Life — October 28, 1915 — page 28: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

GARNERED FROM “A WORLD OF PLEASURE” AT TIE WINTER GARDEN ie A Borrowed Cri m in this form are full to overflowing. Indeed, seats particularly well situ: NTHONY COMSTOCK is dead, to be sure, but the Winter Garden's latest production, called “A World of Pleasure, scems to celebrate the event with too much ated for a comprehension of the full significance of the spectacle bring a price large in fact and impressiv even in comparison with the dig- nified schedules of grand opera. emphasis. The society of which he was the moving spirit still lives, and it was not wise for so prominent a theatre as the Winter Garden to invite a demonstration of the fact that the society proposes to continue its activi With its usual delicate regard for the feelings of its advertisers the Sun does not name the theatre or the attrac- tion to which its editorial remarks refer. [t could not be the Winter Garden show, be- cause in its regular theatrical criticism in its news columns the Sun gave “ A World of Pleasure” a long and, on the whole, laudatory review. Lire, however, is entirely willing to adopt the Sun's editorial as being a very able criticism of the Winter Garden show and as expressing Live's own opinions, PEPE PEE FERRE HE managers of the Winter Garden probably take the stand that their business and their sole duty is to give the public what it wants. The endorsement of the box office represents to them the consensus of public opinion. To secure that endorsement is sufficiently difficult in these days of strong competition to give the manager sclf-excuse for anything he may do to attract the spoiled public. In the material things ““ The World of Pleas- ure” is on a par with the best of the big spec- tacles. In its exposure of the female form it goes further than any of them, but who shall say just where the line is to be drawn in this day of feminine emancipation on the street and in the dance hall? The worst offense of “The World of Pleasure” is its utter stupid- ity and the coarse vulgarity, profanity and ob scenity of its witless comedians. This takes us back to the time of the cheap variety show before it had been cleaned up so that decent | people could patronize it in its modern guise of vaudeville and burlesque. The Winter Garden needs a censor. | Se rt HE Castles, well known as professional dancers and as having exploited their fame in every other way, have at last dropped RO PCRCOHAAGSTD IFE takes pleasure in reprinting the following ex- tracts from an editorial conspicuously printed in the New York Sun last week after the first per- formance of the Winter Garden's new show. A theatrical production for the first time re- vealed to the community last week provides for the delectation and amusement of its patrons more young women more nearly nude than any dramatic offering pre- viously made. The accompanying music is reported to be genuinely unoriginal where not conspicuously reminiscent, and the dialogue is vulgar, skillfully avoiding double en: tendre by resort to outright coarseness and rigidly follow- ing the practice which excludes from musical shows wit and literary grace as unsuitable for the modern stage. In the playhouse which has achieved this triumph of art it is the custom to display the feminine members of th: com- pany not only on the stage, but on an ex- tension thereof constructed over the heads of the spectators to the rear of the hall, and to distribute young women in intimate proximity to the exacting patrons of the house through the medium of the aisles. This assures for each visitor opportunity to convince himself that the nudity prom- ised to him is not a mere sham or false pretense and that no mean subterfuxe suich as fleshings is employed to delude and deceive him It is gratifying to record that the efforts of those who confer this great boon on the public have been adequately rewarded. The patronage of their establishment is credibly reported to be consistently large. The purchase of tickets is a matter of great difficulty. The peculiar atmosphere which has been maintained within its walls inevitably attracts and holds those who like that sort of thing, and the cof- fers of the devoted managerial syndicate which dedicates its talents to the propaga- tion of an appreciation of art and morals FLORENCE PRITCHARD IN “A WORLD OF PLEASURE” comicbooks.com