The Drag (play)

Last updated
The Drag
Written by Mae West
Date premieredJanuary 1927
Place premieredNew Jersey and Connecticut
SettingNew York City

The Drag is a dramatic play written by Mae West under her pen name Jane Mast. The play opened in out-of-town tryouts in New Jersey and Connecticut, but was later forced to close for its portrayal of homosexuality and cross-dressing. The play never opened on Broadway, as West had planned. This play was the follow-up to West's highly controversial play Sex .

Contents

Inception

West claimed that the inspiration behind the play came from the homosexual young men that she knew around that time who, according to her, desperately wanted to be open about their relationships with their male companions.

With the success of The Captive , a play about two women with homosexual overtones, West set out to create a counter piece that dealt with male gay life. The Drag was said to make open digs at The Captive and its palatable writing, performing satirical songs such as “The Woman Who Stole My Gal”.

West auditioned and cast exclusively gay actors from a Greenwich Village club. Rehearsals for The Drag occurred later at night, after West had finished performing in Sex. These rehearsals were largely improvisational, allowing the cast of 12 principal characters to invent the script themselves. The final scene consisted of a giant Drag Ball with little dramatic function that utilized an extended company of performers. Although this open form of performance encouraged a celebration of the liberated gay man, the play formed a dark underbelly that alluded to the drug addiction and violence that riddled gay life in New York City at that time. [1]

Plot

Act One

The play opens in the library of Dr. James Richmond's New York mansion. Dr. Richmond believes that homosexuals can be treated through conversion therapy, and explains his theory to his close friend and brother-in-law Judge Robert Kingsbury. Judge Kingsbury believes that homosexuals are deviants who need to be controlled by the law. His son, Roland "Rolly", is married to Richmond's daughter Clair.

Two gay men then request an appointment with Dr. Richmond after office hours. One of the men, Clem Hathaway, has brought his friend, David Caldwell, because he is pathologically depressed. During their session, David admits that he had a lover who left him recently, and has allegedly taken up with another man. Dr. Richmond sedates him and leaves him in his office to rest.

Clair is then shown casually telling her father that she wants to make a European trip without her husband. She later confides to her Aunt Barbara that Rolly has no interest in a sexual relationship with her. Rolly readily agrees to his wife's European holiday. While away, Clair is seen at a social event with Allen Greyson, an architect, who is also one of Rolly's business associates.

When David groggily stumbles in from the office, he and Rolly instantly recognize each other as ex-lovers. The doctor reenters to find them struggling and assumes his drugged patient has become violent. Afterwards, Richmond tells Rolly "Thank God you're not what he is."

Act Two

The second act opens in the Kingsbury residence drawing room, later that afternoon. Parsons, the family butler, admits three obviously effeminate men who have come to plan a weekend party with Rolly. When Allen Greyson arrives, Rolly asks his friends to behave themselves. Allen has come to talk about an industrial building he is designing for the Kingsbury works.

After the other men have left, Rolly explains to Allen that he married Clair not just because it was encouraged by their two families, but because it provided a convenient cloak for his homosexuality. Rolly tells Allen that he is in love with him, but Allen is appalled because he has fallen in love with Clair. He threatens to quit, but Rolly persuades him to reconsider. Allen, no longer feeling an obligation to respect Rolly's marriage, proclaims his love to Clair, who is not displeased.

Act Three

Act Three opens in the drawing room of the Kingsbury mansion, which has been converted into a small ballroom. A drag ball is in full swing, with bizarrely attired transvestites and an onstage jazz band. Accompanying the solo songs and dances is a great deal of suggestive banter.

When the party gets too rowdy, Rolly sends the partygoers home and goes upstairs. A shot is heard off stage. Parsons the butler enters, clearly shaken. He phones Judge Kingsbury, telling him that Rolly has been shot.

A police detective and Judge Kingsbury come to the mansion the morning of the next day. Parsons tells them of the argument Rolly had with Allen, and of his later seeing Clair in the arms of Allen. Allen becomes the prime suspect.

David then arrives with Dr. Richmond, who confesses to Kingsbury that he killed Rolly, and that they were once lovers. The doctor pleads with the judge to be compassionate. The judge, wanting to avoid the scandal of his son and the two families being linked to the homosexual world in a murder investigation, tells the inspector to report the shooting as a suicide.

