Judge — March 15, 1924 — page 13: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Analysis of "Nowadays a Man Hasn't a Show for His Money!" This cartoon satirizes the difficulty of securing theater tickets for Broadway shows, likely from the 1910s-1920s Judge era. The narrative follows a man attempting to buy tickets for "the Follies" (the famous Ziegfeld Follies revue), only to encounter repeated obstacles: sold-out shows, unavailable seating combinations, tickets held by agencies, and eventually resorting to black-market "taxi follies." The humor targets both theater scarcity and the emerging scalping/resale market. References to locations like "the balcony" and "ladies smoking room" reflect period theater layouts. The final panel, showing the man settling for inferior entertainment, suggests theatrical ticket prices and availability had become so frustrating that audiences accepted lesser alternatives. The satire criticizes both Broadway's inability to meet demand and the exploitation this created for eager patrons.