Jefferson Market Courthouse in New York

A Love Affair with a Landmark in Manhattan: An Arresting Drama in Greenwich Village. [Opinions expressed are the views of OLD JEFF unless attributed to other - - potentially less-reliable - - sources, i.e., newcomers who have not been around since 1832 on Sixth Avenue.]

Wednesday, June 29, 2016

Mae West Returns August 2016

Meet the real Mae West: New Yorker, vaudevillian, upstart, and jailbird
The Annual Mae West Event Revisits the Brooklyn Bombshell’s Struggles and Trial That Made Her Famous

• • New York, NY, July 1, 2016  — Born in Brooklyn, NY on August 17, 1893, MAE WEST began performing at age 6. By 1925, the 32-year-old knew her career had capsized; she was cast only in minor roles, she had numerous negative reviews, and she’d been fired. A trip to Greenwich Village and an appearance at Jefferson Market Court (now Jefferson Market Library) — — along with an overnight stay at Jefferson Jail — — changed her life, making the controversial vaudevillian an overnight sensation.
• • Vintage NYC images punctuate this fascinating but little-known story about the legendary entertainer, some of which played out at 425 Sixth Avenue when it was the Third Judicial Courthouse.

• • Join us at 6:00 on Wednesday evening, August 17, 2016 to celebrate Mae’s birthday with a talk and slide-show by Greenwich Village historian LindaAnn Loschiavo featuring rare photos of the young variety artist, who toured as a “specialty dancer” before becoming a writer and going to Hollywood in 1932 for a small role in Paramount's “Night After Night.” Archival images of NYC vaudeville theatres, Greenwich Village, and Jefferson Market will be screened as you’ll be introduced to the company Mae kept such as Owney Madden, George Raft, Jack Dempsey, West 8th Street resident Texas Guinan, etc.

• • About our speaker: Greenwich Villager LindaAnn Loschiavo, a historian and dramatist, drew inspiration from trials at Jefferson Market Court for her play “Courting Mae West.” Her latest projects are a documentary film, “In the Footsteps of Texas Guinan,” and a new biography on the queen of the night clubs, who lived at 72 Washington Square South and 17 West 8th Street until her death in 1933.
• • Come up and see Mae on her birthday for a festive occasion filled with fun, refreshments, prizes.   

    
— — — — Who, What, When, Where — — — —
• • What: Meet the real Mae West: New Yorker, vaudevillian, upstart, jailbird
• • When: Wednesday, 17 August 2016 — — from 6:00—8:00pm (doors open at 5:30pm)
• • Where: Jefferson Market Library, 425 6th Avenue, New York, NY 10011 (at West 10th  St.)
• • Fee: FREE — — but reservations are suggested
• • Phone: 212- 243-4334
• • Who: Our speaker is LindaAnn Loschiavo, dramatist, historian, Greenwich Villager
• • Subway: IND line to West Fourth Street; PATH train to West 9th Street
• • Extra: refreshments and a Mae West raffle
• • Website for all things Mae West:  http://MaeWest.blogspot.com

• • Mae West said: "I enjoyed the court room as any other stage."
• • Mae West (to jail matron): "Whaddya mean strip? I thought this was a respectable place!" 
• • Feel free to share this post.

• • Mae West: New Yorker, Vaudevillian, Upstart, and Jailbird a Birthday Celebration!
• • NYPL link to this August 17th event
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• • The legal battles fought by Mae West and Jim Timony are dramatized in the play "Courting Mae West: Sex, Censorship, and Secrets," set during the Prohibition Era. Watch a scene on YouTube.
• • Source:http://jeffersonmarketcourthouseny.blogspot.com/atom.xml
Add to Google

• • Photo:
Mae West • • 1927, on trial with Barry O'Neill • •


Jefferson Market.

