100 Years Ago: Mae West’s ‘Sex’ Premieres on Broadway
Today in 1926, the play that landed the actress in jail made its debut and launched a career
No one seems to think Mae West’s play Sex was particularly good. When it debuted on Broadway 100 years ago today, the New York Times called it a “crude and inept play, cheaply produced and poorly acted.” Last week, when the same publication put it atop the listicle The Plays You Need to Know From the Last 100 Years, it reiterated the sentiment with a quote from a modern playwright: “It’s not a great play, but it’s interesting as an artifact.”
Audiences, however, came in droves. Sex was the only Broadway play that season to stay open into the following year. But then, after 375 performances, the coppers busted the joint. West was arrested and charged with obscenity (“for corrupting the morals of youth”). After serving 8 days in a workhouse on Roosevelt Island, her career exploded.
The plot is so forgettable that the text of the play actually went missing for 70 years. Synopsis: a prostitute tries to reinvent herself, falls for a wealthy young man, and is ultimately undone by the return of her past. The most memorable scene involves Mae exposing her navel in a belly dance. It unfuritated the censors.
By rule, all Mae West anecdotes should conclude with one of her quips. This one seems appropriate: “When I’m good, I’m very good, but when I’m bad, I’m better.”
MORE ANNIVERSARIES
30 Years Ago Today: The rom-com The Truth About Cats & Dogs (1996) premiered in theaters.
30 Years Ago Today: Jean-Claude Van Damme made his directorial debut in The Quest (1996).
40 Years Ago Today: Reactor no. 4 of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant exploded. The World Health Organization later estimated that 9,000 people in Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia would die of cancer-related illnesses.
50 Years Ago Today: The Steve Miller Band released “Take the Money and Run.” The intro drum fill would later be sampled by dozens of artists, including NWA, Nas, De La Soul, Run-DMC, and Beastie Boys.