Mae West and the Trial of Sex
Written by John Heimbuch
Directed by Allison Vincent
May 31 – June 22, 2025
at Crane Theater
Extra! Extra! Provocative Playwright Mae West Runs Afoul of Broadway Censors, Her Popular Play SEX Raided for Obscenity. Tammany Hall claims it was necessary to prevent West’s new homosexual drama, THE DRAG, from corrupting the youth of New York. The sultry starlet faces time in the slammer if she doesn’t amend her immoral ways and stop SEX at once!
Mae West and the Trial of Sex draws from court documents, newspapers, and West’s own plays to explore the overt sexuality and curious queerness of her rise to fame, in this world premiere production by Artistic Director John Heimbuch.
About the Creative Team
John Heimbuch (playwright) is Walking Shadow’s Artistic Director. He has written numerous works for the company, including William Shakespeare’s Land of the Dead, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, The Transdimensional Couriers Union, Drakul, A Midwinter Night’s Revel, and Cabal.
Allison Vincent (director) is an actor, deviser, and director in the Twin Cities. She is a company member of Transatlantic Love Affair and Four Humors Theater. She is known to Walking Shadow audiences as a performer in Open and 21 Extremely Bad Breakups, and the director of our popular production Feast.
About Mae West
Before she was an icon of the silver screen, Mae West was a Broadway actress and playwright (under the name Jane Mast). In early 1927, while performing in her long-running melodrama, Sex, about a Montreal sex worker, West was developing a new play about Greenwich Village queer culture called The Drag. This play had a sympathetic view of homosexuality, and included a large-scale drag ball onstage, which worried the New York press and police. West became the target of a media campaign to clean up Broadway, culminating in a police raid of Sex. West fought the charges in court, and received a 10 day jail sentence for obscenity, but the trial and publicity launched her career.
Location
The Crane Theater is located at 2303 Kennedy St. NE in the heart of the Mid-City Industrial neighborhood.
The Crane Theater
2303 Kennedy St. NE #120
Minneapolis, MN 55413
NOTE: Parking and the entrance to the theater are located at the back of the building. Look for the yellow door. There is also ample free street parking available in the evenings.