User:RL0919/Ladies
| Ladies' Night | |
|---|---|
 Advertisement for the Broadway production | |
| Written by | Charlton Andrews, Avery Hopwood |
| Date premiered | August 9, 1920 |
| Place premiered | Eltinge 42nd Street Theatre |
| Original language | English |
| Genre | Farce |
Ladies' Night (sometimes marketed as Ladies' Night in a Turkish Bath) is a three-act play originally written by Charlton Andrews and later reworked by Avery Hopwood. The play was a sex farce with part of the action set in a Turkish bath instead of a bedroom. A. H. Woods staged it on Broadway, where opened under the direction of Bertram Harrison on August 9, 1920 at the Eltinge 42nd Street Theatre.[1] Ladies' Night had a Broadway run of 375 performances and closed in June 1921. It was revived on Broadway in adapted forms in 1945 and 1950.
History[edit]
The initial Broadway production of Ladies' Night had a run of 375 performances[2] with the final curtain falling in June 1921. It was revived on Broadway in adapted forms in 1945 and 1950.
Plot[edit]
Jimmy Walters is a married man who avoids many social events because of his strong reaction to women who wear modern fashions that expose their bodies. His wife, Dulcy, is annoyed by his behavior. Their friends – the couples Alicia and Fred, and Mimi and Cort – make fun of him. Fred and Cort believe they can cure his anxieties by taking him to a masquerade ball where he will see many women in scanty attire. On the same evening, Alicia and Mimi will take Dulcy to the Larchmont Baths, which is hosting a ladies night event for women only.[a]
The second act begins with the group of men dressed in drag for the masquerade, which has been raided by the police. They flee through the first open window they find, which puts them inside the Larchmont Baths. The men pretend to be women to avoid being discovered, a pretense that is made more difficult by Jimmy's reactions to the many barely-clothed women in the baths. In the final act, the couples return to the Walters' apartment, where the men must explain their presence in the baths. As a result of his adventure, Jimmy is cured of his exaggerated response to women's bodies.
Cast[edit]
The characters and cast from the Broadway production are given below:[4]
| Character | Broadway cast |
|---|---|
| Helen Barnes | Tillie |
| John Cumberland | Jimmy Walters |
| Eleanor Dawn | Miss Murphy |
| Vincent Dennie | Bob Stanhope |
| Edward Douglas | Cort Craymer |
| Nellie Filmore | Lollie |
| Claiborne Foster | Dulcy Walters |
| Evelyn Gosnell | Mimi Tarlton |
| Pearl Jardinere | Mrs. Green |
| Grace Kaber | Josie |
| Allyn King | Alicia Bonner |
| Eda Ann Luke | Babette |
| Julia Ralph | A Policewoman |
| Mrs. Stuart Robson | Mrs. Shultz |
| Adele Rolland | Suzon |
| Charles Ruggles | Fred Bonner |
| Fred Sutton | A Fireman |
| Judith Vosselli | Rhoda Begova |
Dramatic analysis[edit]
"subversive parody of heterosexuality"[5]
other plays may have shown as much flesh, but LN combined this with suggestive dialogue[6]
staging and costuming was detailed to create suggestive situations and expose women's bodies[7]
"Not only does the play feature scantily attired women, it also mocks those who prefer the ostensibly more chaste styles of an earlier era."[8]
Reception[edit]
A review in The Forum said the material "often approaches the obscene. However, it is ridiculously funny, and one cannot help but laugh."[9]
Critics in both cities were negative about risque content[6]
More reviews:
- "Ladies' Night Is Broad Farce with Turkish Bath Scene". The Sun and New York Herald. August 10, 1920. p. 7 – via Newspapers.com.
- "Ladies' Night, New Hopwood Farce, Fast and Funny". The Brooklyn Daily Times. August 10, 1920. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.
- "Riproaring Fun at the Eltinge". The Brooklyn Citizen. August 10, 1920. p. 5 – via Newspapers.com.
- "Ladies' Night Lacks Beds, but Little Else". New-York Tribune. August 10, 1920. p. 16 – via Newspapers.com.
Adaptations[edit]
Edward F. Cline directed the 1928 silent film Ladies' Night in a Turkish Bath based on the play.
A version of the play revised by Cyrus Wood was staged in 1945.[10]
An adaption entitled Ladies' Night at the Turkish Bath was produced by George W. Brandt in 1950. The play was shortened to under an hour and presented five times a day before showings of the unrelated adventure film Jungle Jim.[11][12] The production opened on February 17 at the Selwyn Theater[13][14] and closed on March 11.[15]
Notes[edit]
- ^ Although described in the script as a "Turkish bath", the term was used to refer to a modern spa rather than a traditional Turkish bath.[3]
References[edit]
- ^ The New Plays-The New York Times; August 8, 1920, p. 70
- ^ Sharrar 1998, p. 135.
- ^ Latham 2000, p. 180.
- ^ Ladies’ Night – Internet Broadway Database
- ^ Latham 2000, p. 122.
- ^ a b Latham 2000, p. 124.
- ^ Latham 2000, pp. 126–129.
- ^ Latham 2000, p. 129.
- ^ Savage 1920, p. 232.
- ^ Leiter 1992, p. 237.
- ^ Leiter 1992, p. 238.
- ^ "Bath Tonight". Daily News. February 17, 1950. p. 69 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Ladies’ Night – Internet Broadway Database
- ^ Ladies' Night at the Turkish Bath Internet Broadway Database
- ^ "Tobcco Road to Return on Monday; Foreign Darlin '". Daily News. March 3, 1950. p. 75 – via Newspapers.com.
Works cited[edit]
- Hornblow, Arthur (October 1920). "Mr. Hornblow Goes to the Play". Theatre Magazine. pp. 185–186.
- Latham, Angela J. (2000). Posing a Threat: Flappers, Chorus Girls, and Other Brazen Performers of the American 1920s. Hanover, NH: Wesleyan University Press. ISBN 0-8195-6401-X.
- Leiter, Samuel L. (1992). The Encyclopedia of the New York Stage, 1940-1950. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. ISBN 0-313-27510-6.
- Savage, C. Courtenay (September–October 1920). "The Theatre in Review". The Forum. pp. 228–235.
- Sharrar, Jack F. (1998) [1989]. Avery Hopwood: His Life and Plays. Ann Arbor, Michigan: University of Michigan Press. ISBN 0-472-10963-4.
External links[edit]
Category:1920 plays Category:Broadway plays Category:American plays adapted into films Category:Plays by Avery Hopwood Category:Comedy plays