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Machinal

Machinal is a 1928 expressionist play by American dramatist and journalist Sophie Treadwell, structured in nine episodic scenes that trace a young woman's alienation amid the dehumanizing routines of urban life, marriage, and work, culminating in her trial for murdering her husband. ^[1] ^[2] The drama draws loose inspiration from the 1927 case of Ruth Snyder, who conspired with her lover to kill her husband and was executed by electric chair the following January, a trial Treadwell covered as a reporter. ^[3] ^[4] The title, from the French word for "mechanical" or "automatic," evokes the play's central motif of modern existence as an inexorable machine grinding down individual agency. ^[5] Premiering on Broadway at the Plymouth Theatre (now the Gerald Schoenfeld) on September 7, 1928, after a month of rehearsals, Machinal ran for 91 performances, earning praise for its innovative form and psychological intensity before closing on November 24. ^[6] ^[7] It later transferred to London as The Life Machine, achieving similar success and cementing Treadwell's reputation in expressionist theater, a style emphasizing subjective distortion over realism to convey inner turmoil. ^[8] The work stands as a landmark in early 20th-century American drama for its unflinching portrayal of female entrapment and rebellion against conformity, influencing subsequent explorations of gender roles and industrial alienation without romanticizing violence or excusing crime. ^[9] ^[10]

Historical Inspiration

The Ruth Snyder Case

Ruth Snyder, born Ruth Brown in 1895 to a working-class family in Manhattan, married Albert Snyder, an art director for Motor Boating magazine, in 1915; the couple had a daughter, Lorraine, in 1918 and resided in an eight-room house in Queens Village, Long Island, by 1925.^[11] Snyder began an extramarital affair with Henry Judd Gray, a traveling corset salesman, around 1925, which involved clandestine meetings, coded love notes, and Gray's financial demands on her.^[11] ^[12] To facilitate their relationship and secure financial gain, Snyder secretly increased her husband's life insurance policies to approximately $100,000, paying the premiums herself and tricking Albert into signing additional coverage without his full awareness of the amounts or beneficiaries.^[11] ^[12] The pair's motive centered on collecting the insurance payout, augmented by a double-indemnity clause for accidental death, amid their mounting debts and desire for independence from Albert; they made multiple unsuccessful attempts to kill him using methods such as gas, carbon monoxide, and poison before finalizing a plan.^[12] On March 20, 1927, after Albert returned from an out-of-town convention and attended a neighborhood party, Gray concealed himself in the Snyder home; while Albert slept, Gray struck him on the head with a sash weight, Snyder applied chloroform-soaked rags to his face, and they strangled him with picture wire from a chandelier before staging the scene to resemble a burglary by scattering valuables and ransacking the bedroom.^[11] ^[12] The next morning, Snyder summoned police, claiming a robbery had occurred, but investigators noted inconsistencies including no signs of forced entry, loosely tied window sash cords, and jewelry hidden under the mattress rather than stolen.^[12] Suspicion fell on Snyder after police discovered a pin inscribed "J.G." in the home and traces of paint on her clothes matching the sash weight; she confessed to the plot, implicating Gray, who was arrested in Syracuse, New York, where he also confessed but attempted to shift primary blame to Snyder.^[12] Both admitted to the conspiracy during questioning, revealing premeditated coordination over months, including procurement of the murder tools and discussions of insurance proceeds.^[11] ^[12] Their joint trial, held from April 27 to May 9, 1927, in Long Island City, Queens, drew intense scrutiny with over 1,500 spectators in the courtroom and 2,000 outside; prosecution evidence included the murder weapons, chloroform bottles, forged insurance documents, recovered love letters detailing the affair and plot, and testimony on Snyder's prior attempts on her husband's life, demonstrating deliberate intent driven by greed and passion rather than duress.^[12] Snyder testified that Gray coerced her, while Gray claimed she dominated the planning, but neither denied mutual involvement; the jury rejected appeals to mercy based on gender or coercion, convicting both of first-degree murder on May 9, 1927.^[11] ^[12] Sentenced to death, their appeals— including habeas corpus for Gray and claims of new witness testimony for Snyder—were denied, leading to execution by electric chair at Sing Sing Prison on January 12, 1928; Snyder, the eighth woman executed for murder in New York State, died first at 11:04 p.m., followed by Gray six minutes later.^[12] Photographer Tom Howard smuggled a miniature camera strapped to his ankle into the chamber, capturing the only known image of Snyder during electrocution—showing her body convulsing with electrodes attached—which was published the next day in the New York Daily News, amplifying public shock. The case captivated 1920s America through tabloid sensationalism, with newspapers dubbing Snyder "Ruthless Ruth" and emphasizing the lurid elements of adultery, deception, and calculated financial gain, reflecting era-wide fascination with crime as spectacle.^[11]

