auditions for "The Drag" will be held in Iowa during April and May in 2009. To audition, contact Brian Tanner: brian@dreamwell.com.
• • Dreamwell Theatre’s 2009 Season includes these four: “An Enemy of the People” [written by Henrik Ibsen]; “The Drag” [written by Mae West and directed by Chuck Dufano] on June 19th, 20th, 26th, and 27th, 2009; “Master Harold and the Boys” [written by Athol Fugard]; “Playboy of the Western World” [written by J.M. Synge].
• • All performances take place at 7:30 pm at the Unitarian Universalist Society, 10 S. Gilbert Street, Iowa City. Tickets are $12 with discounts available for seniors and students.
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• • The serious-minded comedy "Courting Mae West" by Greenwich Village playwright LindaAnn Loschiavo, set during 1926 — 1932, explores Mae West's legal woes surrounding "The Drag" and "Sex." Scenes in Act I dramatize Mae's interactions with her drag queen cast, the police raid on 9 February 1927, and the tense aftermath at Jefferson Market Police Court.
• • Using fictional elements, the text is anchored by true events and has several characters who are based on real people: actress Mae West; Beverly West; Jim Timony; Texas Guinan; a news seller on Sixth Avenue and West 9th Street; and Sara Starr, based on the Greenwich Village flapper Starr Faithfull, whose death inspired John O'Hara's novel "Butterfield 8" and a dozen other books.
• • "Courting Mae West: Sex, Censorship, and Secrets" has attracted the attention of a theatre owner and Is now seeking a co-producer.
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Source:http://courtingmaewest.blogspot.com/atom.xml

Courting Mae West
Mae West
• • Photo: Mae West • • 1927 trial • •
NYC
Mae West.

Mae West: March 19th

2009-03-19T01:31:00.006-04:00

Several New Yorkers had seen Mae West's play "Sex" more than once — — including Sergeant Patrick Keneally, who had taken an exhaustive number of notes while attending three performances at Daly's 63rd Street Theatre in the line of duty.
• • Police action against "Sex" had been more in opposition to "The Drag" than to Margy LaMont's lascivious adventures, explains Jill Watts in her impeccably researched bio: Mae West: An Icon in Black and White.
• • According to Jill Watts: While efforts to mothball "The Drag" succeeded, "Sex" played to capacity crowds for several more weeks. However, by the beginning of March [1927], attendance had died off and profits shrank. Desperate to keep the production alive, the Morals Production Corporation ordered a 25% pay cut for everyone. Several players handed in their notices.
• • Finally, on Sunday, March 19, after the evening's performance, Morganstern announced that Mae West was physically exhausted and was closing the play. Yet he also emphasized her determination to fight the case to its end.
• • According to Jill Watts: Only a few days later, the New York State senate passed the Wales Padlock Bill, which required the district attorney to prosecute everyone associated with an indecent production and to lock down for one year any theatre that hosted such shows. It was less severe than mandating a stage censor and allowed the power over Broadway to remain with the district attorney, who in New York was the Tammany Hall loyalist Banton. The bill now sat waiting on Al Smith's desk.
• • In Jefferson Market Police Court (on Sixth Avenue and West Ninth Street) the defendants from the "Sex" raid came to trial on 28 March 1927. The prosecution's case rested on the testimony of Sergeant Keneally and his ability to take rapid, accurate stenography in a darkened playhouse. New York's district attorney, perhaps addicted to the fortissimo eloquence of inner lives magnificently thwarted by the law, was prepared to step into his gladiator mode to do battle with the dauntless leonine jezebel of the Jazz Era — — Mae West.
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• • The serious-minded comedy "Courting Mae West" by Greenwich Village playwright LindaAnn Loschiavo, set during 1926 — 1932, explores Mae West's legal woes. Act I, Scenes 3 — 4 dramatize both the police raid on 9 February 1927 and the tense aftermath at Jefferson Market Police Court.
• • Using fictional elements, the text is anchored by true events and has several characters who are based on real people: actress Mae West; Beverly West; Jim Timony; Texas Guinan; a news seller on Sixth Avenue and West 9th Street; and Sara Starr, based on the Greenwich Village flapper Starr Faithfull, whose death inspired John O'Hara's novel "Butterfield 8" and a dozen other books.
• • "Courting Mae West: Sex, Censorship, and Secrets" has attracted the attention of a theatre owner and Is now seeking a co-producer.
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Source:http://courtingmaewest.blogspot.com/atom.xml

Courting Mae West
Mae West
• • Photo: Mae West • • 1927 • •
NYC
Mae West.

Mae West on February 2nd

2009-02-02T02:29:00.004-05:00

It was February 2nd when Variety Magazine wrote about MAE WEST's arrest as well as the production of "The Drag" that had been screened for a private audience and a few critics. Variety tsk-tsked in dismay noting that "often the audience laughs when it should weep."
• • Pole-vaulted out of the ghetto of the clubby entertainment section, Mae West suddenly became notoriously noteworthy in national news headlines on 2 February 1927.
• • On Tuesday February 1st at 5:30 AM, the Brooklyn bombshell was arrested along with her sister and the director Edward Elsner in Bridgeport, Connecticut.
• • According to The New York Times, Edwin [sic] Elsner of New York, stage director of "The Drag," which opened here last night, and Miss Beverly West of New York, sister of Mae West, author of the play, were arrested at 5:30 o'clock this morning in Miss West's room at the Arcade Hotel and will be arraigned in the City Court on Wednesday on technical charges of breach of the peace.
• • The police allege misconduct, but both Elsner and Miss West deny there was any wrongdoing, explaining that they were in the room going over the events of the opening night and possible changes in the play.
• • Elsner, known for his work in staging "Within the Law," "Bought and Paid For," "Pygmalion," "Sex," and other plays, was released under bond of $250, as was Miss West, after spending several hours locked up at Police Headquarters following a ride from the hotel in the police patrol wagon. . . .
• • The arrest at the Arcade Hotel is dramatized in the play "Courting Mae West." Beverly's drunken antics and Mae's strategies are featured in Act I, Scene 2. Watch a portion of this scene on YouTube.
• • The "scene of the crime" is still in business: Arcade Hotel — 1001 Main St, Bridgeport, CT 06604; Tel (203) 333-9376.
• • "Courting Mae West" has been nominated for several awards. Get ready to come up and see Mae wearing laurels during April 2009 at the official award ceremony in Manhattan. Join us there.
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Source:http://courtingmaewest.blogspot.com/atom.xml

Courting Mae West
Mae West
• • Photo: Mae West • • 1927 news • •
NYC
Mae West.

Mae West: In New York City

2009-02-01T01:02:00.002-05:00

MAE WEST leads the parade of screen gems when Film Forum rolls out the red carpet this coming Friday in Manhattan.
• • This new series — — "Breadlines and Champagne" — — is focused on Depression movies, pre-Code classics, screwball comedies, and the socially conscious plots that worked their way to the silver screen. There will be Prohibition Era treats such as the Tuesday special which is being billed as "Bank Nites."
• • Programmed by Bruce Goldstein, and featuring all 35mm prints, this is the best news since bathtub gin was perfected.
• • The opening night stars Mae West and Cary Grant, in a screenplay written by the Brooklyn bombshell and inspired by her awe of Bostock's lions in Coney Island, which she enjoyed as a child. Those trips to Dreamland with her father created Mae's desire to be a lion tamer — — and in "I'm No Angel" Tira will get her chance to enter the big cage and eyeball the king of beasts.
• • Here is what some critics have said about "I'm No Angel."
• • • • "Mae West was the sensation of 1933. A total delight to watch." — Andrew Bergman
• • • • "Going to help redistribute a nice chunk of the nation's coin. Mae West is today the biggest conversation-provoker, free space grabber and all-around box office bet in the country." — Variety (1933)
• • • • "Arguably West's best film, certainly one of her funniest." — Pauline Kael
• • "There weren't that many films that dealt directly with the Depression," says Bruce Goldstein, repertory director at Manhattan's Film Forum. "But you got a feeling of the desperation — — the lower-class rooms, the spartan look of things. There's an almost palpable atmosphere."
• • "Breadlines and Champagne," Goldstein's upcoming retrospective at the Forum, offers New Yorkers the thrill of enjoying 50 Depression-era movies in new prints. Friday's opening night showcases Mae West's "I'm No Angel," and a 1933 admission price of 35 cents.
• • Why weren't there more of these classics? "Cycles come and go," says Goldstein. "I think people were tired of those Depression-era movies, and the studios wanted to make more escapist entertainment. And after the Production Code came in (in 1934) everything got sanitized — — there were certain kinds of characters and certain kinds of stories you just couldn't do anymore."
• • For the complete schedule, stop by Film Forum.
• • Every Tuesday movie-goers will enjoy the revival of an old-time tradition of giveaways so prepare for some good old-fashion fun.
• • "Breadlines and Champagne" runs from Friday February 6th through March 5 at the Film Forum, 209 West Houston Street, New York, NY 10014. Info is available by phoning 212-727-8110 — — or by visiting www.filmforum.org online.
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Source:http://courtingmaewest.blogspot.com/atom.xml

Courting Mae West
Mae West
• • Photo: Mae West • • 1933 • •
NYC
Mae West.

