Produced and directed by Arthur Hopkins, Machinal opened on Broadway at the Plymouth Theatre on September 7, 1928, and closed on November 24, 1928, after 91 performances. The scenic design was by Robert Edmond Jones,[4] who used an open stage with a permanent background and made scene changes primarily with lighting.[5] The play is presented in two parts, with ten scenes in the first and four in the second.[6] The production is notable for featuring Clark Gable in his Broadway debut.
Cast
- Zita Johann as A Young Woman[6]
- Millicent Green as A Telephone Girl[6]
- Grace Atwell as A Stenographer[6]
- Leopold Badia as A Filing Clerk[6]
- Conway Washburn as An Adding Clerk and A Reporter[6]
- Jean Adair as A Mother[6]
- George Stillwell as A Husband[6]
- Otto Frederick as A Bellboy and A Court Reporter[6]
- Nancy Allan as A Nurse[6]
- Monroe Childs as A Doctor[6]
- Hal K. Dawson as A Young Man and Third Reporter[6]
- Zenaide Ziegfeld as A Girl[6]
- Jess Sidney as A Man[6]
- Clyde Stork as A Boy[6]
- Clark Gable as A Man[6]
- Hugh M. Hite as Another Man and Second Reporter[6]
- John Hanley as A Waiter, A Bailiff and A Jailer[6]
- Tom Waters as A Judge[6]
- John Connery as A Lawyer for Defense[6]
- James Macdonald as A Lawyer for Prosecution[6]
- Mrs. Charles Willard as A Matron[6]
- Charles Kennedy as A Priest[6]
In Britain, the play was first performed under the title The Life Machine in 1931.[7]