Sophie Treadwell's Involvement

Sophie Treadwell, a pioneering American journalist, built her career covering crime, social issues, and international conflicts, including stunt reporting such as posing undercover as a homeless prostitute in San Francisco in 1914 to expose societal neglect and interviewing revolutionary leader Pancho Villa during the Mexican Revolution in 1921.^[13] Her reporting emphasized firsthand observation of marginalized lives, blending empirical detail with critique of systemic failures without romanticizing individual failings.^[2] In 1927, Treadwell attended the highly publicized trial of Ruth Snyder and Judd Gray in Queens, New York, for the murder of Snyder's husband, Albert Snyder, whom they killed by bludgeoning and strangulation in March 1927 to collect insurance money; she remained present throughout the proceedings into early 1928, despite not being assigned to report on the case.^[14] As a spectator amid a media frenzy involving over 180 reporters and novel courtroom microphones broadcasting testimony, Treadwell observed Snyder's conflicting accounts and attempts to frame herself as trapped by circumstances, including marital dissatisfaction and economic pressures, rather than accepting full agency for the premeditated crime.^[2]^[14] These courtroom revelations highlighted Snyder's self-justifications rooted in personal desperation, yet Treadwell's journalistic lens prioritized causal factors like urban alienation over sympathy, noting the trial's spectacle as indicative of broader societal indifference.^[13] Drawing from this empirical immersion, Treadwell completed the Machinal script in 1928, eight months after Snyder's execution by electric chair on January 12, 1928—the first such execution of a woman in New York state—transforming trial observations into an expressionist framework to dissect mechanized modern life and its constrictions on individual autonomy.^[14] Her process adhered to undistorted core events from the Snyder case, such as the illicit affair, murder plot, conviction, and capital punishment, while employing episodic structure to convey societal machinery's role in fostering entrapment, without mitigating the moral culpability of violent acts or altering facts to serve ideological narratives.^[2] This approach reflected her reporter's commitment to causal realism, using the play to probe how routine dehumanization could precipitate extremity, as evidenced in Snyder's real-life trajectory from suburban routine to gallows, but ultimately affirming accountability through the protagonist's inexorable downfall.^[13]

Plot and Structure

Synopsis

Machinal unfolds across nine episodes chronicling the Young Woman's progression from urban drudgery to execution. In the opening episode, set in an office amid incessant mechanical noises, the Young Woman arrives late, drawing reprimands from coworkers who gossip about her boss, George H. Jones, and his apparent marriage proposal to her.^[15]^[16] The second episode shifts to the Young Woman's home, where she debates Jones's proposal with her mother in the kitchen; despite admitting no love for him, her mother insists on the practicality of marriage for security, leading the Young Woman to tentatively consent.^[15]^[16] In the third, during their honeymoon in a hotel room, Jones attempts intimacy while the Young Woman resists, weeping and expressing longing for her mother.^[15]^[16] Episode four occurs in a maternity ward post-childbirth, where the Young Woman, exhausted and withdrawn, rebuffs nurses and Jones urging her to bond with the newborn daughter.^[15]^[16] In the fifth, at a speakeasy, she encounters Mr. Roe, captivated by his tale of escaping bandits, amid overlapping conversations on illicit topics.^[15]^[16] The sixth episode transpires in Roe's apartment, where they share intimate moments, discuss escape, and part after she takes a water lily from him.^[15]^[16] Returning home in episode seven, the Young Woman and Jones peruse newspapers; disturbed by reports of violence, she hallucinates Roe's voice, evoking his earlier story, as domestic discord escalates.^[15]^[16] The eighth episode depicts her trial for Jones's murder, where she initially denies involvement, attributing it to intruders, but evidence—including gloves, a nightgown, and the water lily—forces her confession that she killed him.^[15]^[16] In the final episode, imprisoned and prepared for electrocution, the Young Woman resists having her head shaved by barbers, converses with a priest about life, declines to see her mother or child, and is strapped into the chair as reporters observe her death.^[15]^[16]