Mae West: 10-Day Sentence

2009-01-13T02:29:00.008-05:00

Publishers Weekly offered a capsule review of a new title devoted to Mae West — — which also includes revealing first-person statements about her imprisonment.
• • Speaking about the author Charlotte Chandler's latest release, the critic wrote this: Chandler (Not the Girl Next Door: Joan Crawford) draws on her interviews with the 86-year-old Mae West, known for her “risqué brand of humor,” in this chatty memoir. West carefully constructed and guarded the image of her personality as a woman who enjoyed sex at a time when “skirts had to cover ankles.” She contended she was “never vulgar. The word for me was suggestive.”
• • West (1893–1980) craved the spotlight from a young age and had been a success in vaudeville, where she began to write her own material. Her screen legend perfected her sexually playful alter ego in such films as She Done Him Wrong, which contained her most quoted line: “Come up and see me sometime” [sic].
• • Chandler also includes Mae West's first-person account of her 10 days in jail — — when she was found guilty of producing an immoral Broadway show, her first full-length play, Sex. West remained a box-office draw into her 70s, appearing in the 1970 film Myra Breckinridge. Whether discussing her love life or advising on playwriting or beauty tips, Mae West was always entertaining. Photos. (Feb.)
• • Title reviewed: She Always Knew How: Mae West, a Personal Biography Charlotte Chandler. [NY: Simon & Schuster (336p) ISBN 978-1-4165-7909-0]
— — Source: — —
• • Article: PW's Nonfiction Reviews
• • Printed in: Publishers Weekly — — www.publishersweekly.com
• • Printed on: 12 January 2009
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• • "Courting Mae West" features intriguing scenes dramatizing Mae's arrest and trials.
• • Offered onstage July 19th—22nd in New York City during the Annual Fresh Fruit Festival, "Courting Mae West" has been nominated for several awards. The black-tie awards gala will take place during April 2009 in Manhattan.
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Courting Mae West
Mae West
• • Photo: Mae West • • Jefferson Market Court • • 1927 • •
NYC
Mae West.

Mae West on Emerysworld

2009-01-10T02:49:00.006-05:00

Emerysworld.com has dedicated the month to MAE WEST by introducing several items embellished with her image.
• • The Empress of Sex graces their two-year calendar, buttons, magnets, keychains, mirrors, and a handy address book.
• • As a special gift to "Courting Mae West," Emery made these expressly for us! We really love having our very own logo on this keychain along with these other nifty items.
• • Located in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, the clever creators at Emerysworld can be found online at their EBAY emporium as well as their virtual boutique — — Emerysworld.com, Emerysthestore.com, and Emerysworld.etsy.com — — and wait until you see what intriguing gifts and a-Mae-zing treats they have in store for you. Emery makes Valentine's Day shopping easier. Be sure to come up and see Emery and tell 'em Mae sent you.
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Source:http://courtingmaewest.blogspot.com/atom.xml

Courting Mae West
Mae West
• • Photo: Mae West • • made by Emerysworld.com • • 2009 • •
NYC
Mae West.

Mae West's Father

2009-01-05T02:00:00.003-05:00

Despite having an ambivalent relationship with her father, MAE WEST took after him and also worked for him when he peddled fruit in Brooklyn and when he helmed a "detective agency" in New Jersey and New York City.
• • Born on Manhattan's Lower East Side in March 1866, John West [called "Jack"] grew up feisty, impatient, and strong. As a child he boasted that he'd rather fight than eat. He got his Irish up rather quickly, remembered Mae. He was easily angered and "always ready to do physical violence when the urge was on him." In 1969, Mae revealed in an interview that she thought her father was cruel — — but realized "all his fighting was done doing other people's fighting for them."
• • Jack West was 7 years old in 1873 when his family moved to Brooklyn, settling first in Red Hook, and then in Greenpoint.
• • Though he had no inclination to follow his father's vocation as a ship rigger, Jack knew his parents wanted him to learn a trade; they apprenticed him to a boilermaker in 1880 when he was 14.
• • But Jack West was contemplating starting a fire in the arena. At 11 years old, "Battling Jack" had fought in his first boxing match as a featherweight and yearned to become a bare-knuckles champion. These matches were often arranged by local racketeers. His favorite place to hang out was the gymnasium. His closest companions were weightlifters and boxers — — both black and Caucasian.
• • During the late 1880s, Jack was sidetracked from his vigorous athletic routine after meeting a buxom young lady named Matilda Delker [born in 1870 in Bavaria]. Youthful rebels, Jack and Tillie had much in common. Both defied their parents' expectations, Jack through boxing and Tillie through entertaining the idea of a theatrical career.
• • Initially, the couple forged a passionate bond. Mae explained, "My father had swept her off her feet." But Tillie's youthful transgressive ambitions met an end with Jack West.
• • On 19 January 1889, in Greenpoint, Battling Jack West and Tillie Delker took their wedding vows before a local minister with Jack's sister Julia West acting as maid of honor.
• • On 5 January 1935, "Battling Jack" heard the final countdown; he passed away in Oakland, California of a stroke. The previous November, Mae's father had a severe heart attack and was under the care of a Bay Area heart specialist. A funeral was held in Hollywood within days. Shortly thereafter, the deceased was taken back to Brooklyn to be placed next to his wife in the West's family crypt. Accompanying the body was his son John, his daughter Beverly, and Jim Timony.
• • On this date we remember John Patrick West with love and respect.
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Courting Mae West
Mae West
• • Photo: Mae West • • Jack West at the fights in 1934 • •
NYC
Mae West.

Keeping Up with the Cast

2009-01-04T05:41:00.004-05:00

"Courting Mae West" cast member Steven Viola has been busy. After doing such an outstanding job portraying Declan Rourke in the summer production of the play during the Annual Fresh Fruit Festival, Steven Viola took a role in "The Three Sisters" that was performed in a Brooklyn landmark during December 2008. To play a Russian character, Viola grew a beard.
• • Steven called upon the talented Gloria Buccino, who played Peg Rourke in July 2008, to take a role in "The Three Sisters" showcase as well.
• • On 3 January 2009, Steven Viola took multiple roles in a Richard Diamond radio play scripted by Blake Edwards. [So that's what Blake was doing before he invented the Pink Panther!] Steven was also cast in a Sherlock Holmes radio drama: "Murder in the Casbah." Afterwards, there were gifts and gossip and gabbing about the upcoming awards gala in April 2009.
• • "Courting Mae West" — — is a full-length play based on true events in the life of Mae West during the Prohibition Era. This drama-comedy was nominated for several awards — — including a "Best Actress" nod for Yvonne Sayers who won great acclaim for her excellent portrayal of Mae West in 2008 — — and much more information will be posted soon.
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Courting Mae West
Mae West
• • Photo: Mae West • • 2009 • •
NYC
Mae West.

AN A-MAE-ZING NEW YEAR!

2009-01-01T02:27:00.004-05:00

MAE WEST wishes you and your loved ones the very best for the New Year!
• • Special announcements, event details, and news will be noted shortly — — so don't stray too far from Mae.
• • "Courting Mae West" — — is a full-length play based on true events in the life of Mae West during the Prohibition Era. This drama-comedy was nominated for several awards — — including a "Best Actress" nod for Yvonne Sayers who won great acclaim for her excellent portrayal of Mae West in 2008 — — and much more information will be posted soon.
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Courting Mae West
Mae West
• • Photo: Mae West • • 1930 • •
NYC
Mae West.

Courting Mae West - - Acclaim

2008-12-31T06:37:00.003-05:00

"Courting Mae West" and its excellent cast have been nominated for several awards in New York City.
• • Watch this space for more details.
• • "Courting Mae West" — — is a full-length play based on true events in the life of Mae West during the Prohibition Era.
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Courting Mae West
Mae West
• • Photo: Mae West • • 2008 production • •
NYC
Mae West.

Mae West: 1929

2008-12-26T00:53:00.005-05:00

In the winter of 1929, MAE WEST was interviewed by Edgar Waite of the San Francisco Examiner. Here is a portion of their conversation.
• • Edgar Waite: Is it your purpose to reflect life as it is lived — — or are you trying to elevate the stage?
• • Mae West: Don't kid me. I've had one dominating purpose in writing such plays as "Diamond Lil," "The Drag," "Sex," "The Wicked Age," and "Pleasure Man."
• • Edgar: Moral uplift?
• • Mae: Box-office uplift.
• • Edgar: What luck?
• • Mae: Assorted. Last Monday at the Curran, we took in $300 more than Ethel Barrymore on her opening night last summer. On the other hand, if the district attorney of New York hadn't closed "Sex" because the curbstone bidding for tickets took too many cops off their regular beats, I'd have owned my own theatre by now.
• • Edgar: Do you consider your plays quite moral?
• • Mae: I consider them a theatrical representation of those phases of life which interest the public more than anything else, and have since the days of Sappho, Aspasia, and Delilah.
• • Edgar: And when was that?
• • Mae: Forever. . . .
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• • The Curran Theatre — — where Mae West performed her play in 1929 — — is located at 445 Geary Street, San Francisco, CA 94102.
• • "Courting Mae West" — — is a full-length play based on true events in the life of Mae West during the Prohibition Era.
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Courting Mae West
Mae West
• • Photo: Mae West • • 1928 illustration • •
NYC
Mae West.

