The ’20s All Over Again

The 1920s were a great party had by all. Women sheared their hair into boyish bobs, voted, smoked, drank, got around, and called themselves flappers. The stock market climbed toward infinity. Radios soaked Americans in ether, families hit the road in cars, and refrigerators kept their meals cold while the...

By Penn Bullock

December 13, 2007

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The 1920s were a great party had by all. Women sheared their hair into boyish bobs, voted, smoked, drank, got around, and called themselves flappers. The stock market climbed toward infinity. Radios soaked Americans in ether, families hit the road in cars, and refrigerators kept their meals cold while the League of Nations looked after world peace. What other decade could’ve produced jazz, or the exclamatory, “That’s the bee’s knees”? In 1929, of course, Reality crashed the party. Might the same fate befall this millennium’s get-together at the speakeasy? Never mind! History isn’t for lessons, it’s for nostalgia.

And in that respect, The Boy Friend is perfect history. Produced in 1953 by British playwright Sandy Wilson, the play caricatures the flippant charms of the decade. It’s set at a “School for Young Ladies” in Paris, where prim but horny girls are preparing for a dance. Puppy-love and G-rated drama ensues along with tap-dancing and ditties like, “Won’t You Charleston With Me?” and the “‘You-Don’t-Want-To-Play-With-Me’ Blues.” It runs ’till December 23 at the Maltz Jupiter Theatre (1001 East Indiantown Rd., Jupiter). Tickets range from $35 to $48. Call 561-743-2666, or visit www.jupitertheatre.org.
Thursdays-Sundays. Starts: Dec. 13. Continues through Dec. 23, 2007

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