Three Plays by Mae West: Sex / The Drag / The Pleasure Man

by Mae West, Lillian Schlissel (Editor)

Mae West was, without question, one of the most famous and controversial figures of her era. She was a tough-talking, wise-cracking vaudeville performer who made her way onto the Broadway stage and then into the hearts of the American public with a highly visible Hollywood film career. Rarely, however, do people think of Mae West as a writer even though she wrote eight scripts for the stage and her own dialogue for many of her films.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). Schlissel's introduction offers insight to the life and early career of this legendary stage and screen actress.In her first starring role on Broadway, West played Margy LaMont in "Sex, " which had 375 continuous performances but was closed by the police after more than a year, when she was tried and convicted of corrupting the morals of youth. Set in a Montreal brothel, the play confronts the issue of women separated by class and attitudes of sexuality. West's character learns the painful lesson that women are not bound in sisterhood simply because they have both shared the betrayal of men.In "The Drag, " which opened in Bridgeport, Connecticut, but not in New York, West argued that, like sexuality in a woman, homosexuality had no class identification. In this play West used the theatricality of the drag "queens" who had become her friends and "sisters.""Pleasure Man" is once again set in the world of theatre, and is both a forerunner to "La Cage aux Folles" and a revenge fantasy in which a man is castrated after seducing and impregnating an innocent girl. "Pleasure Man" had two and a half performances in the city before it was closed by the police. While West won the legal right to have her play performed, its controversial nature marked the end of her box office success.

Genres: Plays, Theatre, LGBT, Queer, Fiction, Classics, Biography Memoir

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

About the author

Mae West (August 17, 1893 – November 22, 1980) was an American actress, playwright, screenwriter, and sex symbol.

Famous for her bawdy double entendres, West made a name for herself in vaudeville and on the stage in New York before moving to Hollywood to become a comedian, actress and writer in the motion picture industry.

One of the most controversial stars of her day, West encountered many problems including censorship.

When her cinematic career ended, she continued to perform on stage, in Las Vegas, in the United Kingdom, on radio and television, and recorded rock and roll albums.

Reviews

[David Cerda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mae was pretty fucking cool.

[Elliot · Rating 2 out of 5]

These plays are very dated, but you can still see why they caused such a stir. However you can also see why they're rarely performed - they simply aren't very good. This may partly be because the language was so alien to me, but I think there were other factors - the lack of any empathic characters, the snappy but ultimately toothless dialogue, and the endless appalling double entendres.

[Adele · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting read. I learned - while reading another book - that Mae West had written 3 plays for which she'd been fined & arrested. I got curious. I found the book in the library. I read it. Each play has its own life lesson to teach.

[Edward Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mae West was Brilliant! She was an intelligent writer! And, of course...she was sassy! I Love "The Drag!" Found these in collage and really need to re-read them again!

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow - okay, the writing is a bit dated, but the storylines were suprisingly modern. And the story about the lawsuits made it all the more interesting.

[Gren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Only read The Drag for my Queer Theatre class. I wrote an entire analysis and review for class, so I'll just post that here:

While reading The Drag something that frequently came to mind was if the use of "drag" as a slang term for something annoying or a burden was prevalent in the time that the play was written. Though The Drag is funny and vibrant it is also...a bit of drag. I did not expect the tonal shift due to Rolly's death at the end of the play. I think that modern audiences might feel the same way. However, this might have been due to wishful thinking on my part. I had expected this play to be a work that is pre-"bury your gays". Though this trope has been long standing in fiction, we're starting to see queer characters emerge from the shackles of dying seemingly unnecessary deaths.

I wonder if an adaptation that highlights the farcical elements of this play (the going in and out of doors, the devised ball at the beginning of the third act, the possible sexual tension between the Doctor and the Judge, the use of innuendo, etc.) and adds a happier ending would be appropriate to the text and respectful of West's intended vision. Was the death of Rolly present to garner sympathy from the audience? Is it possible to sympathize with someone who is "other" without the use of tragedy?

[Ruth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I learned quite a lot about Ms. West. The introduction had a nice bit of history about her career and her plays and the court decisions around them. The plays themselves were much like her movies, a bit over the top, but with some real grit to them. Not nearly as comedic as her movies, though. They weren't meant to be.

At the end of this book, there was quite a few transcribed documents direct from the actual court cases. I mostly just skimmed them, as they were a bunch of legalese. blech.

I'm on the lookout for a good Mae West biography. I know she wrote an autobiography, but it's not available through the libraries. I may ask them to either locate one or buy one.