Mae West: German Girl

2008-11-29T02:22:00.005-05:00

This is the real MAE WEST — — a woman of passion, highly geared emotions, tense feelings, who has been forced over a period of years to feed those emotions to a box-office, wrote Ruth Biery in 1934. A greedy, wanting-to-be-shocked box-office. Urged gently at first, tempted cleverly, promoted subtly, Mae West has put all the force of her cyclonic nature into bringing the thrills of love and life to others.
• • Journalist Ruth Biery sat down with Mae in Hollywood — — not unlike the way she had sat down with Greta Garbo in the 1920s — — as a sympathetic listener who wrote mainly for movie magazines. "I have really loved only once," Mae has told me, as she has told others. But never before have I heard her say, "They always found a way to break me up with a man before it became too serious. I was not allowed to love, really love. My mother and then Timony — — "
• • Journalist Ruth Biery either was mild enough or persuasive enough to extract Mae's confidences. Or perhaps Mae was ready to confess: "You see, first it was my mother. If she thought I was falling in love, she'd stop it right like that. If I was liking a man too much or she thought a 'crush' was getting serious, she'd find a way. She knew me so well, she could always find a way. She wouldn't let me learn to love really. She wouldn't let me — — and now Timony protects me."
• • When little Mae was growing up, neighbors referred to her as "the German girl."
• • The daughter of Christiana and Jacob Delker, Matilda was born in December 1870 — — perhaps in Wurttemberg, Germany, speculates biographer Jill Watts, noting that Jacob Delker had been working there in a sugar refinery. In January 1889, 18-year-old Matilda Delker wed John West. However, she and her daughter Mae were really the love of each other's lives until Matilda died on 26 January 1930 at age 59. How terrifying it was for Mae during the winter of 1929, watching her mother's illness worsen. After Matilda died, Mae felt, "There wasn't anyone to play to."
• • "Courting Mae West" features interesting scenes dramatizing their relationship.
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Courting Mae West
Mae West
• • Photo: Mae West • • Matilda West • • 1927 • •
NYC
Mae West.

Mae West: Over-Booked

2008-11-22T00:05:00.004-05:00

While you may think MAE WEST passed from your life on 22 November 1980, the happy news is that authors are keeping the Empress of Sex very much alive.
• • Remember Charlotte Chandler — — whose second book, The Ultimate Seduction, included conversations with Mae West, Tennessee Williams, Henry Moore, and others? Well, Charlotte Chandler's newest book is She Always Knew How — — Mae West, a Personal Biography [NY: Simon & Schuster]; this hardcover will be released on 10 February 2009.
• • Charlotte Chandler is a member of the board of the Film Society of Lincoln Center and is active in film preservation. She lives in New York City — — and is currently finishing a book on Bette Davis.
• • On the West Coast, former film critic Kevin Thomas — — who enjoyed conversing with Mae for many years — — is busy doing a book about her.
• • On the East Coast, who is a native New Yorker — — as Mae West was — — is at work writing an illustrated book: Mae West's New York.
• • Mae West — — many individuals have said that to know her was to love her.
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Courting Mae West
Mae West
• • Photo: Mae West • • 1932 • •
NYC
Mae West.

Mae West: November 1927

2008-11-20T00:46:00.003-05:00

MAE WEST could not have been thrilled during November 1927. The New York Times planted a bitter raspberry with their review of her latest play (published on Saturday the 5th of November 1927). Written by Mae West, age 34, and her long-time collaborator, the production opened on Friday evening 4 November 1927 — — and lasted for merely nineteen performances. Mae West appeared in a bathing suit, a sight which brought out the spite and malice in her longtime detractors. In other words, this project was a turkey that never made it as far as Thanksgiving.
• • "THE WICKED AGE" TAME — —
• • Mae West Wins a Bathing Beauty Contest in Her New Play.
• • Although it is milder than "Sex" and will probably not cause Mr. Banton and the gendarmes to come on the run, Mae West's newest contribution to dramatic art, staged last night at Daly's Sixty-third Street Theatre, will doubtless stand as the low point of the theatrical season of 1927-28.
• • "The Wicked Age" is the name Miss West has given it, and according to its own admission it is a satirical comedy, in which case "Bringing Up Father" is simply mordant and biting irony. [Ouch!]
• • Dragging through the evening until nearly midnight, "The Wicked Age" seemed at its first New York performance incredible cheap and vulgar trash, with only such minor amusement as was to be derived from watching the exhibitionistic antics of Miss West as a faintly redeeming feature.
• • The bathing beauty contest as practiced along the Jersey Coast was the pressing sociological matter upon which the author-actress had her say.
• • This permitted her to introduce a contest scene in the second act in which, a blithe spirit of the younger generation, she captured first honors. The third act, up to 11:35, was devoted to . . .
— — Excerpt: — —
• • Drama Review: "The Wicked Age" Tame
• • Published in: The New York Times
• • Published on: 5 November 1927 — — Saturday
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• • "Courting Mae West" is based on true events in the life of Mae West during the Prohibition Era. The first scene is set in a Greenwich Village speakeasy during December 1926; the finale is set in Hollywood during December 1932.
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Courting Mae West
Mae West
• • Photo: Mae West • • 1927 • •
NYC
Mae West.

Mae West: "Leading Ladies"