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Sunday, July 26, 2015

Mae West: Back with Texas

MAE WEST will be celebrated in her former court room during August 2015.
• •
Onstage Outlaws — — Mae West and Texas Guinan during the Lawless Prohibition Era
• •
• • 3 events commemorate the Brooklyn bombshell’s August birthday in the room where she faced a judge who sent her to jail • •
• • New York, NY, July 13, 2015 — During the 1920s, when Mae West was trying to build her career, the building all dramatists and actresses tried to avoid——Jefferson Market Court at 425 Sixth Avenue—— was the very site that made a little-known performer world famous. When N.Y. District Attorney Joab Banton had Mae West arrested and paddy wagoned to Jefferson Market Police Court on February 9, 1927, the controversial Brooklyn entertainer made global headlines for the first time. The actress-writer also served time in Jefferson Jail. At her side, covering the trial for the New York Journal American, was Texas Guinan, Mae’s friend and a frequent passenger in the police department’s Black Maria herself.
• •  In the 1920s, though most Broadway headliners avoided negative publicity, these two diamond-draped divas flouted convention, defied police, and became as well known for being handcuffed as for blazing their way onto theatre marquees. They were “onstage outlaws” during the Prohibition Era.
• •  When Mae West [1893-1980] and Texas Guinan [1884-1933] weren’t being chased by the purity police, they found time to enjoy the speakeasies, bookshops, restaurants, night spots, and theatres in Greenwich Village. In 1907, Texas-born Texas Guinan moved to New York, where she resided at 72 Washington Square South, then at 17 West 8th Street. The speakeasy queen owned bracelets set with 567 diamonds each and a fancy armored car that once belonged to the King of Belgium.
• •  To celebrate Mae West's birthday on August 17, 2015, there will be an illustrated talk: "Onstage Outlaws — — Mae West and Texas Guinan during the Lawless Prohibition Era.” Rare vintage images will show you the buildings around Washington Square as these two headline-makers saw them. Sites include the Village speakeasies where Mae socialized and bent elbows with Texas Guinan, Walter Winchell, Jack Dempsey, George Raft, and Barney Gallant; significant theatres; court rooms where Mae and Texas fought City Hall; and off-beat addresses that made an impact. Rare Texas Guinan silent films will be shown and Mae West’s Jefferson Jail poetry will also be read.
• •  The speaker LindaAnn Loschiavo is a Greenwich Village historian and dramatist; her plays include “Courting Mae West: Sex, Censorship, and Secrets” and “Diamond Lil, Queen of the Bowery.”

        — — — — Who, What, When, Where — — — —
• • What: Onstage Outlaws — — Mae West and Texas Guinan during the Lawless Prohibition Era
• • When: Monday, 17 August 2015 — — from 6:30 — 8:00pm (doors open at 6:00pm)
• • Where: Jefferson Market Library, 425 Sixth Avenue, New York, NY 10011 (at West 10th Street)
• • Extra: to celebrate the birthday of Brooklyn bombshell Mae West, on August 3rd and on August 10th, her films will be shown at 6:00pm. The first one, "Sextette" [1978] will be screened on August 3rd. Then "Go West Young Man" [1936] will be screened on August 10th. The August 17th multi-media presentation will feature light refreshments (courtesy of East Village Cheese) and a raffle. You could win rare films starring Texas Guinan. Or maybe a rare reprint by The New Yorker’s caricaturist Alfred Freuh or by a famous N. Y. Times illustrator.
• • Refreshment sponsor: East Village Cheese
• • Subway: IND line to West Fourth Street; PATH train to West 9th Street
• • Fee: FREE — — no entry fee for the three Mae West events on August 3rd, August 10th, and August 17th, 2015
• • Phone: 212- 243-4334
• • Website for all things Mae West: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com
• • Mae West said: "I enjoyed the court room as any other stage." 
• • Mae West told the jail matron: "Whaddya mean strip? I thought this was a respectable place!"  
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• • The legal battles fought by Mae West and Jim Timony are dramatized in the play "Courting Mae West: Sex, Censorship, and Secrets," set during the Prohibition Era.
Watch a scene on YouTube.

