In late 1931, Arthur returned to New York City, where a Broadway agent cast Arthur in an adaptation of "Lysistrata", which opened at the Riviera Theater on January 24, 1932. A few months later, she made her Broadway debut in "Foreign Affairs" opposite Dorothy Gish and Osgood Perkins. Even though the play did not fare well and closed after twenty-three performances, critics were impressed by her work on stage. She next won the female lead in "The Man Who Reclaimed His Head", which opened on September 8, 1932, at the Broadhurst Theatre to mostly mixed notices for Arthur, and negative reviews for the play caused the production to be halted quickly. Arthur returned to California for the holidays, and appeared in the RKO film "The Past of Mary Holmes" (1933), her first film in two years.