Personal Appearance
Personal Appearance (1934) is a stage comedy by the American playwright and screenwriter Lawrence Riley (1896–1974), which was a Broadway smash and the basis for the classic Mae West film Go West, Young Man (1936). Personal Appearance was produced by the legendary Brock Pemberton (founder of the Tony Awards) and staged by Antoinette Perry (in whose memory Pemberton named the Tonys). It opened in 1934 at New York's Henry Miller Theatre starring the famed stage and screen actress Gladys George (now remembered especially for her role as Miles Archer's spouse in the film The Maltese Falcon). Her comic performance contributed to making Personal Appearance a Broadway hit that lasted for 501 performances. It launched Riley's career as a playwright and remains his most famous play. The New York Times characterized Personal Appearance in an October 18, 1934, review's headline as a "Satire of the Hollywood Dementia." The play is set in the Pennsylvania backcountry, where Riley was originally from and where he long resided. It is the story of a movie star and diva, Carole Arden, who is on a tour giving personal appearances to promote her latest film, Drifting Lady. Her car breaks down, which leads to her encounter