1920s/1930s American Gangsters & True Crime

The ‘Roaring Twenties’ might be remembered for the jazz craze, flappers, and hugely popular Broadway revues, but it was also the age of rising crime across America. The nation had turned ‘dry’ in 1920 following the introduction of Prohibition. The 18th Amendment to the US Constitution banned the manufacture and sale of “intoxicating liquors,” and at 12 A.M. on January 16, 1920, every tavern, bar, and saloon across the nation was closed. The unforeseen outcome was to drive the sale of liquor underground. Speakeasies opened in every city, controlled by bootleggers and organized-crime racketeers. Rival gangs fought each other for control and bought the silence of politicians and police alike. As well as gang murders, the 1920s also saw a big increase in crimes such as gambling, bank robbery, theft, drug trafficking, and kidnapping. Many now infamous figures were at the height of their power and influence during this period. This guide will look at how some of these figures have been portrayed onstage, the true crimes that inspired a variety of plays and musicals, and the generic theatrical depiction of ‘the gangster’.

Terminology

• Prohibition: The prevention by law of the manufacture and sale of alcohol, especially in the US between 1920 and 1933.
• Bootlegging: The illegal manufacture, distribution, or sale of goods, especially alcohol or recordings.
• Speakeasy: An illicit liquor shop or drinking club in the US during Prohibition.
• Mafia: An organized international body of criminals, operating originally in Sicily and now especially in Italy and the US.
• Great Depression: The financial and industrial slump of 1929 and subsequent years.

Key Dates & Events

• 1927 - Two plays based upon real crimes open on Broadway: Somerset Maugham’s The Letter and Maurine Dallas Watkins’ Chicago.
• 1928 - Ruth Snyder was executed in the electric chair in New York’s Sing Sing Prison.
• 1929 - The Saint Valentine's Day Massacre in Chicago, during which seven of Bugs Moran’s gang are killed upon the orders of rival gang leader, Al Capone.
• 1931 - Al Capone is convicted on multiple charges of tax evasion and receives an 11 year prison, thus ending his leadership of Chicago’s South Side Gang. He dies of heart failure in 1947.
• 1934 - On May 23, Bonnie & Clyde were finally intercepted and fatally shot after a year of evading the FBI.
• 1950 - Guys and Dolls premieres on Broadway and wins the 1951 Tony Award for Best Musical.
• 1975 - Kander & Ebb’s musical Chicago opens on Broadway. It is directed and choreographed by Bob Fosse, and runs until 1977.
• 1983 - The musical adaptation of Bugsy Malone opens at Her Majesty’s Theatre in London’s West End. Based on the 1976 movie, the show stars Catherine Zeta-Jones as Tallulah.
• 2009 - Frank Wildhorn, Don Black, and Ivan Menchell’s Bonnie & Clyde opens at La Jolla Playhouse in San Diego, CA. It transfers to Broadway in November 2011, but its run is cut short and it plays just 36 performances.
• 2014 - The musical adaptation of Bullets Over Broadway opens on Broadway.