Depicting one woman’s rebellion against her husband and society, this all-too-relevant expressionist drama explores the “machine” that oppresses women, societally and judicially. Sophie Treadwell was a Mexican American social-activist, suffragette, actor, playwright and international journalist; she covered World War I as a foreign correspondent and she was the only journalist to interview revolutionary Pancho Villa. As a journalist, Treadwell covered the sensationalized case of Ruth Snyder, who murdered her husband and was publicly executed in the electric chair. Although written almost a century ago, Machinal is a stark, magnetic play that chillingly shows how female criminality is depicted. Often included on historic lists of best American plays*, Machinal is frequently cited as a quintessential example of expressionist drama. It entered the public domain in January of 2024.