Happy Hooker

By R. Z. Sheppard

MRS. WARREN'S PROFESSION by GEORGE BERNARD SHAW

It is beginning to seem as if Mrs. Warren's Profession is as old as Mrs. Warren's profession. Still, after 70 years, the market for both remains strong. Producer Joseph Papp's new mounting at Manhattan's Vivian Beaumont Theater is an opportunity to see again Shaw's comedy about a fallen woman who is as prosperous and self-justified as any other successful capitalist.

Shaw said that Mrs. Warren was written for women "to draw attention to the truth that prostitution is caused, not by female depravity and male licentiousness," but by economic injustice. Though a passionate Fabian Socialist, Shaw was prudish. Hence Vivie Warren, Mrs. W's feminist daughter raised in innocence about her mother's livelihood, can still speak to contemporary women about financial independence and job prejudice. But she has nothing to say about female sexual needs.

The play remains the best of Shaw's early stage works. Lynn Redgrave as Vivie owns the current production with her crisp delivery and blowtorch shows of anger. As Mrs. Warren, Ruth Gordon is badly miscast. Her accent, when speaking of "the high-pocrisy of society," and her brassy manner belong less to the "manager" of a string of high-class brothels in Brussels and Vienna than to a Dodge City madam on the back lot at Universal Pictures.

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