• • Source:http://jeffersonmarketcourthouseny.blogspot.com/atom.xml
Add to Google

• • Photo:
Mae West • • 1930, awaiting the verdict with Texas Guinan • •


Jefferson Market.

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Friday, August 08, 2014

Mae West: 425 Sixth Avenue

The birthday event on August 13th honoring MAE WEST was mentioned in The New York Times today.
• • ARTS: Spare Times for August 8 14 • •
• • Tribute to Mae West (Wednesday) • •
• • The anniversary of West’s birthday, which is Aug. 17, 1893, will be celebrated at the Jefferson Market Library. In the 1920s the library as the site of a courthouse and jail, where she was imprisoned for 10 days for performing in the play “Sex,” which was deemed to be morally corrupting. The event features a talk by LindaAnn Loschiavo, a historian and dramatist who has written plays about West. At 6:30 p.m., 425 Avenue of the Americas, at 10th Street, Greenwich Village, tinyurl.com/mbnaklv; free.
• • http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/08/arts/spare-times-for-aug-8-14.html
• • Save the Date: Wednesday, August 13th • •
• • Wednesday, 13 August 2014 will be the next Mae West Tribute in Manhattan and the event will start at 6:30 pm at 425 Sixth Avenue. The theme will be: "Mae West in Bohemia — — Gin, Sin, Censorship, and Eugene O'Neill."   
• • Details:  August 13th Event
• • The New Yorker announced it to their readers in the "Above and Beyond" section — — 
http://www.newyorker.com/goings-on-about-town/above-and-beyond/mae-west-bohemia
• • • • Who, What, When, Where • • • •
• • What: Mae West in Bohemia — Gin, Sin, Censorship, and Eugene O'Neill: An Illustrated Talk
• • When: Wednesday, 13 August 2014 — — from 6:30 — 8:00pm
• • Where: Jefferson Market Library, 425 Sixth Avenue, New York, NY 10011 (at West 10th Street).
• • Extra: to celebrate the birthday of the Brooklyn bombshell Mae West, this event will conclude with light refreshments and a raffle. You could win a rare reprint by The New Yorker’s caricaturist Alfred Freuh or by a famous N.Y. Times illustrator.
• • Subway: IND line to West Fourth Street; PATH train to West 9th Street
• • Fee: Free 
• • Phone to RSVP: 212- 243-4334
• • Website for all things Mae West: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com
• • Mae West said: "I got my own individual style. You can always tell Eugene O'Neill — — and you can always tell Mae West."
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "My play 'Sex' was a work of art." 
• • Mae West said: "I'd rather be looked over than overlooked."
• • Link: Wednesday August 13th event
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• • The legal battles fought by Mae West and Jim Timony are dramatized in the play "Courting Mae West: Sex, Censorship, and Secrets," set during the Prohibition Era.
Watch a scene on YouTube.

• • Source:http://jeffersonmarketcourthouseny.blogspot.com/atom.xml
Add to Google

• • Photo:
Mae West • • 1921, The Golden Swan Saloon (6th Avenue) • •


Jefferson Market.

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Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Mae West: August 13th Event