Expressionist Techniques

Machinal deviates from naturalism through its episodic structure, comprising nine distinct scenes that unfold chronologically yet evoke a fragmented, non-linear psychological progression, prioritizing subjective experience over linear causality.^[17] This form, evident in the 1928 Broadway premiere, uses titled episodes such as "To Business" to delineate mechanized life phases, amplifying distortion to reveal internal pressures without adhering to realistic continuity.^[18] Dialogue features staccato repetition and rhythmic fragmentation, as in the office workers' echoed "You're late!" in Episode One, mimicking mechanical monotony and societal conformity.^[17] Monotonous recitations, like the Adding Clerk's numerical chants, further dehumanize characters into cogs, while the protagonist's disjointed "thinks"—such as "somebody—something—no rest"—externalize cognitive overload.^[10] Sound effects heighten sensory distortion, with pre-scene office machines clacking in darkness before Episode One to establish claustrophobic mechanization, and riveting hammers in Episode Four underscoring urban entrapment.^[17] Sirens and red lighting in Episode Seven's draft evoke infernal anxiety, blending auditory and visual cues to portray psychological entrapment amid modernity's din.^[10] Abstract staging employs an ensemble as a choral mass, with overlapping voices in office and courtroom scenes representing impersonal crowds that exert collective pressure, rendering individuals anonymous by function—e.g., "Telephone Girl"—rather than name.^[17] Exaggerated, non-naturalistic elements, such as intrusive footsteps during intimate moments, distort spatial realism to convey pervasive dehumanization.^[17] These techniques collectively prioritize causal depiction of alienation through overload, as sounds and visuals arouse persistent anxiety across episodes.^[10]

Characters

Protagonist and Supporting Roles

The protagonist of Machinal, designated simply as the Young Woman, serves as an archetypal everyman figure embodying entrapment within the mechanized routines of urban life and societal expectations.^[19] This character lacks a specific name or detailed personal history, emphasizing her universality as a type rather than an individualized psyche, consistent with expressionist conventions that prioritize symbolic function over psychological realism.^[20] Her interactions propel the episodic structure, highlighting conflicts arising from conformity to external pressures.^[21] The Husband, identified as George H. Jones, functions as the embodiment of bourgeois stability and material security, representing the conventional marital and economic roles that ensnare the protagonist.^[19] He operates as a foil to the Young Woman's inner turmoil, driving narrative tension through his insistence on routine domesticity and professional ambition.^[21] Similarly, the Lover, known as Mr. Roe or Richard Roe, provides a momentary archetype of escape and passion, catalyzing a brief disruption in the protagonist's constrained existence without deeper relational development.^[19] Familial figures, particularly the Mother, enforce constraints rooted in generational and moral imperatives, underscoring inherited obligations that reinforce the protagonist's isolation.^[22] Supporting ensemble roles, such as Colleagues, Telephone Girl, and Adding Clerk, collectively symbolize the impersonal forces of the workplace and society, their anonymity amplifying the play's typological approach.^[23] Voices and other peripheral figures further this by voicing societal norms and judgments, functioning as choral elements that intensify episodic confrontations without individual backstories.^[4] This deliberate absence of personal histories ensures characters serve primarily to advance archetypal conflicts, aligning with the expressionist emphasis on externalized inner states through relational dynamics.^[24]

Original Production

Premiere Details

Machinal premiered on September 7, 1928, at the Plymouth Theatre in New York City, directed by Arthur Hopkins, and ran for 91 performances before closing on November 24, 1928.^[6] The production arrived amid the economic exuberance of the Roaring Twenties, a period of rapid industrialization and urban expansion in the United States, just one year prior to the Wall Street Crash of October 1929 that initiated the Great Depression.^[2] This timing framed Machinal as an expressionist examination of the alienating forces of mechanized society and corporate drudgery, reflecting broader theatrical experimentation with modernist themes in the pre-Depression era.^[18] Robert Edmond Jones's scenic design employed an open, curtained stage backed by a permanent abstract structure, with scene shifts accomplished mainly through lighting variations rather than traditional sets, thereby amplifying the play's expressionist distortion of reality and its evocation of mechanical entrapment.^[25] Hopkins's direction liberated the stage from conventional box sets, prioritizing fluid lighting effects to convey psychological intensity and the inexorable grind of industrial life.^[18]^[26]

Cast and Creative Team

The original Broadway production of Machinal, which premiered on September 7, 1928, at the Plymouth Theatre, was directed and produced by Arthur Hopkins, a prominent figure known for championing innovative plays.^[7] Scenic design was handled by Robert Edmond Jones, whose work featured minimalist expressionist elements, including shadowy industrial motifs to evoke the play's mechanized atmosphere without overwhelming abstraction.^[27] Lighting design was provided by George Schaff, contributing to the stark, episodic transitions central to the production's style.^[7] Hopkins and Jones adopted a relatively subdued approach to the script's expressionist demands, prioritizing clarity and audience engagement over stark experimentalism.^[28] Zita Johann starred as the Young Woman, the play's unnamed protagonist trapped in a mechanized existence.^[29] Clark Gable portrayed the Lover in Episode 6, a role that marked a key early stage success for the actor before his transition to Hollywood fame.^[30] Supporting cast members included Jean Adair as the Mother and Dudley Digges as the Husband, embodying the oppressive domestic and professional figures in the protagonist's life.^[6] The ensemble featured additional performers in multiple roles, such as office workers and trial participants, underscoring the play's dehumanizing societal critique through collective anonymity.^[6]