2008-11-16T17:48:00.005-05:00

Beginning on Mondays at 8 PM, TCM will offer a 50-film tribute to Hollywood's leading ladies — — including MAE WEST — — that's meant to promote their new publication.
• • The final scene of the play "Courting Mae West" features Mae West in Hollywood in December 1932, where she is filming the screenplay that was based on her hit Broadway play.
• • TCM has also produced a book "Leading Ladies" to commemorate the fifty most compelling actresses of the studio era. Here's their selection on the Brooklyn bombshell herself, penned by TCM's Frank Miller.
• • "Men's all alike — — married or single — — I happen to be smart enough to play it their way." — — Mae West in She Done Him Wrong
• • Frank Miller writes: Mae West played at sex like a man. She used her partners for pleasure and, with most of them, discarded them as soon as she got bored. Though there was usually one leading man who was given exclusive rights to her by the film's conclusion, she was the one doing the giving, with the veiled suggestion that she could always withdraw her approval if things didn't work out. More than any innuendo, more than the tightly corseted gowns she generously overflowed, this was what excited the censors' ire. Not only did she treat sex as an act of pleasure without any undue consequences, but also her attitude exposed the unwritten code by which many men operated, even after they were married. Little wonder she was often credited as the woman who brought stricter censorship to Hollywood. She wasn't — — but as Pauline Kael once said, if she was, the delights she offered on screen more than made for the later depredations of censorship.
• • In the early 1930s, the major Hollywood studios gave lip service to the Production Code, a set of rules for what could and could not be done on screen enforced by Will Hays of the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America (MPPDA). Originally, Paramount Pictures was very good about following the Code. They hadn't done much to follow the trend toward gangster films spearheaded by Little Caesar in 1931. But by 1932 the studio was running $21 million in the hole. By that time, there was a new genre challenging the censors, the sex film (also called "women's pictures"), which dealt with women who stray from the straight and narrow and pay for it tearfully by the film's end. Paramount had flirted with the genre with its early Marlene Dietrich films like Morocco (1930) and Blonde Venus (1932), but they mostly let the other studios blaze new sexual trails and reap the box office rewards, at least until Mae West showed up.
• • Mae West had been developing her act since the early days of the 20th century, when she sang bawdy songs in vaudeville, creating a delivery copied from the female impersonators of the day and night-club queen Texas Guinan. She'd scored some huge hits on Broadway, particularly with the controversial Diamond Lil, in which she played a saloon singer on The Bowery in the 1890s who sets out to seduce a Salvation Army officer. Universal Pictures had proposed bringing the play to the screen in 1930, when she toured it to Los Angeles. Hays issued a firm edict, however. The play was off limits, and when Universal suggested hiring West to write something new for them, he talked them out of it. Meanwhile, West fell on hard times when her follow-up play, The Constant Sinner, closed after only eight weeks. The 39-year-old sex star began to wonder if she wasn't over the hill.
• • Then old friend George Raft came to the rescue. There was a juicy part for an older woman playing his ex-girlfriend in Night After Night (1932) at Paramount. The studio wanted to cast Texas Guinan, but he talked them into giving West a chance. She almost turned the role down when she saw how poorly it was written. Instead, however, she got producer Harry Le Baron, another old friend, to agree to let her re-write her lines. Loading the script with comic innuendo, she, in Raft's words, "stole everything but the cameras." Exhibitors were clamoring for another film with Mae West, and Paramount decided to take a chance on bucking the censors.
• • When the studio approached her about making another film, she considered her options, then insisted on adapting Diamond Lil. Rather than buck Will Hays outright, they suggested changing the title and enough details to make it seem like a new story. But when Hays found out, he tried to shut the film down. Studio head Adolph Zukor made his case to Hays' New York board of directors, and won the concession that they could redo the script with a new title and new character names (Diamond Lil became Lady Lou). Other demands made by the Hays Office included making the leading man (Cary Grant) a mission worker with no specific affiliation to the Salvation Army and cutting overt references to prostitution. They also changed the nationality of West's female nemesis from Brazilian to Russian, since there was little market for U.S. films in the Soviet Union.
• • In some ways, Hays' demands actually improved the film. Screenwriter John Bright, who had scored a hit with The Public Enemy (1931), was assigned to collaborate on the screenplay, but he didn't click with West, and her script didn't impress him either. He thought it was a creaky old melodrama filled with cheap jokes and tried to make it more of a straight crime film. West hated his ideas, but had a battle getting the studio to side with her. Then one of Hays' associates suggested that the film might be more palatable if played for comedy. That was the excuse she needed to cut Bright's additions and return many of her laugh lines (eventually she had him replaced by Harvey Thew). When Hays suggested toning down references to Lou's past affairs, West added a maid character (played by Louise Beavers) who knew of her past so the two could discuss it in a series of veiled references.
• • Those references -- and West's ability to make even the most innocent lines sound risque - made the film a hit and made her one of the world's most quoted writers. Early in the film she describes herself as "one of the finest women ever walked the streets." When a young woman complains about losing her virtue, West quips, "When women go wrong, men go after them." One of the play's most controversial lines was part of her come on to the Salvation Army officer, "You can be had," which West repeated at the end when the two hooked up. Hays thought it was too raw, so West replaced the line's second appearance with a comic exchange. Grant chastises her with "You bad girl," to which she coyly replies, "You'll find out." Another line, however, only sounded racy in West's patented delivery — — the line where she tells Grant, "Why don't you come up some time, see me?"
• • She Done Him Wrong was a huge hit. Made for just $200,000, half of which went to West for writing and starring, it returned $2 million domestically on its initial release and another $1 million in international markets. That wasn't enough to pull Paramount out of the hole, but it raised studio morale and their image enough to help them edge back toward profitability. The film made West a household name and boosted the career of co-star Cary Grant, who was just starting in films. He would later claim that he learned most of what he knew about playing comedy from watching West at work.
• • She Done Him Wrong also changed fashions, bringing back the hourglass figure, and encouraged a run of films set in the 1890s. But there was also the inevitable backlash. West's suggestive song "I Like a Man That Takes his Time" was so heavily cut by censors that Paramount called back all release prints to cut the middle stanzas. Other lines were cut by local censors, and the film was banned outright in Java, Latvia, Australia, and Vienna. It also triggered renewed cries for national film censorship that led to the strengthening of the Production Code in 1934. That, in turn, would create even more battles for West and the censors, though they could do nothing to diminish the sexual independence of her characters. Even in the more liberated era of the '70s, West amazed audiences with her sexual forthrightness when she returned to filmmaking after decades off-screen for a small role as a predatory agent in Myra Breckinridge (1970).
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• • She Done Him Wrong
• • Producer: William LeBaron
• • Director: Lowell Sherman
• • Screenplay: Mae West, Harvey Thew, John Bright
• • Based on the play Diamond Lil — — by Mae West
• • Cinematography: Charles Lang
• • Art Direction: Robert Usher
• • Music: Ralph Rainger
• • Principal Cast: Mae West (Lady Lou), Cary Grant (Capt. Cummings), Owen Moore (Chick Clark), Gilbert Roland (Serge Stanieff), Noah Beery, Sr. (Gus Jordan), Rafaela Ottiano (Russian Rita), Rochelle Hudson (Sally Glynn), Fuzzy Knight (Ragtime Kelly), Louise Beavers (Pearl).
BW — 65m. Closed captioning.
— — Source: — —
• • Byline: by Frank Miller
• • TCM — — www.tcm.com
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Courting Mae West
Mae West
• • Photo: Mae West • • 1932 • •
NYC
Mae West.

Mae West: Joseph V. McKee

2008-11-12T21:55:00.009-05:00

When New York City's Mayor Jimmy Walker went out-of-town briefly, he left Joseph V. McKee in charge — — and his deputy's first act was to have three actresses arrested on 9 February 1927 and the third Broadway headliner was MAE WEST.
• • The raid and arrest in 1927 are dramatized in the play "Courting Mae West."
• • Since the month of November focuses on voting and going to the polls — — here's how we remember "Holy Joe" on 7 November 1933, when he was casting his ballot for himself on Morris Avenue in the borough of the Bronx. Fortunately, Fiorello LaGuardia won the mayoralty instead of this humorless would-be censor who wanted to scrub all the "dirt plays" off Broadway.
• • Bronx-born Roman Catholic Joseph V. McKee, Sr. [8 August 1889 — 28 January 1956] was originally a teacher at DeWitt Clinton High School and a lecturer in Latin and Greek at Fordham University. Eventually, he became a politically active Democrat.
• • Joseph McKee married Cornelia Kraft on 27 November 1918.
• • He served as a New York State Assemblyman for the 7th Assembly District (Bronx County) from 1918 — 1923, and was a Municipal Judge from 1924 — 1926. In 1926, he was tapped to serve as President of the New York City Board of Aldermen with James J. Walker as Mayor.
• • Joseph McKee was appointed Acting Mayor of New York City after the resignation of Mayor Walker on 1 September 1932.
• • On 31 October 1933, Samuel Seabury, chairman of the Fusion campaign committee, declared in an address from radio station WFAB that the voters had already determined to get rid of both Mayor O'Brien and Joseph V. McKee. Seabury called Mr. McKee the representative of a "sinister group" of Tammany leaders.
• • Though Mae West was not living in The Big Apple during November 1933, she was certainly relieved to hear that the man who made her spend the night in Jefferson Market Jail was finally ousted from City Hall.
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Courting Mae West
Mae West
• • Photo: Mae West's censor • • 1933 • •
NYC
Mae West.

Mae West: Lesbian Influence

2008-11-07T19:07:00.005-05:00

MAE WEST, best known for her friendships with homosexuals and drag queens, also had gay women in her circle.
• • New Jersey native Marion Morgan [born on 4 January 1881] — — in the spotlight as a young dancer and then as a 34-year-old choreographer — — relocated to the West Coast. In 1930, she moved into the Hollywood Hills house owned by her lover, film director Dorothy Arzner. They lived openly together for over 40 years until Marion's death in 1971.
• • Morphing into a screenwriter, the very versatile and attractive Marion Morgan worked on the script for "Goin' to Town" [1935] and "Klondike Annie" [1936].
• • This career move was quite a change. Audiences and critics had known her because of the Marion Morgan Dancers, formed in 1915, which was originally comprised of six young women who had studied with Marion Morgan in California. The troupe specialized in ballets adapted from classical legends, such as 'Helen of Troy,' and usually danced in togas and bare feet.
• • In this photo, Arnold Genthe captures Marion Morgan as she glides across the stage, wearing a flowing costume and carrying a drum head.
• • Marion Morgan lived to be 90 years old. She died in the month of November — — on 10 November 1971 — — in Los Angeles, California.
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Courting Mae West
Mae West
• • Photo: Mae West • • screenwriter Marion Morgan • •
NYC
Mae West.

"Courting Mae West" on EBAY

2008-10-19T04:23:00.005-04:00

A shameless vendor is once again selling "Courting Mae West" invitations [from our July 2008 production at the Fresh Fruit Festival in New York City] on EBAY.
• • How many invites can one man steal to re-sell?
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Courting Mae West
Mae West
• • Photo: Mae West • • none • •
NYC
Mae West.

Staged Reading of "Courting Mae West"

2008-10-17T03:16:00.006-04:00

Come up and see MAE WEST today — — and you will be glad you did.
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

• • "COURTING MAE WEST: Sex, Censorship and Secrets" — — a Staged Reading of a new version of this play — — based on true events during the Prohibition Era.
• • Address: 1501 Broadway [on Broadway at West 43rd Street], New York, NY 10036
• • Room: The Dramatists Guild, the Frederick Loewe Room, Suite 701
• • When: Friday October 17th starting at 5:45 PM — — you must show photo ID to get into the building
• • We have been given a 90-minute time slot and the reading will END at 7:30 PM.
• • The reading is free and open to the public and there are about 50 seats for producers and members of the audience.
• • Portraying various people in Mae West's life, the excellent cast of seven features the scintillating Yvonne Sayers as Mae West and includes: Gloria M. Buccino, Mary Murphy, Neal Sims, Steven Viola (who performed these roles onstage July 19 — 22, 2008), and Duvall O'Steen and Christopher Yustin.
• • The building, built by Paramount Pictures, was a popular stopping place for Mae West when she was in New York City.
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Courting Mae West
Mae West
• • Photo: Mae West • • 1927 • •
NYC
Mae West.