On Wednesday, 13 August 2014 MAE WEST returns to 425 Sixth Avenue to the room that she once knew as Jefferson Market Police Court, the chamber she was escorted to in 1927 after the police raid on "Sex." Join us for a fascinating event.
• • As she has done for the past decade, dramatist LindaAnn Loschiavo will commemorate the Brooklyn bombshell’s birthday — — this time in the room where she faced a judge who sent her to jail.
• • "Mae West in Bohemia — Gin, Sin, Censorship, Eugene O'Neill" • •
• • New York, NY — During the 1920s, dramatists monitored the arrests and unrest at 425 Sixth Avenue where new rulings or a decision by the play jury could sidetrack an author’s career. Eugene O'Neill was often a target of New York District Attorney Joab Banton, who stated that "Desire under the Elms" was "too thoroughly bad to be purified by blue pen." The D.A. also tried to stop O’Neill’s plays from being performed in New York City on Sundays. And it was Banton who had Mae West arrested and hauled in to Jefferson Market Police Court in a paddy wagon; the actress-writer also did time in Jefferson Jail.
• • When Eugene O’Neill and Mae West weren’t being chastened by the purity police, they found time to enjoy the speakeasies, bookshops, restaurants, and theatres in Greenwich Village. Though the Brooklyn bombshell felt O’Neill’s plays were depressing, she attended performances with Texas Guinan. In 1922, “The Hairy Ape” inspired Mae to write a song: "Eugene O'Neill, You've Put a Curse on Broadway." As she rehearsed the number for “The Ginger Box Revue,” Mae's character was bellowing, Yank Smith-style, "She don me doit! Lemme up! I'll show her who's an ape!"
• • To celebrate Mae West's birthday in mid-August, there will be an illustrated talk: "Mae West in Bohemia — — Gin, Sin, Censorship, and Eugene O'Neill." Rare vintage images will show you the buildings and blocks around Washington Square as these two theatre people saw them. Sites will include the Village speakeasies where Eugene drank himself into oblivion and met the characters he would put in his plays; where Mae socialized and bent elbows with Texas Guinan, Walter Winchell, Jack Dempsey, and Barney Gallant; significant theatres; the court where Eugene and Mae battled against censorship; and off-beat addresses that made an impact.
• • The speaker LindaAnn Loschiavo is a Greenwich Village historian and dramatist; her plays include “Courting Mae West: Sex, Censorship, and Secrets” and “Diamond Lil, Queen of the Bowery.”
• • • • Who, What, When, Where • • • •
• • What: Mae West in Bohemia — Gin, Sin, Censorship, and Eugene O'Neill: An Illustrated Talk
• • When: Wednesday, 13 August 2014 — — from 6:30 — 8:00pm
• • Where: Jefferson Market Library, 425 Sixth Avenue, New York, NY 10011 (at West 10th Street).
• • Extra: to celebrate the birthday of the Brooklyn bombshell Mae West, this event will conclude with light refreshments and a raffle. You could win a rare reprint by The New Yorker’s caricaturist Alfred Freuh or by a famous N.Y. Times illustrator.
• • Subway: IND line to West Fourth Street; PATH train to West 9th Street
• • Fee: Free 
• • Phone to RSVP: 212- 243-4334
• • Website for all things Mae West: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com
• • Mae West said: "I got my own individual style. You can always tell Eugene O'Neill — — and you can always tell Mae West."
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "My play 'Sex' was a work of art." 
• • Mae West said: "I'd rather be looked over than overlooked."
• • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• • The legal battles fought by Mae West and Jim Timony are dramatized in the play "Courting Mae West: Sex, Censorship, and Secrets," set during the Prohibition Era.
Watch a scene on YouTube.

• • Source:http://jeffersonmarketcourthouseny.blogspot.com/atom.xml
Add to Google

• • Photo:
Mae West • • in 1921 at The Golden Swan Saloon • •


Jefferson Market.

