Sex

Mae West’s first full-length play features a bevy of colorful characters, including pimps, prostitutes, sailors, and socialites. Sex chronicles the trials and tribulations of an upwardly mobile lady of the night as she travels the world looking for love. Full of salty songs, the seductive shimmy, and a slew of notable double entendres, this sexy stage gem caused quite a stir when it premiered on Broadway in 1926 and was subsequently closed down by the police; West herself was convicted of obscenity. Sex paved the brassy entertainer’s way to Hollywood, where she became one of the funniest and most notorious film icons of the 20th century.