Zita Johann in 'The
Machinal' by Sophie Treadwell (An
mp3 of the 'Arthur Hopkins Presents' radio broadcast of June 7, 1944)
('A 1928 Broadway hit, Machinal is a modern age tragedy of isolation turned
to murder. The play, Sophie Treadwell said, is about "a young woman, ready,
eager for life, for love...but deadened, squeezed, crushed by the machine
like quality of the life surrounding." Loosely based on the sensational
1927 murder trial of Ruth Snyder, Treadwell uses this scenario as a springboard
for her own speculations about what circumstances might drive a seemingly
harmless stenographer to commit murder.) |
(Click photo for a larger version) |