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Friday, November 08, 2013

Sin and Sex on Nov. 22nd

Mae West’s “Diamond Lil” to Have a Free Performance at Jefferson Market Library in Manhattan to Honor the Brooklyn Bombshell on Her Anniversary
Underworld Meets Underwear in this Bold, Bawdy Drama Set on the Bowery in 1895
Photo by Wayne Takenaka
• • New York, NY -- Written in 1928 by Mae West [17 August 1893 – 22 November 1980], the stage play “Diamond Lil” has laced itself into a position of public awareness once again thanks to a frisky adaptation by playwright LindaAnn Loschiavo. The original script, a voluptuous 3-hour affair stuffed with villains and sub-plots, has been tightened and trimmed to 85 minutes.  The cast size has been whittled down, from 34 players in 1928, to eight.
• • “Diamond Lil” is set in 1895 on the Bowery in Chinatown. Diamond-loving Lil, a chanteuse starring at Gus Jordan’s dance hall, becomes fixated on Captain Cummings, who seems to be the leader of a Bowery rescue mission and a clean-living decent man.  Diamond Lil falls in love with this handsome missionary, unaware that he is an undercover detective who is about to arrest her and her lover Gus Jordan, ending the criminal enterprise that has brought her to prominence and filled her jewelry box with diamonds.
• • People often ask:   If I’ve seen “She Done Him Wrong,” why should I see “Diamond Lil” onstage?
• • In 1932, under the watchful gaze of the censors, Paramount Pictures took a 3-hour play about the criminal underworld and sanitized it beyond recognition. The movie studio boiled it down to 66 minutes, turning the white slavery traffickers into counterfeiters, eliminating the sex and seduction scenes, and refining the “Lady Lou” character. On stage, Mae’s character Lil sashayed in corsets and revealing garments; in the movie, Lady Lou’s costumes carefully concealed her cleavage.  In her stage version, Mae offered vivid encounters between men and women with kissing, touching, man-handling, and an attempted rape. Fortunately, the adapted script by LindaAnn Loschiavo has all of the sex and none of the censorship.  And the actresses wear beautiful bustiers.
• • The public is invited (suitable for age 18 and over). Join us as we turn the iconic Greenwich Village library into Gus Jordan's lawless "Suicide Hall"!
• • The Cast: Starring Darlene Violette as Diamond Lil, Queen of the Bowery and also featuring Sidney Myer, Anthony DiCarlo, Joanna Bonaro, Juan Sebastian Cortes, Kimmy Foskett, Jim Gallagher, and others.
• • Watch a Video of "Diamond Lil" • •
• • http://youtu.be/xfbJHhw47OQ
• • Read a Review of "Diamond Lil"
• • L'Idea Magazine's editors had lots to say. Link: http://www.lideamagazine.com/usa-still-entertaining-mae-wests-diamond-lil-makes-new-fans-in-new-york-city/ The public is invited (suitable for age 18 and over). Join us as we turn the iconic NYC nightspot Don't Tell Mama into Gus Jordan's "Suicide Hall"!
• • Who, What, When, Where • •
• • Who: Actress Darlene Violette, Anthony DiCarlo, Joanna Bonaro, Juan Sebastian Cortes, Kimmy Foskett, Jim Gallagher, and TBA along with dramatist-journalist LindaAnn Loschiavo
• • What:  Mae West’s "Diamond Lil" — – an adaptation by LindaAnn Loschiavo 
• • When: 7:00 pm, Friday, Nov. 22, 2013
• • Where: Jefferson Market Library, 425 Sixth Avenue, New York, NY — – in the same chamber where Mae West [1893--1980] faced off with the magistrate in 1927
• • What Else: the popular Mae West Raffle
• • Fee: Free
• • RSVP: Jefferson Market Library, T 212-243-4334
• • Url: The Mae West Blog
• • Email: maewestdiamondlil@gmail.com
• • Subway: West Fourth St. station via A, C, D, E, F subway
• • Path: West Ninth St. station
— — — — — On-going performances of "Diamond Lil" — — — — —
• • Those who prefer night life will enjoy "Diamond Lil" starring actress Darlene Violette — — and the roisterous cast who brought the Bowery denizens and Suicide Hall’s ne’er-do-wells to life — — now onstage with performances at Don’t Tell Mama [343 W. 46th Street] on certain Sunday evenings from October 27 until November 24, 2013.
• • Reserve seats by phone: 212-757-0788; RSVP online: www.donttellmamanyc.com
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "Come up sometime. I'm home every evening."
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• • The legal battles fought by Mae West and Jim Timony are dramatized in the play "Courting Mae West: Sex, Censorship, and Secrets," set during the Prohibition Era.
Watch a scene on YouTube.

