Neal Beckman and Emily A. Grodzik Photo by Dan Norman

Mae West is remembered today as an iconic image of outsized female sexuality whose enduring presence in the culture stems mainly from her popular films of the 1930s. Even among those who have never watched any of her films in their totality, excerpts of her double entendre-laden exchanges with Cary Grant in She Done Him Wrong and W.C. Fields in My Little Chickadee are frequently seen. Images of West with her piled up platinum hair and forward thrust ample bosom have been caricatured in everything from Bugs Bunny cartoons to "The Simpsons" to the cover of the Beatles' "Sargeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" record album.

Before she made it big in Hollywood, West was a star of vaudeville and of Broadway. For the latter, she both acted in and wrote plays. Her first original play hit the boards in 1926 and was called Sex. It is the tale of a prostitute who made her living by soliciting business from the crew of navy ships. Lots of more subtle titles might have worked, but West wanted to tell a risqué story and had no qualms about letting her audience know it. Nor did audiences have qualms about showing up: in spite of poor reviews, the show was a hit. Not with everyone, though, as conservative religious groups tried to shut it down on morals charges.

Never one to rest on her laurels, West (who wrote under the pen name Jane Mast) set out to write her next play, called The Drag. It was the story of fraught love among homosexual men, and for authenticity she hired gay drag artists from Greenwich Village to fill the roles. As the show moved into rehearsals and out-of-town tryouts, West's opposition doubled down. The Drag, they clamored, must be stopped before it opens, and the best way to do that was to once and for all shut down the still-running Sex. Charges of "corrupting the morality of youth and others" were brought up against the producers, the playwright, and the entire cast of Sex.

Heimbuch's script covers the early efforts to shut down Sex, West's development of The Drag and the community of performers it brought together, and the social conditions of the era that fostered an appetite for free expression. Through the presence of West's mother Matilda, a German immigrant who had been a fashion model and made connections with some influential people, and her dissolute sister Beverly, we learn about West's early life without resorting to disruptive flashbacks. The play brings in historical figures: high-living New York City Mayor Jimmy Walker; New York State governor (Al Smith) with presidential ambitions; Owney Madden, the gangster who was owner of the legendary Cotton Club; and perhaps the most influential media figure of his era, William Randolph Hearst. All played a part in the trials and tribulations of Mae West. Last and definitely not least, we get an insider's view of the trial itself, parts of it presented in quick-paced snapshots of testimony that create the feel of a sepia-toned newsreel. The play even treats us to a couple of musical numbers performed by Emily A. Grodzik in a spectacular turn as dusky-voiced Mae West.

In short, the play is complicated and stuffed with content, but everything in it works, combining an abundance of sly humor (some of it using lines straight from West, though Heimbuch brings his own sharp wit to the piece), a fascinating history lesson, and compelling drama that pits Mae West's determination to live freely and foster a society of acceptance and inclusion against forces of repression and narrow minds. Director Vincent integrates the play's various elements to form a holistic work that shimmers on stage.

Grodzik maintains the image of Mae West as a strong, independent woman without allowing her to become merely a symbol–her humanity is always visible. She is not above using people around her to achieve her ends, but allows us to see her drive to succeed as inseparable from her determination to survive. Grodzik also delivers Mae West's saucy humor with panache.

While Grodzik plays West for the entirety of the play, which is assignment enough for any actor, the rest of the fine cast each play a variety of roles as members of the ensemble. Standout portrayals include Kelsey Laurel Cramer both as West's mother Matilda and as the hard-nosed judge presiding over the trial of Sex; Samuel Osborne-Huerta as a milquetoast would-be-playwright who, in a separate trial, sues West for plagiarism and as a mission-driven district attorney; and Kayla Dvorak Feld as West's sister, Beverly.

Most notable of all is Neal Beckman's performance as Leo, most outspoken of the drag queens given roles in The Drag. Beckman endows Leo with sharp wit and keen intelligence. He movingly conveys the risk taken by people like Leo who stand up against the constraints of society, while those like West, cushioned by their celebrity, are assured of bouncing back. The many characters call for a wide range of variations on a New York accent, which the actors handle with aplomb, supported by eminent dialect coach Keely Wolter.

The design elements support the play in spades. At the rear of the stage, scenic Designer Sarah Bahr has created the image of the proscenium of an old vaudeville or playhouse, with the various scenes played center stage by rearranging furniture to create all of the necessary settings. On either side, three dressing tables, laden with props and coyly obscured by costumes set on hangers, are used by the actors to switch–often very quickly–from one character to another, transformed by their own acting acumen and the superb costumes designed by Mandi Johnson. Tom Stoeri's lighting design effectively modulates moods and eases transitions between scenes, while Thomas Speltz has composed incidental music that, early on, underscores the "roaring twenties" ambience, but later reenforces the growing tension about this challenge to freedom of expression.

I left Mae West and the Trial of Sex with a new admiration for this woman warrior who fought to break down prejudices and social constraints, albeit assuring herself of a good living in the process (by 1935, movie stardom had made her the second-highest paid person in America, second only to her old nemesis, William Randolph Hearst). I also was reminded of the truth in the observation that history repeats itself, as we now face some of the same battles in terms of self-appointed guardians of morality who would erase the humanity of anyone who doesn't conform to their notion of decency. But best of all, I was lavishly entertained, every element of the show being an affirmation of why, when all cylinders are firing, I love the theatre. This show fires on all cylinders from its lively start to its moving valedictory moment.

Mae West and the Trial of Sex presented by Walking Shadow Theatre Company, runs through June 22, 2025, at the Crane Theater, 2303 Kennedy Street N.E., Minneapolis MN. For tickets and information, please call 612-234-7135 or visit www.walkingshadow.org.

Playwright: John Heimbuch; Director: Allison Vincent; Scenic Design: Sarah Bahr; Costume Design: Mandi Johnson; Lighting Design: Toni Stoeri; Composer and Sound Design: Thomas Speltz; Prop Design: Bobbi Smith; Choreographer: Jon Michael Stiff; Drag Consultant: Domino D'Lorion; Intimacy Coordinator: Allie St. John; Dialect Coach: Keely Wolter; Vocal Coach: Leslie Vincent; Assistant Lighting Designer: Aarya Batchu; Stage Manager: André Johnson Jr.; Production Manager: David Pisa.

Cast: Jack Bechard (ensemble), Neal Beckman (ensemble), Kelsey Laurel Cramer (ensemble), Kayla Dvorak Feld (ensemble), Emily A. Grodzik (Mae West), Samuel Osborne-Huerta (ensemble), Joe Swanson (ensemble).