Reception

The play was a great financial success, reportedly earning West $30,000 on its opening night, but was widely panned by critics for its open portrayal of homosexuality. It was closed during its premiere run after two weeks.

The Society for the Prevention of Vice warned the producers that if the play continued, all Broadway productions that season would be scrutinized and censored. The Deputy Police Commissioner at the time issued a police raid of The Captive, Sex, and Virgin Man on February 9, 1927. West was tried and found guilty, sentenced to 10 days in jail and fined $500. Upon her release, West reportedly announced that “A few days in the pen ‘n' a $500 fine ain’t too bad a deal”. West then donated to the women’s prison and established the Mae West Memorial Library and continued with other artistic endeavors. [1]

Theatre scholar Jordan Schildcrout examines the production history of the play and its representation of gay characters in Murder Most Queer: The Homicidal Homosexual in the American Theater (2014). [2]

The play was performed again throughout June 2019 at Gay City, an LGBT community center in Seattle. [3]

The Pleasure Man

In 1928, West opened a re-worked version of The Drag titled The Pleasure Man . While the lead role of Rolly was replaced with a heterosexual character, the play still experienced backlash for its overtly sexual content.

Related Research Articles

<i>Cat on a Hot Tin Roof</i> Stage play by Tennessee Williams

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is a 1955 American three-act play by Tennessee Williams. The play, an adaptation of his 1952 short story "Three Players of a Summer Game", was written between 1953 and 1955. One of Williams's more famous works and his personal favorite, it won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1955. Set in the "plantation home in the Mississippi Delta" of Big Daddy Pollitt, a wealthy cotton tycoon, the play examines the relationships among members of Big Daddy's family, primarily between his son Brick and Maggie the "Cat", Brick's wife.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mae West</span> American actress (1893–1980)

Mary Jane "Mae" West was an American actress, singer, comedian, screenwriter, and playwright whose career spanned over seven decades. Considered a sex symbol, she was known for her breezy sexual independence and her lighthearted bawdy double entendres, often delivered in a husky contralto voice. She was active in vaudeville and on stage in New York City before moving to Los Angeles to begin a career in the film industry.

<i>Deathtrap</i> (film) 1982 film

Deathtrap is a 1982 American black comedy suspense film based on the 1978 play of the same name by Ira Levin. It was directed by Sidney Lumet from a screenplay by Levin and Jay Presson Allen, and stars Michael Caine, Dyan Cannon and Christopher Reeve. Critics gave the film mostly favorable reviews while noting its plot similarities to Caine's 1972 film Sleuth.

<i>Sex</i> (play) 1926 play by Mae West

Sex is a 1926 play written by and starring Mae West, who used the pen name "Jane Mast". Staged on Broadway, the play received bad reviews, but was a commercial success. It was eventually shut down by the New York City Police Department due to obscenity, and West was sentenced to 10 days in jail because of it.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Greyson</span> Canadian filmmaker

John Greyson is a Canadian director, writer, video artist, producer, and political activist, whose work frequently deals with queer characters and themes. He was part of a loosely affiliated group of filmmakers to emerge in the 1980s from Toronto known as the Toronto New Wave.

<i>Harvey</i> (play) 1944 play by Mary Chase

Harvey is a 1944 play by the American playwright Mary Chase. She received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for the work in 1945. It has been adapted for film and television several times, most notably in a 1950 film starring James Stewart and Josephine Hull.

<i>The Gay Sisters</i> 1942 film by Irving Rapper

The Gay Sisters is a 1942 American drama film directed by Irving Rapper, and starring Barbara Stanwyck, George Brent, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Donald Crisp, Gig Young and Nancy Coleman. The Warner Bros. motion picture was based on a novel by Stephen Longstreet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Doctor Septimus Pretorius</span> Fictional character

Doctor Septimus Pretorius is a fictional character who appears in the Universal film Bride of Frankenstein (1935) as the main antagonist. He is played by British stage and film actor Ernest Thesiger. Some sources claim he was originally to have been played by Bela Lugosi or Claude Rains. Others indicate that the part was conceived specifically for Thesiger.