• • Source:http://jeffersonmarketcourthouseny.blogspot.com/atom.xml
Add to Google

• • Photo:
Mae West • • in 1927; the return of "Diamond Lil" in 2013 • •


Jefferson Market.

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Friday, October 18, 2013

Mae West: 6th Avenue Rendezvous

It seems MAE WEST can't stay away from 425 Sixth Avenue.
• • Legendary Actress Returns to the Scene of the Crime at Jefferson Market Library in Greenwich Village in New York City
• • "Courting Mae West" revives an arresting drama of 1927 and invites the public to be the jury at Mae West's censorship trial in Judge Donnellan's original courtroom
• • NEW YORK, NY — —  Join us on Saturday afternoon, November 23, 2013 when a house of history lifts its petticoats, permitting Mae West to face her fans and accusers during an extraordinary reenactment.
• • Jefferson Market Library is proud to present scenes from "Courting Mae West: Sex, Censorship and Secrets" -- --unlocking the same chamber where Mae West [1893-- 1980] faced off with the magistrate in 1927 when the space was used as Jefferson Market Police Court. (The structure that escaped the wrecking ball is now Jefferson Market Library.)  
• • 
Gripping trial scenes will be performed by a cast of professional actors led by Darlene Violette who portrays Mae West. Along with the staged drama, there will be a discussion "Mae West: Sex, Censorship, Prison, and Politics" by LindaAnn Loschiavo, a member of the Dramatists Guild of America, who was commissioned to write the cover story for the summer issue of The Dramatist.

• • "COURTING MAE WEST" by LindaAnn Loschiavo -- -- Based on true events, the stage play "Courting Mae West" explores how a vaudevillian with a dozen years of bad reviews and highly placed enemies in the media and the Mayor's Office climbed the ladder of success, wrong by wrong. This serious minded comedy has been seen in New York City at the Fresh Fruit Festival and, most recently, in Australia as part of Midsumma's Playing-in-the-Raw.
• •  Who, What, When, Where • •
• • WHO: Actress Darlene Violette and actors TBA with dramatist-journalist LindaAnn Loschiavo
• • WHAT:     Scenes from "Courting Mae West: Sex, Censorship and Secrets" and discussion of the era's homophobia and the political powers that lined up against Mae West and why.
• • WHEN:       2:00 pm, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2013
• • WHERE:     Jefferson Market Library, 425 Sixth Avenue, New York, NY -- --in the same chamber where Mae West [1893-- 1980] faced off with the magistrate in 1927
• • WHAT ELSE:     the popular Mae West Raffle
• • FEE:                FREE
• • RSVP:    Jefferson Market Library, T 212-243-4334
• • URL:   http://MaeWest.blogspot.com
• • Email:   maewestdiamondlil@gmail.com
• • SUBWAY: West Fourth St. station via A, C, D, E, F subway
• • PATH: West Ninth St. station
Audience Response to "Diamond Lil" onstage at 343 W. 46th St.
— — — — — On-going performances of "Diamond Lil" — — — — —
• • Those who prefer night life will enjoy "Diamond Lil" starring actress Darlene Violette — — and the roisterous cast who brought the Bowery denizens and Suicide Hall’s ne’er-do-wells to life — — now onstage with performances at Don’t Tell Mama [343 W. 46th Street] on certain Sunday evenings from October 27 until November 24, 2013.
• • Reserve seats by phone: 212-757-0788; RSVP online: www.donttellmamanyc.com
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "You gotta fight in this world, my father told me, and keep on fightingI"
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• • The legal battles fought by Mae West and Jim Timony are dramatized in the play "Courting Mae West: Sex, Censorship, and Secrets," set during the Prohibition Era.
Watch a scene on YouTube.

• • Source:http://jeffersonmarketcourthouseny.blogspot.com/atom.xml
Add to Google

• • Photo:
Mae West • • in 1927; the return of "Diamond Lil" in 2013 • •


Jefferson Market.

