Walking Shadow Theatre Company presents

Mae West and the Trial of Sex

by John Heimbuch
directed by Allison Vincent

at Crane Theater
May 31- June 22, 2025

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. Playwright John Heimbuch uses Mae West’s legal battle over censorship to show how queer representation became criminalized on stage and screen, cutting LGBTQIA+ people off from their past.

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. The resulting obscenity trial resulted in the closing of Sex and The Drag, ten days in jail for Mae West, and a new censorship law that prevented queer characters from appearing in the American theatre for the next 40 years.

Ticket Prices:

Tickets are pick-your-price: $30 – $70.
Ticket sales only cover a portion of what it actually costs to present our plays.
For ticket sales to completely cover our production expenses, a ticket would cost $50.

You choose your price! If you are able to pay the true cost of $50, we ask you to do so. Or, pay as little as $30, or choose a more generous amount and help support our accessible ticket program. A limited number of $15 Economic Accessibility tickets are available starting one month before the performance date, for anyone who needs to pay less, no questions asked. Limit 2 per order. Student tickets are FREE. Limit 2 per order. Available starting one month before the performance date.

All seating is general admission, though we’re happy to make accommodations or handle special seating requests.

Accessibility:

Crane Theater is wheelchair accessible.

ASL interpreted on Saturday, June 14 at 7:30pm by Nella Titus (NIC) and Maria Dively (NIC)
Audio Described on Sunday, June 15 at 2:00pm by Elana Centor.

Content Advisory:

This show is recommended for ages 16+ and includes adult language and dated references to homosexuality.

Health and Safety:

We do not currently require proof of Covid vaccination or masking. Covid policy is subject to change based on regional conditions and/or guidance. Please do not attend the show if you have tested positive for Covid-19 or if you are actively experiencing Covid-like symptoms.

Location and Parking:

Crane Theater is located at 2303 Kennedy St NE, Minneapolis, MN 55413. 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.