Mae heads back to Broadway

2008-10-14T03:53:00.003-04:00

MAE WEST and Paramount Pictures — — for awhile, it was a happy marriage, and the actress's latest release would always be booked at the Paramount Theatres in her hometown: Brooklyn and Manhattan.
• • Built in 1926 — — right in the heart of Times Square — — was the 40-story Paramount Building [at 1501 Broadway], originally a home to the late, great Paramount Theater and also the eastern headquarters of the production company that was to become Paramount Pictures.
• • Like the movie giant it wanted to be, the structure commands attention, spanning an entire city block on Broadway between West 43rd and West 44th Streets. The architects were Cornelius W. Rapp and George Leslie Rapp.
• • On 19 November 1926, the eight-story Paramount Theatre had its star-dusted opening with an elaborate live show staged by John Murray Anderson, and the motion picture God Gave Me Twenty Cents starring Lya de Putti.
• • All of Mae West's motion pictures for Paramount opened with exclusive engagements promoted with great fanfare. The Brooklyn bombshell once caused a frenzy by arriving at 1501 Broadway with an escort of handsome New York City policemen on motorcycles.
• • The house could seat 3664 ticket-holders.
• • The lobby of the [now demolished] Paramount Theatre was modeled after the Paris Opera House with white marble columns, balustrades, and an opening arms grand staircase. Inside the auditorium, the drapes were red velvet and the rugs were a similar red. The theater had a grand organ as well as an orchestra pit that rose up to the stage level. The ceilings were fresco and gilt. The railings were brass, the seats plush. There were Greek statues and busts in wall niches. The rest rooms and waiting rooms were as impressive as the facilities at Radio City or the Roxy. The main lobby was decorated with an enormous crystal chandelier.
• • Over the years, many of the top stars performed there, including Sinatra and dozens of the era's luminaries.
• • Though the Paramount Theatre is no more, 1501 Broadway continues to be the elite address of many talent agents, entertainment companies, and theatre industry professionals. And it is the NYC headquarters of the Dramatists Guild.
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

• • "COURTING MAE WEST: Sex, Censorship and Secrets" — — a Staged Reading of a new version of this play — — based on true events during the Prohibition Era.
• • Address: 1501 Broadway [on Broadway at West 43rd Street], New York, NY 10036
• • Room: The Dramatists Guild, the Frederick Loewe Room, Suite 701
• • When: Friday October 17th starting at 5:45 PM — — you must show photo ID to get into the building
• • We have been given a 90-minute time slot and the reading will END at 7:30 PM.
• • The reading is free and open to the public and there are about 50 seats for producers and members of the audience.
• • Portraying various people in Mae West's life, the excellent cast of seven features the scintillating Yvonne Sayers as Mae West and includes: Gloria M. Buccino, Mary Murphy, Neal Sims, Steven Viola (who performed these roles onstage July 19 — 22, 2008), and Duvall O'Steen and Christopher Yustin.
• • The building, built by Paramount Pictures, was a popular stopping place for Mae West when she was in New York City.
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Courting Mae West
Mae West
• • Photo: Mae West • • 1933 • •
NYC
Mae West.

Friday 17 October 2008

2008-10-12T02:24:00.009-04:00

The public and Mae-mavens are invited to attend a Staged Reading of "COURTING MAE WEST" at 5:45 PM on Friday — — 17 October 2008 — — on Broadway and West 43rd Street at the Dramatists Guild. [See details below.]
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

• • YVONNE SAYERS, who plays MAE WEST, is rejoining the "Courting Mae West" cast. Miss Sayers studied with Mary Boyer at T. Schreiber Studio. The five-foot-five stunner has been seen on TV in “Chappelle’s Show,” CourtTV’s “Till Death Do Us Part,” “The Maury Show,” etc. Miss Sayers has been cast in NYC productions at the American Globe Theatre, the Samuel French Festival, the PIT, Village Playwrights, the Wings Theatre, as well as in several shows at the 45th Street Theatre. A proud member of the Michael Chekhov Theatre Co., her favorite role was portraying Mae West in “Mad Dog Blues.”
• • GLORIA BUCCINO, a retired police sergeant, is rejoining the "Courting Mae West" cast in the pivotal roles of Matilda West, Peg Rourke, and others. Moving from law enforcement to a career in entertainment, she studied with Howard Meyer at HM Acting Studio. Miss Buccino was seen in HM Acting Workshop Productions: "Girl Talk" and "Into the Deep." She is a member of The Axial Theatre Company, and was recently accepted into The Actor's Project NYC. Gloria is a member of AFTRA.
• • MARY MURPHY, who plays Eliza Rourke and other roles, is rejoining the "Courting Mae West" cast. Her credits include: "Jane Eyre," "Artist Descending a Staircase," "Stonewall Voices," "Why Does it Sting…," "Jailbirds," "Wait Until Dark," and "All Night Meeting." She has also lent her voice to the cartoon Pokemon, various radio, film, and television projects, along with an award-winning children’s audio adventure series.
• • DUVALL O'STEEN participated in a March 2008 reading of "Courting Mae West" and joins the cast in the pivotal roles of Beverly West, Sara Starr, and others. Miss O’Steen is a proud graduate of the William Esper Studio and a member of the Michael Chekhov Theatre Co. Her MCTC credits include: "Talking Heads"; "The Rock Garden"; "Goldberg Street"; and many others. On-screen credits include the title role in "Gina’s Music" among other roles.
• • NEAL SIMS, who plays Edward Elsner, Jim Timony, Barry O'Neill, and other roles, is rejoining the "Courting Mae West" cast. Trained at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, his credits include: "Charles Busch's Sleeping Beauty, or Coma"; "Psycho Sorority Girl"; "Bad Dames Go to Hell"; etc. Mr. Sims also directed and acted in two shows for NYC's International Fringe Festival: "The Greatest B-Movie Ever Told" [2005] and "Vice Girl Confidential" [2006].
• • STEVEN VIOLA, who plays Declan Rourke and other roles, is rejoining the "Courting Mae West" cast. He portrayed Iago in an acclaimed production of "Othello" directed by Elfin Vogel at Theatre 22. Mr. Viola studied acting with Gloria Maddox and Carol Prescott at T. Schreiber Studio. Theatre credits include: "The Man who Corrupted Hadley Burg," "A Doll's House," and many others. He is a founding member of The Cranston and Spade W-WOW Radio Mystery Theatre Company.
• • CHRISTOPHER YUSTIN — — who plays news man Mario "Shortie" De Angelis — — can be seen in "Speed Demons" at the monthly Saloon Series at The Vampire Cowboys' Battle Ranch. His past roles have included: super hero, transvestite ninja, ghost, fast talking district attorney, gunslinger, burn victim, hapless actor, two different aliens, lunatic, bashful groom, alcoholic 1940s crooner, polite boxer, scarecrow, riverboat captain, 8-year-old Japanese boy, The Smartest Man Alive, and many others.
• • Native New Yorker LindaAnn Loschiavo is a journalist and dramatist caught in the spell of a courthouse with Verdi-worthy villains rising up against an actress who lost her reputation and never missed it. True events that took place during the Prohibition Era in Jefferson Market's judicial chambers inspired the comedy-drama “Courting Mae West: Sex, Censorship, and Secrets.” A regular contributor to several newspapers and magazines, she insists that some of her witticisms are not to be lightly tossed aside but rather shaken and stirred. She's also at work on a book: "Mae West's New York, 1899 — 1959." The playwright is a member of The Dramatists Guild of America, Inc.
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

• • "COURTING MAE WEST: Sex, Censorship and Secrets" — — a Staged Reading of a new version of this play — — based on true events during the Prohibition Era.
• • Address: 1501 Broadway [on Broadway at West 43rd Street], New York, NY 10036
• • Room: The Dramatists Guild, the Frederick Loewe Room, Suite 701
• • When: Friday October 17th starting at 5:45 PM — — you must show photo ID to get into the building
• • We have been given a 90-minute time slot and the reading will END at 7:30 PM.
• • The reading is free and open to the public and there are about 50 seats for producers and members of the audience.
• • The building, built by Paramount Pictures, was a popular stopping place for Mae West when she was in New York City.
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Source:http://courtingmaewest.blogspot.com/atom.xml

Courting Mae West
Mae West
• • Photo: Mae West • • 1927 • •
NYC
Mae West.