Reception and Analysis

Initial Critical Response

Upon its Broadway premiere on September 7, 1928, at the Plymouth Theatre, Machinal received acclaim from critics for its expressionistic innovation and unflinching depiction of modern alienation in an industrialized society. Brooks Atkinson, in his New York Times review the following day, praised the play's handling of a "sordid mess of a brutal murder" through skillful authorship, acting, and production, noting its "subdued, monotonous, episodic" style as fraught with "a beauty unfamiliar to the stage" that captured the mechanized dehumanization of urban life.^[31]^[32] The New York Times found the work intriguing enough to review it twice, highlighting its relevance to the "machine-age" pressures on the individual.^[33] Burns Mantle selected it for inclusion in his Best Plays of 1928-1929, affirming its artistic merit amid the season's offerings.^[18] Critics offered mixed assessments of the play's dramatic structure and emotional focus, with some viewing its episodic fragmentation and protagonist's passive inertia as artistic strengths evoking entrapment, while others perceived them as flaws contributing to melodrama without sufficient resolution. Atkinson's observation of its "occasionally eccentric" and monotonous qualities suggested a deliberate but potentially distancing expressionism that prioritized atmosphere over conventional narrative drive.^[32] Certain reviewers faulted the work for engendering undue sympathy toward its criminal protagonist, framing her actions as a product of societal machinery rather than personal agency, which risked sentimentalizing violence in a manner reminiscent of tabloid sensationalism.^[18] Commercially, Machinal achieved moderate success with a run of 91 performances, closing on November 24, 1928, despite critical favor; this comparatively brief engagement reflected audience preferences for lighter fare in the late 1920s prosperity, prior to the 1929 stock market crash.^[6]^[27] The production's artistic impact outweighed its box-office draw, positioning it as a critical darling rather than a popular hit.^[18]

Thematic Interpretations

Machinal portrays a mechanized society that reduces individuals to interchangeable parts, emphasizing themes of conformity and alienation through repetitive, dehumanizing routines in work, marriage, and social interactions. The protagonist, referred to as the Young Woman, navigates a world of clattering typewriters, monotonous office chatter, and obligatory domesticity, symbolizing how industrial modernity erodes personal autonomy. This expressionist framework draws from early 20th-century urban alienation, where societal gears grind against individual will, as seen in episodes depicting subways and offices as cogs trapping the human spirit.^[34]^[35] Interpretations often frame gender roles as a central entrapment, with marriage depicted as a patriarchal institution enforcing submission and denying women agency, particularly through forced motherhood and financial dependence. Feminist readings highlight the Young Woman's revulsion toward wedlock and childbirth as critiques of 1920s norms limiting women to reproductive and supportive functions, positioning her rebellion—via extramarital affair and eventual murder—as a desperate bid for freedom amid systemic inequality.^[36]^[37] However, such views risk overemphasizing deterministic oppression, as the play's inspiration, the 1927 Ruth Snyder case, reveals calculated personal choices: Snyder, motivated by an adulterous affair with Judd Gray and intent to collect up to $95,000 in insurance payouts, actively conspired to bludgeon her husband Albert, including deceiving him into increasing policies beforehand. This underscores self-inflicted consequences over pure victimhood, with Snyder's actions reflecting greed and volition rather than inevitable systemic coercion.^[38]^[39] The play's exploration of justice and guilt culminates in the Young Woman's execution, evoking sympathy for her existential suffocation while confronting the inexorable link between actions and retribution. Expressionist distortion amplifies her internal turmoil during trial and imprisonment, suggesting societal machinery overrides moral discernment, yet causal analysis of the underlying Snyder trial—where Snyder and Gray admitted conspiracy but minimized their roles, showing limited remorse—affirms personal accountability as the root of criminal outcome. Right-leaning perspectives prioritize this realism, arguing that framing murder as byproduct of gender constraints excuses individual failings, as evidenced by Snyder's deliberate fraud and violence, not mere entrapment; execution followed due process for first-degree murder on March 20, 1927, balancing empathy with the principle that choices, however pressured, incur proportionate consequences.^[11]^[20] Academic feminist critiques, prevalent in theater scholarship, may inflate structural determinism due to institutional biases favoring narratives of marginalized agency, yet empirical case details compel recognition of volitional culpability over absolving explanations.^[40]