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Friday, August 30, 2013

Old Jeff Embraces Mae West in 2013

Hollywood's interest in a "picturization" of "Diamond Lil" by MAE WEST was discussed in the book "The Dame in the Kimono" by  Leonard J. Leff and Jerold L. Simmons (University Press of Kentucky, 2001).
• • Here's an excerpt from their chapter "Welcome Mae West!"
• • Leff and Simmons wrote: Audiences went crazy over "Diamond Lil." The play opened on Broadway in Spring 1928, toured well into summer 1929, and despite "vulgar dramatic situations" and "highly censorable dialogue won over Hollywood.  Universal production head "Junior" Laemmle needed some properties to balance his forthcoming release "All Quiet on the Western Front," and by January 1930, he had contacted the Studio Relations office about "Lil." When Jason Joy answered that no company could make an acceptable picture from "Lil," Universal countered that it might add Mae West to its writing staff.  Joy knew where the back door led and naturally "discouraged the idea."
• • Leff and Simmons wrote: Aware that more such queries about "Diamond Lil" were forthcoming, Will Hays triggered an existing mechanism to blunt them.  ...

• • See "Diamond Lil" This Autumn! •
• • By popular demand, actress Darlene Violette — — and the wonderful cast who brought the Bowery denizens and Suicide Hall’s ne’er-do-wells to life — — will return in “Diamond Lil” for several evening performances at Don’t Tell Mama [343 W. 46th Street] on these dates:
• • 7:00pm on Sunday September 15th and 22nd. 
• • 7:30pm on Sunday October 27th — Hallowe'en Party — come in 1890s costume!
• • 7:00pm on Sunday November 3rd — Gus Jordan for Sheriff — Pre-Election Mayhem.
• • 8:30pm on Sunday November 10th
• • 7:00pm on Sunday November 17th
• • 7:00pm on Sunday November 24th
• • Reserve seats by phone: 212-757-0788; RSVP online: www.donttellmamanyc.com
• • Closest MTA subway stations: 42nd St./ Times Sq. via A, C, E, 1, 2, 3
• • The public is invited (suitable for age 18 and over). Join us as we turn the iconic NYC nightspot Don't Tell Mama into Gus Jordan's "Suicide Hall"! 
• • The Cast: Starring Darlene Violette as Diamond Lil, Queen of the Bowery and also featuring Sidney Myer, Anthony DiCarlo, Joanna Bonaro, Gary Napoli, Juan Sebastian Cortes, Kimmy Foskett, Jim Gallagher and live music by Brian McInnis
• • Come up and see for yourself.
• • Read a Review of "Diamond Lil" • •
• • L'Idea Magazine's editors attended four times and had a lot to say. Here's the link: http://www.lideamagazine.com/usa-still-entertaining-mae-wests-diamond-lil-makes-new-fans-in-new-york-city/
• • Staying faithful to the gritty themes in the novel, LindaAnn Loschiavo trimmed the work to 85 minutes for a cast of eight.
• • Meet Mae West at Jefferson Market Court! • •
• • In 1927 Mae West sat sulking in the Police Court (425 Sixth Avenue) after her arrest.
• • To commemorate her passing, on Friday, 22 November 2013 and again on Saturday, 23 November 2013, two special events will be held in the Willa Cather Reading Room — — i.e., the same judicial chamber where Mae and her cast faced off with the Special Sessions magistrate 86 years ago. Don't miss it.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "I sat around for 12 weeks drawing money and I never saw a script. This wasn't for me."
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• • The legal battles fought by Mae West and Jim Timony are dramatized in the play "Courting Mae West: Sex, Censorship, and Secrets," set during the Prohibition Era.
Watch a scene on YouTube.

• • Source:http://jeffersonmarketcourthouseny.blogspot.com/atom.xml
Add to Google

• • Photo:
Mae West • • in 1927; the return of "Diamond Lil" in 2013 • •


Jefferson Market.

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