A BUDD-ing Drag Artist

2008-10-11T15:27:00.011-04:00

The play "Courting Mae West" opens in one of the popular drag cabarets in the Village that MAE WEST used to visit. In Act I, Scene 1, Mae waves to a cigarette girl in drag known as Rosebud. Mae explains to her date, "I just cast Rosebud over there in 'The Drag'. . . ."
• • In 1923, Arthur C. Budd was 21 years old and residing at 25 West 52nd Street. Known as “Rosebud,” Arthur C. Budd worked as a female impersonator in “The Lady in Ermine” at The Century Theater.
• • A New York Times article published on 5 February 1923 — — “Village Raid Nets 4 Women and 9 Men: Detectives Thought They Had Five Females, but Misjudged One Person by Clothing” — — paints a picture of the Greenwich Village circles Rosebud traveled in.
• • The police continue to pay special attention to Greenwich Village, according to The N.Y. Times. Every tearoom and cabaret in the village was visited yesterday morning by Deputy Inspector Joseph A. Howard and Captain Edward J. Dempsey of the Charles Street Station, and a party of ten detectives.
• • Detectives Joseph Massie and Dewey Hughes of the Special Service Squad were at the Black Parrot Tea Shoppe Hobo-Hemia, 46 Charles Street, to witness what they had been informed would be a “circus.” They arrested what they thought were five women and eight men. It developed later, however, that one of the “women” was a man, Harry Bernhammer, 21 years old, living at 36 Hackensack Avenue, West Hoboken, N.J. He is familiarly known in the Village as “Ruby,” according to the police. The charge against him is disorderly conduct for giving what the police termed an indecent dance.
• • The other prisoners, all of whom were bailed out at the station house, were Lucy Smith, 22 years old, of 46 Charles Street, and Patricia Rogers, 24 years old, of 16 Charles Street, alleged proprietors of the establishment, charged with violating the Mullan-Gage law; . . . Arthur C. Budd, 21 years old, of 25 West Fifty-second Street; . . . Paul Warring, 21 years old, of 75 West Seventy-second Street; . . . . The real name of the Smith woman, according to the police, is Vera Black, and the real name of the Rogers woman is Nan Paddock.
• • Arthur C. Budd, according to the police, is known as “Rosebud,” and claimed when arrested that he is a female impersonator in “The Lady in Ermine” at The Century Theater.
• • Paul Warring, the police say, is pianist at the Black Parrot and was formerly employed at a Broadway cabaret. . . . Reilly is accused of doing “a suggestive dance.”
• • The detectives allege that before the raid early yesterday morning they bought eight drinks of whiskey at $1 a drink.
• • The “circus” did not actually take place, the detectives said, for just before the time for it to begin Patricia Rogers stepped out on the floor and announced: “There are two policemen here and I am afraid to put on the circus."
• • The joyful soiree at the Black Parrot Tea Shoppe Hobo-Hemia [46 Charles Street, New York, NY 10014] ended rather abruptly with a paddy wagon conveying the arrested individuals to Jefferson Market Police Court on Sixth Avenue on 5 February 1923.
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

• • "COURTING MAE WEST: Sex, Censorship and Secrets" — — a Staged Reading of a new version of this play — — based on true events during the Prohibition Era.
• • Address: 1501 Broadway [on Broadway at West 43rd Street], New York, NY 10036
• • Room: The Dramatists Guild, the Frederick Loewe Room, Suite 701
• • When: Friday October 17th starting at 5:45 PM — — you must show photo ID to get into the building
• • We have been given a 90-minute time slot and the reading will END at 7:30 PM.
• • The reading is free and open to the public and there are about 50 seats for producers and members of the audience.
• • Portraying various people in Mae West's life, the excellent cast of seven features the scintillating Yvonne Sayers as Mae West and includes: Gloria M. Buccino, Mary Murphy, Neal Sims, Steven Viola (who performed these roles onstage July 19 — 22, 2008), and Duvall O'Steen and Christopher Yustin.
• • The building, built by Paramount Pictures, was a popular stopping place for Mae West when she was in New York City.
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Source:http://courtingmaewest.blogspot.com/atom.xml

Courting Mae West
Mae West
• • Photo: Mae West • • Jefferson Market Courthouse • •
NYC
Mae West.

Much Ado about McAdoo

2008-10-09T11:02:00.016-04:00

As the cast of the play "COURTING MAE WEST" prepares for an exciting Staged Reading of a new version, let's revisit the events of 9 February 1927, which are featured in ACT I.
• • With New York Mayor Jimmy Walker briefly out of town on a vacation, Deputy Police Commissioner Joseph B. McKee ordered the police to raid "The Captive," "Sex," and "Virgin Man." The intention was to get Mae West and make a public statement about "dirt plays."
• • The case entered into the court system as The People Vs. William Morganstern, Mae West, et al., # 168495, City Magistrate's Court, 10th District, 2/15/1927.
• • In ACT I, Scene 4, Mae West has dealings with Chief City Magistrate William McAdoo.
• • The prison matron tells Mae: "Save your spit for the court, girl! And don't keep Chief City Magistrate McAdoo waiting!"
• • William McAdoo, as with most references in "COURTING MAE WEST," was a real person. During February 1927, he would have been 73 years old.
• • Irish native William McAdoo [25 October 1853 — 7 June 1930] was a Democratic Party politician who represented New Jersey's 7th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1883 — 1891, and served as New York City Police Commissioner in 1904 and 1905.
• • William McAdoo was born in Ramelton, County Donegal, Ireland on 25 October 1853.
• • He immigrated to the USA with his parents, who settled in Jersey City, New Jersey, in 1865, where he attended the common schools. He studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1874 and began his law practice in Jersey City. He was employed as a newspaper reporter from 1870-1875. He was a member of the New Jersey General Assembly in 1882.
• • After leaving Congress, he moved to New York City in 1892 and resumed the practice of law. He was appointed by President Grover Cleveland as Assistant Secretary of the Navy and served from 20 March 1893 — 18 April 1897, when he resigned. He was appointed to serve as New York City Police Commissioner in 1904 and 1905. Later he resumed the practice of law and also engaged in literary pursuits.
• • William McAdoo was appointed by Mayor William Jay Gaynor as chief magistrate of the city magistrates' courts, first division, City of New York on 1 July 1910 — — in which capacity he served until his death in New York City on 7 June 1930.
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• • "COURTING MAE WEST" — — a Staged Reading of a new version of this play
• • Address: 1501 Broadway [on Broadway at West 43rd Street], New York, NY
• • Room: The Dramatists Guild, the Frederick Loewe Room, Suite 701
• • When: Friday October 17th starting at 5:45 PM — — you must show photo ID to get into the building
• • We have been given a 90-minute time slot and the reading will END at 7:30 PM.
• • The reading is free and open to the public and there are about 50 seats for producers and members of the audience.
• • Portraying various people in Mae West's life, the excellent cast of seven features the scintillating Yvonne Sayers as Mae West and includes: Gloria M. Buccino, Mary Murphy, Neal Sims, Steven Viola (who performed these roles onstage July 19 — 22, 2008), and Duvall O'Steen and Christopher Yustin.
• • The building, built by Paramount Pictures, was a popular stopping place for Mae West when she was in New York City.
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Source:http://courtingmaewest.blogspot.com/atom.xml

Courting Mae West
Mae West
• • Photo: Mae West • • none • •
NYC
Mae West.

See "Courting Mae West" free October 17

2008-10-05T16:25:00.006-04:00

Spend an evening with the Empress of Sex portrayed by the ever fascinatin', scintillatin' actress Yvonne Sayers.
• • "COURTING MAE WEST" — — a Staged Reading of a new version of this play
• • Where: 1501 Broadway [on Broadway at West 43rd Street], NYC
• • Room: The Dramatists Guild, the Frederick Loewe Room, Suite 701
• • When: Friday October 17th starting at 5:45 PM — — you must show photo ID to get into the building
• • We have been given a 90-minute time slot and the reading will END at 7:30 PM.
• • The reading is free and open to the public and there are 50 seats for producers and members of the audience.
• • Portraying various people in Mae West's life, the excellent cast of seven includes: Gloria M. Buccino, Mary Murphy, Neal Sims, Steven Viola (who performed these roles onstage July 19 — 22, 2008), and others.
• • The building, built by Paramount Pictures, was a popular stopping place for Mae West when she was in New York City.
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Source:http://courtingmaewest.blogspot.com/atom.xml

Courting Mae West
Mae West
• • Photo: Mae West • • Yvonne Sayers • •
NYC
Mae West.