Later Productions

Notable Revivals

A significant Off-Broadway revival of Machinal took place at the Public Theater from September 25 to November 25, 1990, directed by Michael Greif with Jodie Markell portraying the Young Woman.^[41] The production received a Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Revival of a Play and an Obie Award for Greif's direction, marking a resurgence after decades of obscurity and drawing attention to the play's portrayal of gendered oppression within industrialized routines.^[41] The play's first Broadway production occurred on January 16, 2014, at the American Airlines Theatre under Roundabout Theatre Company, directed by Lyndsey Turner and starring Rebecca Hall as the Young Woman.^[42] This staging amplified the protagonist's internal fragmentation through fragmented, machine-like scene transitions and Hall's visceral performance, shifting focus toward raw psychological strain over purely external mechanization.^[43]^[44] Internationally, the Almeida Theatre in London mounted a revival directed by Natalie Abrahami from June 4 to July 21, 2018.^[45] Retaining Treadwell's episodic structure unaltered, the production reinterpreted expressionist motifs via stark industrial aesthetics to evoke persistent themes of entrapment, adapting the 1920s machinery metaphor for subtle nods to modern automation without script changes.^[45]^[46] Across these revivals, directors progressively layered introspective depth onto the original's anti-naturalistic framework, prioritizing the Young Woman's subjective alienation amid evolving societal pressures.

Recent Productions (2024–2025)

In 2024, a revival of Machinal originated at the Ustinov Studio in Theatre Royal Bath from October 20 to November 18, 2023, before transferring to The Old Vic in London for a run from April 11 to May 30, 2024, directed by Richard Jones with Rosie Sheehy in the lead role of the Young Woman.^[47] The production emphasized stark minimalism through Jones's direction, featuring a sparse set and expressionistic staging that heightened the protagonist's sense of isolation amid mechanized urban life.^[48] Sheehy's performance was widely acclaimed for its urgency and physicality, conveying the character's entrapment with "restless, raw energy" that critics described as astonishing in evoking psychological suffocation.^[49] Audience reception was strong, with the transfer drawing sell-out crowds and positive word-of-mouth, though some reviewers noted the deliberate pacing occasionally tested patience without undermining the play's intensity.^[50] Shifting to New York in 2025, New York Theatre Company presented Machinal at New York City Center Stage II from June 10 to July 13, under the direction of Amy Marie Seidel, incorporating rhythmic movement, tap dance elements, and enhanced sound design to amplify the original expressionist style.^[51]^[52] This adaptation focused on the protagonist's defiance against conformity, using percussive tap sequences to underscore episodes of violence and rebellion without altering Treadwell's episodic structure, maintaining fidelity to the 1928 text's mechanical rhythms.^[53] Critical response highlighted its contemporary relevance to themes of personal agency in oppressive systems, with reviewers praising the production's "sound-driven reimagining" for invigorating the narrative's pulse; aggregate scores on platforms like BroadwayWorld reflected high approval, averaging near 90% from major outlets.^[54]^[55] The run saw strong attendance, bolstered by discounted tickets via TDF, and was extended briefly due to demand, affirming its resonance with post-pandemic audiences grappling with societal pressures.^[56]

Legacy

Influence on Theater

Machinal exemplifies American expressionism through its use of distorted reality, repetitive dialogue, and mechanical soundscapes to convey psychological fragmentation, influencing subsequent dramatists in portraying modern alienation.^[57] Sophie Treadwell's techniques, including audio effects that simulate industrial oppression, advanced non-realistic staging in U.S. theater, where expressionism had previously been limited to works like Elmer Rice's The Adding Machine (1923).^[58] This play's integration of sound design to externalize inner turmoil contributed to evolving auditory elements in 20th-century drama, emphasizing environmental forces over linear narrative.^[59] The episodic structure of Machinal, comprising nine vignette-like scenes that eschew traditional plot progression for rhythmic repetition, elevated fragmented forms in expressionist and later experimental theater.^[17] Treadwell's approach, which mirrors the protagonist's disjointed psyche through abrupt transitions and symbolic episodes, prefigured influences in movements like the Theater of the Absurd by highlighting existential disconnection without resolving causality.^[18] Its abstraction of real events into stylized crime narrative sequences provided a model for blending factual critique with theatrical distortion, impacting genres that probe societal mechanization without glorifying transgression.^[60] Revivals and scholarly analyses have cemented Machinal's canonical status, sustaining its techniques' relevance in curricula and productions that explore anti-realist drama.^[40] Expressionism's broader legacy, traceable through Machinal's innovations, persists in contemporary practices prioritizing subjective experience over verisimilitude, as seen in ongoing adaptations that adapt its sound and structural motifs.^[61]