[Max · Rating 2 out of 5]

(Based only on reading "Sex;" have not yet looked at the other two plays in the volume)
A fun read, especially if you like Mae West and her vibe, which I do. Lots of lines you can just imagine her saying and scenes you can picture her playing. But a wooden plot structure and a morality that--however progressive--feels shoehorned in to the point of not really believing character changes makes the play's clunkiness too apparent now. Though I bet she loved having the leading men rapturously describe her beauty every night (and twice on matinee days). If it's on your radar, you'll likely enjoy it, but you'll also likely groan several times.

[Joe L · Rating 3 out of 5]

A travel back in time when moral hypocrites tried to silence a ferociously bold woman. A century has passed and I see the same hypocrisy. The plays are dated and The Pleasure Man is wildly overstuffed but still... I wish to be a time traveler in order to see a performance of that one when it was originally staged (ever so briefly). I think it's time to binge watch a few Mae West movies...

[Jojo · Rating 3 out of 5]

So overall I'm giving this 3 stars but I would rank the plays as
1) Sex - I'd probably give this 4 stars. I quite enjoyed it!
2) The Drag - this one maybe like 3.5 stars. I liked it but not as much as the first one
3) The Pleasure Man - this was my least fave but still enjoyable. I'd give it 3 stars.

[H. Givens · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read Sex, may return to read the other two. It's historically interesting but not a terribly compelling play, it sounds like the main thing that would actually make it good to watch would just be Mae West in the lead role and there's not much point otherwise.

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Probably more like 3.5, but let's up to it to 4 for being ahead of their time. Teaching "The Drag," but read all three. Probably enjoyed "The Pleasure Man" the most -- a lovely little slice of small town vaudeville circuit life plus....A MURDER.

[Kyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 rounded up. Some things really need to be seen, not read. The Drag especially had surprisingly forward thinking arguments about the treatment of the lgbtq community that we are still fighting for 100 years later

[Sheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mae West was transgressing before transgressing was a thing.

[Devin Post · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Sex” was the only play in this 3 play book series I enjoyed, but it was a great play.
Mae West became a very intriguing author to me after reading her play “Sex”

[Eleanor yarbrough · Rating 5 out of 5]

Holy fucking shit

[Jodie Kindell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this crazy woman

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

The plays are in the book in quality order:
1. Sex
2. The Drag
3. The Pleasure Man

[hannah magner · Rating 5 out of 5]

mae west: samantha jones of the 1920s

[Owen Boyce · Rating 3 out of 5]

only read the drag…

[Bella Burcsak · Rating 4 out of 5]

Truly deserved three stars (scandalous but not groundbreaking) but Alaska Thunderfuck dressed up as her on Drag Race so extra star.

[A · Rating 4 out of 5]

The iconicity on display here!! Come for the historical note at the beginning; stay for the deposition at the end. Both Sex and The Pleasure Man are genuinely fun, shockingly progressive plays, and even The Drag’s thudding sententiousness gives the impression not that West actually believed the platitudes she wrote but that she was trying, using the imperfect moral & scientific frameworks of the time, to defend to a straight audience what she already knew in her gut to be true: that being gay is good, actually. *Maybe* I’m being too charitable but, like, the woman bailed her entire gay cast out of jail every time the pigs arrested them so I don’t think I am. Mae West… what a woman! Legends only! Plus she’s super funny - I laughed at most of the jokes from almost a hundred years ago - and I can only imagine that 90% of these plays’ appeal came from being seen live, so the fact that the plot sometimes stalled out or felt rushed didn’t bother me a ton.

[Bryan Cebulski · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The Drag" is a questionable moralizing take on the HOMOSEXUAL MENACE. West tries to be sympathetic and call for tolerance but, I mean, she's still writing in the 1920-30s. Aside from treating homosexuality like a psychological illness that causes you to murder people, it's just not a well-written play to begin with. Way too pointed.

"The Pleasure Man" is a mess. Too many characters, too much going on, and by the time West figured out how to work in a plot it's over.

"Sex" is amazing though because it focuses on what Mae West does best: Mae West sleeping with everyone on the planet and talking about how great Mae West is.

[Evelyn Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read "Sex"by Mae West for a class.

[AR · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sex: 3 stars.

[Babe Rainbow · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic, both the plays and the way the collection was set up. Very thorough background info.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating read. ‘Sex’ is genuinely a hilarious play and definitely produceable and theatres should be giving it a look. ‘The Drag’ and ‘The Pleasure Man’ are more relics than anything as they’re a bit all over the place and very vaudeville in a way that we don’t really do anymore, but it’s always good to be reminded that sexuality is not a modern invention, that diversity has been a thing as long as there’s been a human race.