October 3, 1928 - - 80 years ago

2008-10-03T02:21:00.001-04:00

MAE WEST's gay play "Pleasure Man" had a $200,000 box office advance when it premiered at the Biltmore on 1 October 1928. The police raided the show, however, and shut it down the same night. Perhaps this was an easy target — — since the theatre was on the same block as the precinct: 47th Street, west of Broadway.
• • It was eighty years ago — — on 3 October 1928 — — when Mae West appeared in Jefferson Market Court to answer charges that she had written and produced an "immoral" play. Wire services sent out her photograph, explaining that the entire cast had been arrested after one opening performance. The players were later released on bail. Mae, of course, was a familiar face at Jefferson Market Court [then located on Sixth Avenue and West Ninth Street in Greenwich Village]. This was the same judicial complex in which she had been tried for her play "Sex" — — and had been found guilty.
• • The infamous raid at the Biltmore is dramatized in the play "Courting Mae West."
• • In "Courting Mae West," Texas Guinan [portrayed in July 2008 by Eileen Glenn] visits Mae West [portrayed in July 2008 by Yvonne Sayers] backstage at the Royale Theatre to warn her about the raid.
• • MAE WEST: Tex, isn't there a way to trouble-shoot this?
• • TEXAS GUINAN: Honey child, the problem with trouble-shooting is that, invariably, trouble shoots back!
• • In addition to battling a hex by legal voodoo, Mae West was in enormous physical pain during 1928.
• • The usually healthy, resilient, durable actress had begun to experience fierce abdominal agony, perhaps from stress. When the infamous raid at the Biltmore Theatre occurred, New York's bulldog of a district attorney was threatening her with another jail term.
• • Seized by the talons of legal eagles, Mae was rescued (somewhat) and got a jolt of good news from her savvy attorney Nathan Burkan. Burkan had convinced a judge to allow Mae to continue touring in "Diamond Lil."
• • Adding more relief to Mae's life was the fact that the Shuberts had just bought out Mark Linder, who had staked a claim on "Diamond Lil" because he suggested the locale.
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Source:http://courtingmaewest.blogspot.com/atom.xml

Courting Mae West
Mae West
• • Photo: Mae West • • October 1928 • •
NYC
Mae West.

Beverly's divorce after the raid

2008-09-30T03:28:00.002-04:00

Taking advantage of the legal woes of his sister-in-law MAE WEST, Beverly's husband Sergei Treshatny went to court to obtain a divorce on 15 April 1927 after a decade of marriage. Their divorce became final on 30 September 1927.
• • On 29 January 1917 Beverly West [1898 —1982] wed her first Russian husband Sergei Treshatny. An inventor, Treshatny had arrived in the United States in 1916. Vaudevillians Beverly and Mae West were both busy working in Paterson, New Jersey during January 1917 when Beverly took some time off to become a "missus" at Brooklyn City Hall on Joralemon Street. It had been a brief courtship. On 8 December 1916, the bride-to-be had celebrated her 18th birthday.
• • A decade later, when Mae and Beverly were arrested in Bridgeport, Connecticut on 2 February 1927, Sergei took advantage of the scandal, using the trial testimony as his grounds for divorce.
• • The union between the unhappy couple was dissolved by Supreme Court Justice George H. Taylor, Jr. in Newburgh, New York. The divorce action was based on a police raid on a room in the Arcade Hotel (Bridgeport) at 5:00 AM when Beverly West and Edward Elsner were charged with a "breach of the peace" [i.e., being drunk].
• • The arrest at the Arcade Hotel — — 1001 Main St, Bridgeport, CT 06604 — — is dramatized in the play "Courting Mae West." This scene can be viewed on YouTube.com.
• • Though the case against Edward Elsner and Beverly West was dropped the next day in the Bridgeport City Court, a stenographer took a transcript of the testimony for Mr. Treshatny — — the policeman who made the February 2nd arrests testified before Judge Taylor.
• • Sergei Treshatny, who was living in Stamford in 1927, had invented an air-cooled motor.
• • Beverly had tried to divorce him in Brooklyn in 1924 — — but dropped it after her plea for alimony and counsel fees pending a trial had been denied.
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Source:http://courtingmaewest.blogspot.com/atom.xml

Courting Mae West
Mae West
• • Photo: Mae West's family • • 1934 • •
NYC
Mae West.

Pre-Code Mae West

2008-09-19T23:54:00.009-04:00

The Pre-Code MAE WEST is the best.
• • if you still have not seen the classic “I’m No Angel” on the big screen, this Sunday is your chance.
• • In this screen gem — — inspired by Bostock's lion exhibit in Coney Island that she adored as a little Brooklyn girl — — Mae West is a woman who knows what she wants and how to get it. And she wants Cary Grant. Again. The bold Tira works as a hootchie-cootchie dancing beauty and a lion tamer at a fair. Out of an urgent need of money, she agrees to a risky new number — — she'll put her head into a lion's mouth.
• • The intrepid Mae West did all her own stunts in the lion's cage, too.
• • When: At 2:00 pm on Sunday, 21 September 2008.
• • Where: Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art [4420 Warwick Blvd. Kansas City, Missouri 64111 — — T: 816-753-5784.
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Source:http://courtingmaewest.blogspot.com/atom.xml

Courting Mae West
Mae West
• • Photo: Mae West • • 1933 • •
NYC
Mae West.

Mae West: Twin Towers

2008-09-11T01:19:00.004-04:00

A native New Yorker was MAE WEST — — and she would have been horrified by the attack on the Twin Towers on 11 September 2001.
• • Today New York City is in mourning. Keep us in your prayers.
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Source:http://courtingmaewest.blogspot.com/atom.xml

Courting Mae West
Mae West
• • Photo: Mae West • • 1934 • •
NYC
Mae West.

"Courting Mae West" cast

2008-09-06T22:59:00.017-04:00

Some of the "Courting Mae West" cast performed in the Village on 6 September 2008.
• • Charismatic as voice actors and powerful as stage performers, Mary Murphy and Steven Viola met when they were cast as the characters ELIZA ROURKE and her scheming father DECLAN ROURKE in the Fresh Fruit Festival Production of "Courting Mae West." When Louis Lopardi told Carol Polcovar that we needed an exceptional actress for the poignant role of ELIZA, she recommended Miss Murphy. And what an extraordinary presence Mary Murphy is onstage, adding gestures and nuances that brought her character into sharper focus.
• • "I really enjoyed working with her," said Steven Viola, who was very pleased indeed when Mary Murphy joined a popular live series that he has been attached to for several years — — W-WOW! RADIO Mystery Hour, done live once a month at Partners in Crime Bookshop in Greenwich Village, New York, NY.
• • On Saturday evening 6 September 2008, the program included two favorites: The Fat Man "Eighteen Hours to Murder" [originally aired on 6 October 1950] and The Shadow "The Nursery Rhyme Murders" [originally aired on 22 February 1948].
• • Censorship affected the career of Mae West — — as well as the livelihood of Sam Spade's creator. The Fat Man, along with The Adventures of Sam Spade, went off the air in 1951 when Dashiell Hammett, whose name was associated with both shows, was blacklisted.
• • At the live performance on 6 September 2008, Steven Viola energetically portrayed an Announcer, Tommy Yale, and Mr. Eustace. Mr. Viola's next show is on October 4th, when he will take part in a detective drama classic that was part of The Adventures of Philip Marlowe — — "Red Wind." "Detective Philip Marlowe" was the brainchild of writer Raymond Chandler.
• • At the live performance on 6 September 2008, Mary Murphy portrayed Margo Lane — — the girlfriend and confidante of Lamont Cranston [winningly played by Bob Rutan]. Miss Murphy also took the roles of: Marilyn, Commercial Actress #2, and a Telephone Operator. As we were chatting after the show, Mary mentioned a recent phonecall from the owners of the Algonquin Theatre, currently closed for building maintenance. The theatre manager told Mary Murphy how eager they are to welcome back "Courting Mae West."
• • The next live performance is on Saturday 4 October 2008 — — and we'll be there to cheer.
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Source:http://courtingmaewest.blogspot.com/atom.xml

Courting Mae West
Mae West
• • Photo: Mae West • • "Courting Mae West" cast mates Steven Viola and Mary Murphy • • 2008
NYC
Mae West.

"Courting Mae West" is a finalist!

2008-09-05T01:15:00.009-04:00

"Courting Mae West" — — a play based on true events in the life of MAE WEST during the Prohibition Era, when she was arrested and jailed for writing two gay plays — — has come in as a finalist in the 2008-2009 REVA SHINER FULL LENGTH PLAY CONTEST.
• • Every year the Reva Shiner Contest rewards an unproduced full-length play with a cash prize and a full production as part of the theater's season. Past winners have gone on to enjoy productions around the world and to garner additional honors such as the National Play Award.
• • Russell McGee, the Literary Manager of BPP, had much to say about "Courting Mae West" — — and here is an excerpt from his extensive comments: Let me start by stating that I very much enjoy this play. The particular time and subject matter is of great interest to me. I am an old film buff and have quite a collection of films from the twenties onward through the fifties. However, I have never really turned an eye on Mae West before reading this play and the odd W.C. Fields' film. It is evident through the rich historical detail that this is a passion for you and a labor of love. . . .
• • Located in Bloomington, Indiana, the Bloomington Playwrights Project is a not-for-profit theatre with non-Equity performers. See the list of winners and finalists here: http://www.newplays.org/content/revashiner.aspx
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Source:http://courtingmaewest.blogspot.com/atom.xml

Courting Mae West
Mae West
• • Photo: Mae West • • detail from "Courting Mae West" comic book, artist Michael Di Motta • •
NYC
Mae West.