Relation to Real Events and Societal Debates

Machinal draws direct inspiration from the 1927 trial and execution of Ruth Snyder, a Queens, New York housewife convicted of murdering her husband Albert Snyder with her lover Judd Gray to collect a $48,000 life insurance policy.^[62] Snyder and Gray were found guilty in a highly publicized trial that captivated the American public, culminating in their executions by electric chair at Sing Sing Prison on January 12, 1928; Snyder became the first woman executed in New York state via this method, with the event infamously photographed surreptitiously for The New York Daily News, sparking outrage over media ethics.^[2] Playwright Sophie Treadwell, a seasoned journalist, attended every day of the proceedings but refrained from conventional reporting, instead using the case as a springboard for her expressionist drama, which premiered on September 11, 1928, at Broadway's Plymouth Theatre.^[2] While the protagonist's arc— an ill-suited marriage for financial security, an adulterous affair, infanticidal impulses, and lethal conspiracy against her husband—mirrors Snyder's circumstances, Treadwell deliberately abstracted the story, employing episodic, non-naturalistic structure and unnamed characters to universalize the narrative beyond biographical fidelity.^[14] Original 1928 critics observed this looseness, interpreting Machinal less as a courtroom reenactment and more as an indictment of systemic forces driving personal desperation, with the trial serving as empirical catalyst rather than exhaustive template.^[14] The play's divergence underscores Treadwell's focus on causal underpinnings of female entrapment, prioritizing psychological realism over tabloid specifics amid the era's sensational coverage, which included Time magazine's depictions of Snyder as a symbol of moral decay.^[62] In broader societal context, Machinal engages 1920s debates on industrialization's alienating machinery, portraying urban existence as a dehumanizing conveyor belt that fragments identity and stifles authentic connection, themes resonant with modernist critiques of Fordist efficiency and mass production's encroachment on human agency.^[63] For women, post-19th Amendment (1920) workforce participation clashed with persistent patriarchal norms, fueling discussions on marital autonomy and economic dependency; the protagonist's revulsion at domestic routine and corporate drudgery reflects anxieties over suffragette gains undermined by cultural expectations of subservience.^[64] The work implicitly challenges capital punishment's retributive logic, framing the Young Woman's fate as inevitable output of societal gears rather than isolated villainy, paralleling contemporaneous arguments against the death penalty's efficacy in addressing root causes like poverty and gender inequity.^[2] Treadwell's lens, informed by her reporting on labor strikes and women's issues, positions the play as causal analysis of how mechanized modernity exacerbates inequality, rather than moralistic judgment.^[62]

