Machinal–Theatre and Dance Production

Machinal by Sophie Treadwell
Westlund Black Box Theatre

Machinal contains mature themes and may not be suitable for all audiences.

Reserve tickets

Adults: $15
Alumni/Seniors/Non-CSP Students: $10
CSP Students/Faculty/Staff: Free

First produced in 1928, the play tells the story of a young woman working in a low-level office job who feels trapped, not only by the repetitive and deadening demands of modern urban life, but by the rituals that society expects of a woman, tensions which eventually lead to murder.

Inspired by a real-life crime, the play is considered one of the high points of Expressionistic theatre on the American stage. The play is structured in 9 “Episodes,” each corresponding to a certain phase in the young woman’s life: “To Business,” “At Home,” “Honeymoon,” etc.

In the words of playwright Sophie Treadwell, “The plan is to tell this story by showing the different phases of life that the woman comes in contact with, and in none of which she finds any place, any peace. The woman is essentially soft, tender, and the life around her is essentially hard, mechanized.”