''The Girl with the Whooping Cough'' is a

play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * P ...

written by Stanislaus Stange in 1910. Adapted from a French farce, the show featured

dialogue Dialogue (sometimes spelled dialog in American and British English spelling differences, American English) is a written or spoken conversational exchange between two or more people, and a literature, literary and theatrical form that depicts suc ...

that was condemned as indecent by many contemporary reviewers. The play's appearance on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

was suppressed when

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

officials threatened not to renew the operating license of the theater.

Plot

The story follows the misbehaviors of Regina ( Valeska Suratt) as she passes

whooping cough Whooping cough ( or ), also known as pertussis or the 100-day cough, is a highly contagious, Vaccine-preventable diseases, vaccine-preventable Pathogenic bacteria, bacterial disease. Initial symptoms are usually similar to those of the common c ...

to the numerous men she kisses. In the final act, her amours land her in divorce court, where she performs a dance routine borrowed from Suratt's

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...

act.

Broadway production and suppression

After early performances in

Trenton, New Jersey Trenton is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County, New Jersey, Mercer County. It was the federal capital, capital of the United States from November 1 until D ...

, producer Al Woods brought the play to

, with sultry vaudeville actress Valeska Suratt in the lead role. It opened at the New York Theatre on April 25, 1910. Trenton police had attended a rehearsal and declared the play fit for performance after some mild

censorship Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governmen ...

, but when it came to New York, Mayor William Jay Gaynor viewed it less favorably. Hearing rumors about the play's content, he reviewed a script beforehand and found nothing objectionable in it. When the production went live, he received complaints that made him suspect he had not been given an accurate script. He decided to send

stenographers Shorthand is an abbreviated symbolic writing method that increases speed and brevity of writing as compared to longhand, a more common method of writing a language. The process of writing in shorthand is called stenography, from the Greek ''st ...

to take notes on its content. They reported back that the actors had "interpolated" salacious elements into the performance. Based on this evidence, Gaynor asked

New York City Police Commissioner The New York City police commissioner is the head of the New York City Police Department and presiding member of the Board of Commissioners. The commissioner is appointed by and serves at the pleasure of the mayor. The commissioner is responsibl ...

William F. Baker to suppress the play. On May 6, 1910, Baker contacted the theater's management company,

Klaw & Erlanger Klaw and Erlanger was an entertainment management and production partnership of Marc Klaw and A. L. Erlanger, Abraham Lincoln Erlanger based in New York City from 1888 through 1919. While running their own considerable and multi-faceted theatric ...

. He threatened that if the play was not stopped, he would refuse to renew the theater's operating license, which expired at the end of April. Abraham L. Erlanger promised to cancel the show, but Woods did not agree. After unsatisfactory meetings with Baker and Gaynor, Woods went to the

New York Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the State of New York is the superior court in the Judiciary of New York. It is vested with unlimited civil and criminal jurisdiction, although in many counties outside New York City it acts primarily as a court of civil ju ...

on May 9, 1910, to get an

injunction An injunction is an equitable remedy in the form of a special court order compelling a party to do or refrain from doing certain acts. It was developed by the English courts of equity but its origins go back to Roman law and the equitable rem ...

preventing the police from closing down the play. The judge gave Woods the order he requested, but while it prevented the authorities from interfering with the show directly, it did not compel them to renew the license for the theater. Left with no home for his production, Woods was forced to shut it down. Notwithstanding the objections from Woods, Gaynor's actions garnered a positive response from the press. A column in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' said his actions were guided by "common sense and good taste". When the show headed to other cities, Gaynor threatened to write other mayors to warn them against it.

Reception

The play was "unmercifully damned by the critics", according to theater scholar

Gerald Bordman Gerald Martin Bordman (September 18, 1931 – May 9, 2011) was an American theatre historian, best known for authoring the reference volume ''The American Musical Theatre'', first published in 1978. Simonson, Robert (12 May 2011)Gerald Bordman, ...

. The ''Trenton True American'' described the performances there as "disgustingly vulgar". A brief review of the Broadway opening from ''

'' called it "stupid", although the reviewer found some humor in the performance of supporting player Dallas Welford. Drama critic

George Jean Nathan George Jean Nathan (February 14, 1882 – April 8, 1958) was an American drama critic and magazine editor. He worked closely as an editor with H. L. Mencken bringing the literary magazine ''The Smart Set'' to prominence and while co-founding ...

called it "nauseating and ... disgusting in its futile efforts to be risqué". When the play went on the road after being shut down in New York, the ''Philadelphia Times'' declared it "coarse", "vulgar" and not worthy of any "self-respecting person".

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Girl with the Whooping Cough, The 1910 plays Broadway plays Censorship in the United States Comedy plays English-language plays Plays based on other plays Censored plays Plays by Stanislaus Stange