References

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Machinal | History Matters: Celebrating Women's Plays of the Past
Sophie Treadwell's 1928 expressionist drama Machinal is an exploration of boundaries and excess, of the ways in which the everyday is pushed into the realm ...
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“Machinal” was written in the wake of the Trial of Ruth Snyder, who killed her husband in cahoots with her lover. They were both executed in January 1928.
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Machinal – Broadway Play – Original - IBDB
Machinal (Original, Play, Broadway) opened in New York City Sep 7, 1928 and played through Nov 24, 1928.
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Machinal (Broadway, Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre, 1928) | Playbill
Machinal follows this woman's rebellion against a world of crushing conformity—where passion, desperation, and defiance collide in a shocking act of violence ...
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Based on an actual court case Treadwell covered, Machinal premiered on Broadway in 1928. It was a hit there and in London, where it was titled The Life Machine.
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What It's About. A 1928 Broadway hit and a classic of early 20th century feminist theater, Machinal is an expressionistic modern age tragedy of isolation ...Missing: original | Show results with:original
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The American playwright and journalist Sophie Treadwell dedicated her literary career to exploring the lives and motives of lonely and trapped individuals.
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Ruth Snyder went to the electric chair at 11:00 pm January 12, 1928. She was the eighth woman put to death for murder in New York State.
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Machinal by Sophie Treadwell Plot Summary - LitCharts
Dec 18, 2017 · Machinal is a play told in nine scenes, or “episodes.” Before the curtain's first opening, machines can be heard rattling as office workers steadily plod along.
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Machinal Summary - GradeSaver
Jan 26, 2020 · Machinal study guide contains a biography of Sophie Treadwell, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary ...
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The play uses sound effects, juxtaposition of overheard dialogue and ... The ensemble plays a vital part in the play Machinal. Without the presence ...
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[PDF] SILENCE, STAGE DIRECTIONS AND SOPHIE TREADWELL
It will investigate. Machinal's authorial origins as well as how the play fits into the theatrical genre of expressionism. I will then investigate how various ...<|separator|>
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Machinal Character Analysis - LitCharts
Dec 18, 2017 · Machinal Characters · Helen Jones · George H. Jones · Helen's Mother · Mr. Roe · The Telephone Girl · The Adding Clerk · The Lawyer for Prosecution.
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Like many expressionistic characters the main character of Machinal is depicted as a type rather than as an individual. She is frequently referred to as "young ...
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Mar 22, 2022 · Machinal Character List · Young Woman/Woman/Helen Jones · George H. Jones · Helen's Mother · Richard Roe.
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This study guide for Sophie Treadwell's Machinal offers summary and analysis on themes, symbols, and other literary devices found in the text.
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Helen Jones, often referred to as "Young Woman" throughout the play, serves as the protagonist of Machinal. Initially employed as a secretary at the George ...
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Dec 18, 2017 · Treadwell is able to use language to vividly represent Helen's attempts to liberate herself from the oppressive structures surrounding her.
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Caption reads in part: Mr. Jones achieves an unusual scenic freedom by using an open, curtained stage with a permanent background. He parallels the emotional ...
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It was directed and produced by Arthur Hopkins, who said he sought to “liberate the stage from the confinement of box sets and give greater scope for lighting”.Missing: direction | Show results with:direction
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1928 Premiere Production at Plymouth Theater on Broadway-Treadwell worked with Arthur ... " The play ran for 91 performances, featured Zita Johann as the ...
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Nov 25, 2021 · Addressing the post-war human condition in a period of industrial expansion, these experimental dramatists explored the spiritual disharmony of ...
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Zita Johann, a well known actor in the 1920's - 40's who starred opposite Boris Karloff in The Mummy (1932) and Clark Gable in Machinal (1928) on Broadway.
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There's the case also of Clark Gable. Playgoers with precise memories can recall the charming scene in Sophie Treadwell's "Machinal ... Dudley Digges. "Night ...
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From the sordid mess of a brutal murder the author, actors and producer of "Machinal," which was staged at the Plymouth last evening, have with great skill ...
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Jan 14, 2014 · ... play ran for 91 performances before closing on Nov. 24, 1928. Machinal has not been seen on Broadway since its premiere 86 years ago.
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Dec 18, 2017 · Get everything you need to know about The Mechanical World in Machinal. Analysis, related quotes, theme tracking.Missing: conformity | Show results with:conformity
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The play portrays society as a machine, establishing a compelling metaphorical theme. In Machinal, Helen struggles against the pressures imposed by society.Missing: thematic | Show results with:thematic
[36]
Marriage and Gender Inequality Theme Analysis - Machinal - LitCharts
Dec 18, 2017 · Treadwell portrays the institution of marriage as something that all too often forces women into submission, denying them a sense of agency.
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Feminism in Sophie Treadwell's Machinal - ResearchGate
Sophie Treadwell's play Machinal, which was performed on September 7, 1929, can be examined and interpreted within the framework of feminism.Missing: accountability | Show results with:accountability
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The 1927 Murder That Became a Media Circus—And a Famous Movie
