Three Plays: Sex / The Drag / The Pleasure Man [Paperback]

Mae West (Author), Lillian Schlissel (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 15, 1997

Mae West, wise-cracking vaudeville performer, was one of the most controversial figures of her era. Rarely, however, do people think of Mae West as a writer. In Three Plays By Mae West, Lillian Schlissel brings this underexplored part of West's career to the fore by offering for the first time in book form, three of the plays West wrote in the 1920s--Sex (1926), The Drag (1927) and Pleasure Man (1928). With an insightful introduction by Schlissel, this book offers a unique look into to the life and early career of this legendary stage and screen actress.

Editorial Reviews

Review

...in a useful introduction, Schissel does a fine, readable history of both West and the theater of her day. ...these plays...are fascinating windows into another time. -- Windy City Times
This volume gives a glimpse of the real Mae West by publishing her three radical, melodramatic, but quite hilarious plays for the first time. -- Booklist
No mere strutting sexpot, West's capacity for scathing satire comes into full view in Three Plays by Mae West, edited by Lillian Schlissel...Filled with the saucy argot of the New York streets, the plays still crackle and cook. -- Publisher's Weekly
These plays are important, original and fun. Anyone interested in theatre and gender is going to have a new and bold face to deal with. -- Michael Cadden, Director of the Program in Theatre and Dance, Princeton University Mae West was many things-sexual outlaw, wildcat feminist, actress, icon. The publication of these plays proves that she was more complex than her movies suggest. The only thing she did straightforwardly was to insist that her convictions were worth fighting for...She was as close as any woman has ever come to being one of the great American queens.
...we can look back at Mae West with new eyes, and admire the fun she had with sex and the control she exercised on her image and her career. -- The Boston Book Review
I would recommend this book to anyone interested either in the history of gay theatre in America or in how gays were perceived in the early decades of the twentieth century. -- Marsh Cassady, Lambda Book Report

About the Author

Lillian Schlissel is Director of the American Studies Program, Brooklyn College.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Routledge (August 15, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0415909333
• ISBN-13: 978-0415909334
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #97,832 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unapologetically Undiluted Mae West, November 24, 2006

By 

R. M. Desjardins "R. Mark Desjardins" (Vancouver, B.C. Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Three Plays: Sex / The Drag / The Pleasure Man (Paperback)

When Lillian Schissel edited "Three Plays by Mae West,' published in 1997, it marked the first time Sex, The Drag and The Pleasure Man had ever been printed. Long thought to be lost, the original manuscripts gathered dust at the Library of Congress. After prolonged legal wrangling with the Roger Richman Agency of Los Angeles, who at the time represented the Mae West receivership estate, a deal was finally struck to have the plays finally published.

Schissel argues that West provided one of the first role models for women suggesting they could be independent and achieve success following through on their own ambitions. When a revival of Sex was mounted in Seattle in 1998, a review noted, "What dates this show more than all the quaint wink-and nod lewdness are a couple of incredibly racist lines that I'm glad they didn't cut. At one point, Margy LaMont tells a guy there's no way he could get himself a woman, at least not a white women. Later a character tells Margy that she could make good money whoring in Trinidad "'cause all the girls down there are half black."
Times have changed when this shocks us more than humping. Even a couple of archaic racial slurs are left in, the only real shock here is that a 1927 audience wouldn't have even blinked.

The strength of Schissel's work is the research she uncovered in the case for the prosecution against Mae West in legal documents relating to the staging of Sex and The Pleasure Man. The testimoney presented during the court proceedings is fascinating to read and sheds light on the rampant homophobia at the time.

Perhaps the most important aspect of Schlissel's sleuthing is that excerpts from West's obscenity trial and disturbingly the censor's accusations sound as troubling today as they did 80 years ago. The arguments used 80 years ago to ban Mae West's bon mots are not unlike those used today to bar gay and lesbian artists from public funding and public self-expression.
Highly recommended!