Judge, 1922-12-23 · page 22 of 36
Judge — December 23, 1922 — page 22: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a New Year's tribute page from *Judge* magazine celebrating theatrical talent. The title "Please Pass the Pedestals" humorously suggests these figures deserve elevated status. **The figures honored:** - **Paul Thompson** — credited as composer/music director ("America's inexhaustible Music Box") for musical comedies - **Margarete Matzenauer** — soprano who performed in grand opera, here praised for creating cultural goodwill between Germany and America (the "Vaterland" reference) - **John Barrymore** — actor whose *Hamlet* performance was so acclaimed that even critics found no fault ("not even...the Ghost of a show" — a pun on *Hamlet's* ghost) **The satire:** The page gently mocks the theatrical world's tendency to elevate performers to "pedestals." By framing these as New Year resolutions to honor talent, it both celebrates genuine artistic achievement and satirizes the hyperbolic praise theater culture bestows on its stars. The formal portrait layout mimics monument dedication styles, amplifying the mockery of their near-deity status.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Please Pass the Pedestals Now the New Year reviving old desires Paul Thompson. To Victorious Her- bert, America’s in- exhaustible Music Box, who is respon- sible for the best of the music that goes into musical com- edy. To the Victor whose music never spoils. To Margarete Matze- nauer whose _ superb voice, raised in German grand opera, has helped to make at least a mu- sical peace between the errant Vaterland and Uncle Sammy. This Firmament of Fame new stars acquires Arnold Genthe. To John Barry- more, mummer's favorite son, the perfection of whose iamlet has not only left his public spell- bound but has given his critics not even athe Ghost of a show. 20