Mae West: Biltmore Theatre

2008-09-04T03:01:00.002-04:00

The Biltmore Theatre will never forget MAE WEST's gay show "Pleasure Man" and its infamous police raid eighty years ago on 1 October 1928.
• • But in a few years people might no longer remember the Biltmore because on 4 September 2008 this playhouse, which has seen its ups and downs, will be renamed The Samuel J. Friedman Theatre at 7:30 PM.
• • Born and raised in New York City, Samuel J. Friedman (1912 — 1974) was a pioneer in theatrical publicity, according to the Manhattan Theatre Club. "Legendary for his stunts, personality, and press agentry, Mr. Friedman began his career in 1937 at the Shubert Organization on a Cole Porter musical You Never Know, starring Clifton Webb, Libby Holman, and Lupe Velez.
• • In the early 1950s he opened National Press Agents with partner Bill Doll.
• • He was a lifetime member and officer of the Association of Theatrical Press Agents and Managers.
• • Along the way he worked with Mae West, promoting her 1950 revival of "Diamond Lil."
• • Friedman also worked with such legendary performers as Gypsy Rose Lee (Star and Garter, 1942), Montgomery Clift (The Searching Wing, 1944), Billy Rose (Diamond Horseshoe, 1946) Josephine Baker (Paris Sings Again, 1947), Bette Davis (Two's Company, 1952), Lotte Lenya (The Threepenny Opera, 1954), Jerry Orbach (The Threepenny Opera, 1955), Shirley Booth (Miss Isobel, 1957), Peter Ustinov (Romanoff and Juliet, 1957), Jackie Gleason (Take Me Along, 1959), Roddy McDowall (Compulsion, 1959), Jon Voight (That Summer, That Fall, 1967), and Tammy Grimes (The Only Game in Town, 1968) — — among his other clients.
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Source:http://courtingmaewest.blogspot.com/atom.xml

Courting Mae West
Mae West
• • Photo: Mae West • • raid at the Biltmore • • 1928 • •
NYC
Mae West.

Gus Jordan and Diamond Lil

2008-08-30T02:42:00.001-04:00

Since MAE WEST had her eye on Tammany Hall perhaps for the entire time she lived in New York, she could spot a fixer.
• • "Big" Tim Sullivan [23 July 1862 — 31 August 1913] was a fixer extraordinaire and a born ward-heeler. This New York politician who controlled Manhattan's Bowery and Lower East Side districts as a prominent figure within Tammany Hall was the model for Mae's character Gus Jordan in "Diamond Lil."
• • Similarly, in "She Done Him Wrong" [1933] the bejeweled chanteuse and brash entertainer Lady Lou (Mae West) works in the 1890s Bowery saloon of her boss and benefactor Gus Jordan (Noah Beery, Sr.), who has given her many diamonds.
• • Unbeknownst to Lady Lou, slick and sleazy Gus Jordan trafficks in white slavery (prostitution) and runs a counterfeiting ring (to help finance Lou's expensive rock collection). He also sends young women to San Francisco to be pickpockets. Gus works with two other crooked entertainer-assistants, Russian Rita (Rafaela Ottiano) and Rita's lover, the suave Serge Stanieff (Gilbert Roland).
• • Not as handsome as Beery and certainly far heavier, "Big" Tim Sullivan was born to poor Irish parents in the notorious Five Points neighborhood. Determined to be successful, "Big" Tim Sullivan cultivated careers in business and politics. Over the course of 25 years beginning in 1886, Sullivan assembled a political machine that ruled the districts of lower Manhattan. A legitimate entrepreneur in the world of entertainment, Sullivan forged an effective brand of urban politics by fusing the traditional tactics of the machine with his influence in commercial leisure and organized crime.
• • Staging theatrical entertainments and athletic competitions, handing out food and clothing to constituents, and offering employment and social services to ordinary citizens won him many followers, but Sullivan's protection of key figures in the vice economy of the Lower East Side made him a rather controversial figure. Despite his frequent use of physical intimidation, "Big" Tim nonetheless worked to expand the franchise and give the disadvantaged a voice in municipal politics.
• • Both Mae West's character Gus Jordan and Tim Sullivan were active in a number of illegal activities including prostitution, white slavery, gambling, and extortion.
• • On 31 August 1913, "Big" Tim's body was found on the tracks in the Eastchester area of the Bronx, New York.
• • Sullivan's wake was held at his clubhouse — — located at 203 Bowery.
• • More than 25,000 people turned out for his funeral at St. Patrick's Old Cathedral, New York on Mott Street. Perhaps some "mourners" turned up solely to make sure this politico was dead.
• • Tim's clubhouse was down the block from the notorious Bowery "resort" near Houston Street, namely McGurk's Suicide Hall [295 Bowery]. The second chapter of "Diamond Lil" (a 256-page novelization of the play published by Macaulay in 1932) is Suicide Hall.
— — Source for some of this information: — —
• • Article: "Underworlds and Underdogs: Big Tim Sullivan and Metropolitan Politics in New York, 1889 — 1913"
• • Byline: Daniel Czitrom
• • Published in: The Journal of American History, vol. 78, no.2
• • Published on: September 1991
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Courting Mae West
Mae West
• • Photo: Mae West • • "Big" Tim Sullivan • • 1933 lobby card • •
NYC
Mae West.

Mae West: Sepia

2008-08-24T23:35:00.001-04:00

Among several intriguing studies on the American actress MAE WEST there is one written by Marybeth Hamilton, who holds a doctorate in history from Princeton University and teaches American History at Birkbeck College, University of London.
• • In When I'm Bad, I'm Better, Marybeth Hamilton discusses how Mae West's former lover George Raft, who was becoming a matinee idol in Hollywood during 1932, was instrumental in getting Mae a cameo role as Maudie Triplett, his blowsy ex-girlfriend in "Night After Night." Hamilton also explains how Mae was aghast at being cast in such a colorless bit part — — and then went on to revise her dialogue and win all the applause. "If nothing else," writes Hamilton, "[Mae West] showed Paramount that they were dealing with an expert scene stealer."
• • It is not surprising that Marybeth Hamilton mentions the hatcheck girl's line: "Goodness, what beautiful diamonds!" and Maudie Triplett's famous comeback: "Goodness had nothing to do with it, dearie!" [Mae borrowed the routine from her diamond-draped pal Texas Guinan.]
• • What was left unsaid in this study (and other Mae West books) about that film scene?
• • Curiously, no writer ever mentions that Paramount made the 21-year-old actress Patricia Farley [born 22 August 1911] play the role of the hatcheck girl in blackface.
• • Take a peek. Do you remember the sepia-skinned beauty in the scene — — or not? How come no one ever mentions the deliberately darkened skin? Why not?
• • Here's another question: which house in the West 50s inspired the plot of "Night After Night" [originally titled "Number 55"]? Which heiress was raised in that stately residence? Which Pulitzer Prize-winner wrote the short story that Hollywood adapted for the screenplay? Which gangster met his death on the marble staircase?
• • Since Mae West was known to champion dark-skinned actors in her Broadway projects, it was probably assumed that the hatcheck girl in this scene was one more sepia beauty out of Harlem.
• • Production on "Night After Night" began in August 1932.
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Courting Mae West
Mae West
• • Photo: Mae West • • Patricia Farley • • 1932 • •
NYC
Mae West.

Coming Up Mae

2008-08-18T02:34:00.008-04:00

MAE WEST was born in New York City 115 years ago on 17 August 1893.
• • To celebrate the occasion in style, the Diamond Divas led a group of two dozen Mae-mavens to several locations in Greenwich Village linked to her stage career and the work of individuals she admired such as Lillian Russell, Tony Pastor, Texas Guinan, Eugene O'Neill, and Rae Bourbon.
• • "Mae West's Walk on the Wild Side" tour visited the former residence of Judge Amadeo Bertini, who presided over Mae's Pleasure Man trial in 1930; the first speakeasy fined for violating the Volstead Act; infamous drag cabarets along West Third Street; and the building where Washington Square College coeds elected Mae West as their "prom girl" in 1927.
• • The August 17th outdoor event received the weatherman's blessing. Ideal conditions prevailed and the lively group found it quite pleasant to linger and enjoy the musical interludes.
• • The musical program, sung by soprano Marlena de la Mora and Sharon Weinman, included: "Everything's Coming up Mae West"; "Mon Coeur S' Ouvre a Ta Voix"; "The Prisoner's Song"; "Frankie and Johnny"; "Come Down Ma Evening Star"; "I Could Have Danced All Night"; "Gentleman Jimmy"; and a grand finale taken from the score of "Diamond Lil."
• • Joining the tour group yesterday was the cast of "Courting Mae West" — — Yvonne Sayers, Neal Sims, Gloria Buccino, Mary Murphy, and Steven Viola.
• • This outdoor event — — which is part of the Annual Mae West Birthday Gala — — is scheduled every August in Manhattan and open to the public.
• • For info on Theatre District Tours: Seesaw864@juno.com
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Courting Mae West
Mae West
• • Photo: Mae West tour • • Sunday 17 August 2008 • •
NYC
Mae West.