Sep 24, 2018 · ... Judd Gray—and pinned the murder on him. When the police got to Gray ... in the Sing Sing Correctional Facility of Snyder receiving the death ...
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Snyder's $95,000 Insurance Voided by Court, Ruling Slain Man's ...
Ruth Snyder, executed with Henry Judd Gray for the murder of Albert Snyder ... motive in her endeavor to secure larger insurance upon her husband's life.".
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[PDF] Machinal: A Sourcebook For The Actress Playing "young Women"
In 1928, Sophie Treadwell was a journalist and wrote Machinal based on her inspiration from work. Covering the trial of Ruth Snyder, an actual woman who killed ...
[41]
Machinal - 1990 Off-Broadway Play: Tickets & Info
Year, Ceremony, Category, Nominee. 1991, Drama Desk Awards, Outstanding Revival, Machinal. 1991, Obie Awards, Direction, Michael Grief.
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Machinal (Broadway, American Airlines Theatre, 2014) | Playbill
Revival ; Rebecca Hall. Young Woman (Original) ; Suzanne Bertish. Mother (Original) ; Morgan Spector. Lover (Original) ; Michael Cumpsty. Husband (Original) ; Damian ...
[43]
'Machinal' Examines a Wife Driven to Kill - The New York Times
Jan 16, 2014 · What sets Treadwell's play apart is the gender of its central character, who is conceived with the kind of tender, probing empathy you associate ...
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Broadway Review: 'Machinal' Starring Rebecca Hall - Variety
16 ene 2014 · Running time: ONE HOUR, 35 MIN. Production: A Roundabout Theater Company production of a play in one act by Sophie Treadwell. Crew: Directed ...
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Machinal review – hellish vision of America as an assembly line
Jun 12, 2018 · Almeida, London Natalie Abrahami directs Sophie Treadwell's unforgettable portrait of a young woman suffocating at home and work.
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Machinal review, Almeida Theatre, London, 2018 - The Stage
Jun 12, 2018 · It's a fascinating piece, a formally bold and explicitly feminist study of an ordinary woman who snaps under societal pressure. Miss Jones – her ...
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Machinal - Old Vic Theatre
May 30, 2024 · Rosie Sheehy – Young Woman ; Daniel Abelson – Man at Bar, Defence Lawyer, Doctor, Office Clerk ; Sam Alexander – Prosecution Lawyer, Older Man at ...
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Machinal review – spare yet shocking revival of 1920s play on ...
Oct 31, 2023 · Theatre Royal, Bath Sophie Treadwell's 1928 play infuses Snyder's story with compassion and tragedy, without a hint of sentimentality. This ...
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'Machinal' review — Rosie Sheehy's restless, urgent performance is ...
Apr 19, 2024 · Machinal. 11 April 2024 - 1 June 2024. From the outside, Helen Jones and her husband had a 'happy marriage'. Until ...
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Machinal from Old Vic Theatre and Theatre Royal, Bath at Old Vic ...
Machinal. Sophie Treadwell Old Vic Theatre and Theatre Royal, Bath Old Vic Theatre 11 April – 1 June 2024. Share: Rosie Sheehy as Young Woman and Pierro ...
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Machinal | New York City Center
This production features Katherine Winter, Temidayo Amay, Sam Im, Kimberly Immanuel, Soph Metcalf, Shelley Mitchell, Alice Reys, Veronica Simpson, Hannah Snow, ...Missing: list | Show results with:list<|separator|>
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IMPRESSIONS: New York Theatre Company's Dance-Enhanced ...
Jun 23, 2025 · Machinal is a tap dance and rhythmic movement-enhanced, sound-driven reimagining of the 1928 Expressionist drama by American playwright Sophie Treadwell.Missing: critical | Show results with:critical
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Machinal - The Front Row Center
4 jul 2025 · Run time 2 hours 15 minutes with one intermission. Review. 97%. Machinal. 97%. Share: PreviousHenry VI by the Atlas Shakespeare Company.
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Machinal - TheaterScene.net
Jul 5, 2025 · Revival by a newly formed theater company of the classic American Expressionistic play about a young woman whose lack of freedom drives her to commit a crime.
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Photos: MACHINAL at NY City Center First Look - Broadway World
Jun 16, 2025 · ... Machinal by Sophie Treadwell, now running through July 3, 2025, at New York City Center Stage II. Helmed by director Amy Marie Seidel (Here ...<|control11|><|separator|>
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Machinal | Discount NYC Tickets | TKTS by TDF - TDF
Machinal, inspired by a 1926 case, plays at New York City Center from June 7 to July 13, 2025. Full-price tickets range from $45-$155.
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Sophie Treadwell - (American Literature – 1860 to Present) - Fiveable
Sophie Treadwell's work embodies the principles of Expressionism through her use of stylized dialogue and fragmented narrative structures that focus on ...
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Machinal | Encyclopedia.com
Sophie Treadwell wrote the play based loosely on the murder trial of Ruth Snyder and her lover, Judd Gray, who together murdered Snyder's husband. Convicted of ...
[59]
Machinal
Sophie Treadwell's 1928 Expressionist play, Machinal. It's not just the sounds of the machines that surround the central character, the Young Woman.Missing: sirens | Show results with:sirens
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[PDF] Twenty-First Century Explorations into Machinal - PRISM
Jun 6, 2019 · I found director Lyndsey Turner's. 2014 Broadway production notes helpful in finding that balance as she identified the stylistic shifting ...
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Machinal, a superb example of Expressionism - The Cultural Critic
Sophie Treadwell based her play on a real case where a woman murdered her husband, confessed, and was executed for the crime. A stenographer, Helen, lives with ...
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The Mechanics of Murder: A History of Machinal - Playbill
Jan 27, 2014 · Treadwell based Machinal on the case of Ruth Snyder, who was convicted in 1927 of murdering her husband Albert, with the help of her lover Judd ...
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Analysis of Machinal | UKEssays.com
May 18, 2020 · Treadwell uses various expressionist aspects to deliver a contemporary piece of theatre allowing a different perspective to the Ruth Snyder case ...<|separator|>
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1920s America – Sophie Treadwell - Dartmouth Journeys
At the same time, the increase of jobs for women also placed women headfirst into growing anxieties about the effect of industrialization on society. How ...Missing: debates | Show results with:debates<|control11|><|separator|>