Wikipedia article of the day for October 18, 2026

The Wikipedia article of the day for October 18, 2026 is The Demi-Virgin.
The Demi-Virgin is a play written by Avery Hopwood (pictured). Producer A. H. Woods staged it on Broadway; it premiered on October 18, 1921, and was one of the most successful plays of the season. The play is a bedroom farce about former couple Gloria Graham and Wally Deane, both movie actors, whose marriage was so brief that the press speculated about Gloria's virginity. Because it contained suggestive dialog and the female cast wore revealing clothes, the production was considered highly risqué at the time. The script alluded to a contemporary scandal involving actor Roscoe Arbuckle. Reviewers panned the play as unfunny and vulgar. A magistrate ruled the play was obscene, and obscenity charges were brought against Woods, but a grand jury declined to indict him. Woods promoted the controversy to increase ticket sales. The play had no long-term literary impact and was never published, but it stimulated arguments over censorship of theatrical performances.