Machinal is a 1928 play by American playwright and journalist Sophie Treadwell, inspired by the real-life case of convicted and executed murderer Ruth Snyder. Its Broadway premiere, directed by Arthur Hopkins, is considered one of the highpoints of Expressionist theatre on the American stage. Machinal has appeared on a variety of lists of the greatest plays. Synopsis A young woman works as a low-level stenographer and lives with her mother. She follows the rituals that society expects of a woman, however resistant she may feel about them. She subsequently marries her boss, whom she finds repulsive. After having a baby with him, she has an affair with a younger man who fuels her lust for life. Driven to murder her husband, she is convicted of the crime and is executed in the electric chair. Production 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, who used an open stage with a permanent background and made scene changes primarily with lighting. The play is presented in two parts, with ten scenes in the first and four in the second. The production is notable for featuring Clark Gable in his Broadway debut. Cast Zita Johann as A Young Woman Millicent Green as A Telephone Girl Grace Atwell as A Stenographer Leopold Badia as A Filing Clerk Conway Washburn as An Adding Clerk and A Reporter Jean Adair as A Mother George Stillwell as A Husband Otto Frederick as A Bellboy and A Court Reporter Nancy Allan as A Nurse Monroe Childs as A Doctor Hal K. Dawson as A Young Man and Third Reporter Zenaide Ziegfeld as A Girl Jess Sidney as A Man Clyde Stork as A Boy Clark Gable as A Man Hugh M. Hite as Another Man and Second Reporter John Hanley as A Waiter, A Bailiff and A Jailer Tom Waters as A Judge John Connery as A Lawyer for Defense James Macdonald as A Lawyer for Prosecution Mrs. Charles Willard as A Matron Charles Kennedy as A Priest In Britain, the play was first performed under the title The Life Machine in 1931. Reception "It was unfortunate that word was sent broadcast before the first performance of Machinal that its theme and characters grew out of the notorious Snyder-Gray murder case,"