Mary the third

   Opening on 5 February 1925 at the Thirty-Ninth Street Theatre, Rachel Crothers's popular comedy-drama focused on the new woman and ran for 163 performances. The title character is a flapper who wrestles with ideas about love and marriage, issues thrown into relief by a prologue showing her grandmother, Mary the First, manipulating her man in the 1870s. A scene set in the 1890s shows her mother, Mary the Second, as a conflicted Gibson girl. The bulk of the play is set in 1923, when Mary III witnesses a fight between her parents that reinforces her misgivings about marriage. Ultimately, she is able to reconcile a woman's desire for economic independence with the romantic ending that pleased audiences. Croth-ers directed her own play, and Louise Huff played all three Marys.

   See also women in the profession.