Judge, 1925-01-24 · page 19 of 36
Judge — January 24, 1925 — page 19: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page showcases Broadway entertainment reviews and satirical commentary typical of 1920s Judge magazine. **The cartoons** feature three movie/theater jokes: - Will Rogers attempting to enter high society through polo (mocking the artificiality of class aspiration) - A "Greenwich Village" gag about cross-eyed penny-slot mechanics - Fannie Brice and Clarke in a woodland costume joke about trees and fashion **The main text** reviews a Russian cabaret performance—likely the "Chauve Souris" (Bat)—touring in America. The critic dismisses the Yasha Yushny troupe as a pale imitation of Morris Gest's superior European production. The satire targets: - American pretension toward European "high culture" - The necessity of alcohol to enjoy experimental theater - The troupe's physical unattractiveness (commenting cruelly on performers' weight) The piece exemplifies Judge's sophisticated, somewhat snobbish humor aimed at educated, urban readers skeptical of both imported cultural trends and their American imitators.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Will Rogers in “The Follics” “What happened to you?” “T tried to get into society by way of polo!” in “Greemoich Village Fannie Brice and Clarke in “The Music Box” 1 was so crosseyed that. it a penny in the slot to lted peanuts came out!” Ere—I saw the cutest dress in the woods to-day. Adam—And what are the trees showing this season? Century Limited. Unlike certain of my colleagues, I was not one to burst { the organ with hymns to the Chauve | Souris, so the completeness of my apathy to the Monsieur Yushny’s cabaret may be as easily imagined as +|described. In Europe, the “Seeniaya Ptitza”—which, according to Morris Gest, is pronounced “applesauce” —was displayed in establishments where one might negotiate the imbibation of divers schnapps during the performance. T have no doubt that, if accompanied by three Wishmenot cocktails, five liber glasses of vodka, three or four goblets of champagne, a few ponies of Curacao, and maybe twenty or thirty seidels of Liwenbriiu, the entertainment might seem to get better and better as it went along. But in the local Frolic Theater, where the only tipples come in lily cups, the enterprise seems a very dull and heavy one. The M. Yasha Yushny himself is a kind of la-de-da edition of Balieff. But he lacks the latter's warm theatrical spirit and arch humor. The ladies of the troupe are to be estimated by weight rather than looks, and the men, (Continued on page 26) comicbooks.com