Judge, 1918-07-13 · page 10 of 36
Judge — July 13, 1918 — page 10: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
**Top Section:** An essay by Too Cheevix discusses why his play failed. The author explains he wrote a drama expecting public appreciation, but it received no genuine reception—the audience merely "sat" without responding. He then revised and reworked it extensively until it became a musical that finally achieved "real show" success and touring popularity. **Bottom Cartoon:** Titled "Another Road Closed to Undesirable Traffic," this depicts a street scene where a sign reads "ROAD CLOSED FOR DURATION" (referencing wartime restrictions). Figures are redirected by authorities away from the closed thoroughfare. The satire appears to mock wartime road closures or traffic restrictions—likely WWI-era measures presented as protecting against "undesirable" movement, with the cartoon suggesting bureaucratic overreach or public inconvenience from such policies. Both pieces employ humor about obstacles—theatrical failure above, governmental restrictions below—reflecting early 20th-century American concerns about both entertainment industry viability and wartime government control.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Why Is a Drama? p12 } la yy V& Fefined amusement. It was sup- - i 197 posed to fetch laughs. By Too Cuexevix ee Wie There was a generous sprin- F you want to see what the © “Fs 4) i PE kling of humorous situations, I public i le of, write a play i ene : s, and occasional ad. for it. And then watch the : . 4 —~ tations of old, familiar joke public receive the play. Your =? ( Perhaps it was the adaptation dramatic instinct will acquire a, \ u” ‘ that spoiled all the chances of such a shock that you will wonder Kal ‘ effect, for something surely de- if you have any knowledge of " J % stroyed an elemental force of psychology that is worth having. . p some very elementary — fun You will wonder whether you oh , } Z \ Which shows that the dear public knew before anything about your a Ye wants the pure and unadulterated fellow men, and you will not iB! in art as well as nature. wonder long, for you will 5 a it | To cut this short story long, tively conclude that you 't. ¥, 7 Se it is only necessary to say that You will sce that you have been } yi : my play went the way of all fail- living your own little life in your ; $ y ures. It was revised, rewritten, own little way 1 Nb Z & remanaged, recast, remounte I know what I am talking a, ieee SLE restaged, reset to about, for haven't I written a CA ie . music, removed to a lars play?—and a good play at that. ; / tre, re-opened as a musi How was it welcome: It was . ° ing, and the whole house repa- not. It was not received. It was : ° F pered, only to result in a howl- not even listened to. It may ,; : : ing success—a real show—for the have been seen, for there sat rahe vorld., a whole season in town and unlim- the audience, such as it was, ited road popularity! but it only sat. It did not so much as blink. As our old friend Bill Shakespeare says, “The The piece was comedy, too. It was made to inspire show’s the thing.” Axotuer Roap CLosep to UnpesiraBie Trarric comicbooks.com