<i>The Boys in the Band</i> (play) Play by Mart Crowley

The Boys in the Band is a 1968 American play by Mart Crowley. The play premiered Off-Broadway, and was revived on Broadway for its 50th anniversary in 2018. The play revolves around a group of gay men who gather for a birthday party in New York City, and was groundbreaking for its portrayal of gay life. It was adapted into two feature films in 1970 and 2020.

<i>Lilies</i> (film) 1996 Canadian film

Lilies is a 1996 Canadian film directed by John Greyson. It is an adaptation by Michel Marc Bouchard and Linda Gaboriau of Bouchard's own play Lilies. It depicts a play being performed in a prison by the inmates.

<i>Deathtrap</i> (play) Play by Ira Levin

Deathtrap is a 1978 American play written by Ira Levin with many plot twists and which refers to itself as a play within a play. It is in two acts with one set and five characters. It holds the record for the longest-running comedy-thriller on Broadway, and was nominated for four Tony Awards, including Best Play. Deathtrap was well received by many and has been frequently revived. It was adapted into a film starring Michael Caine, Dyan Cannon and Christopher Reeve in 1982.

<i>The Lisbon Traviata</i>

The Lisbon Traviata is a 1989 American play by Terrence McNally premiered Off-Broadway. It revolves around several opera fans, especially of the opera singer Maria Callas, and their gay relationships.

The Law of Remains is a 1991 American play by Los Angeles-based Iranian playwright, director and filmmaker Reza Abdoh. The play, initially staged in a New York City hotel, was described in A Companion to Twentieth-Century American Drama as "an apocalyptic fantasia". In its 1992 review, The New York Times characterized it as "one of the angriest theater pieces ever hurled at a New York audience".

<i>Ghost</i> (musical) Stage musical based on the 1990 movie

Ghost is a musical with book and lyrics by Bruce Joel Rubin and music and lyrics by Dave Stewart and Glen Ballard. Based on the hit 1990 romantic fantasy thriller film of the same name, it centres on lovers Sam and Molly, who are attacked as they are returning to their apartment. When Sam dies he becomes caught between the real world and the next. Molly is in danger and Sam cannot leave her. A medium, Oda Mae Brown, helps Sam to get in touch with Molly to warn her.

<i>Queer Duck: The Movie</i> 2006 American adult animated musical comedy film

Queer Duck: The Movie is a 2006 adult animated film based on the web series Queer Duck, produced by Icebox.com for Mishmash Media, Inc. The film first aired on the gay-themed channel Logo on July 16, 2006, and then had a direct-to-DVD release on July 18, 2006, from Paramount Home Entertainment. On September 16, 2016, it aired on Teletoon's nighttime programming block, Teletoon at Night.

Pleasure Man is a 1928 drama/murder mystery play by Mae West.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raoul Silva</span> Fictional character in the 2012 film Skyfall

Raoul Silva is a fictional character and the main antagonist in the 2012 James Bond film Skyfall. He is portrayed by Javier Bardem. A former MI6 agent, he turns to cyberterrorism and begins targeting the agency he used to work for as part of a plan to discredit and kill M, against whom he holds a homicidal grudge.

Tracy William Thorne-Begland is an American judge on the General District Court of Richmond, Virginia, appointed in 2012. He was the first openly gay jurist elected by the Virginia General Assembly.

The Captive is a 1926 French play by Édouard Bourdet. The three-act melodrama was among the first Broadway plays to deal with lesbians and caused a scandal in New York City. The play was shut down after 160 performances and prompted the adoption of a state law dealing with obscenity.

<i>You Should Meet My Son!</i> 2010 film by Keith Hartman

You Should Meet My Son! is a 2010 gay-themed comedy film written and directed by Keith Hartman. Its plot concerns a conservative mother coming to terms with her son's homosexuality.

References

  1. 1 2 Curry, Ramona (1996). Too much of a good thing : Mae West as cultural icon. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. ISBN   9780816627912. OCLC   33335635.
  2. ↑ Schildcrout, Jordan (2014). Murder Most Queer: The Homicidal Homosexual in the American Theater. University of Michigan Press. ISBN   9780472072323.
  3. ↑ Smith, Rich. "Mae West's The Drag: A Homosexual Comedy in Three Acts". The Stranger. Index Newspapers LLC. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.