Life, 1920-01-29 · page 30 of 38
Life — January 29, 1920 — page 30: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a satirical one-act play mocking the avant-garde theatrical style of Belgian symbolist playwright Maurice Maeterlinck, whose work was fashionable in intellectual circles of the early 1900s. The joke: A Carnegie Hall performance descends into chaos as thousands of customers jam the lobby demanding entry, while on stage, Maeterlinck's pseudo-profound dialogue about umbrellas, hats, and incomprehensible philosophical utterances plays out. The "Bluebird" reference alludes to Maeterlinck's famous play *The Blue Bird*. The satire targets both the pretentiousness of modernist theater and the absurdity of applying such obscure, symbolist drama to mundane situations. The illustration shows an usher struggling to manage the unruly crowd—the contrast between high-minded theatrical ambition and lowbrow mob chaos is the comedy. The piece ridicules those who treat Maeterlinck's work as profoundly meaningful when it's actually nonsensical.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
oe oat Have You a Little Bluebird in Your Home ? y ENE 1 The lobby Customers: Open the loors! Not doors! Open. the Door ten ver ! yet Not quite yet! A Ct What Why did I pay so much? Axotiiek Customer: Did you? Did OMER vast throng! 1 really First s (s Yes! Srcoxw ¢ Why d Fixst business Au. We Why did you? None of None of your business! Open! Open! amous M MER your STOMFRS me to hear the We de Macterlinck. Man ce. Heaven knows, | 0: to hear the USINESS I should be in t to be back in my office Mas Business Peanuts and ANoTHIK wing-gum candy pea nuts Dooxtr s and chewing-gur The They are wide open Aut ¢ through Customers: Hoo-ray! (The urbulence.) TENDER hey are born every they are time and he inside of Carnegie Halt. Hean Use: Where are your First Customer t is twenty-three I cannot A aeterlinckian Drama my umbrella still burning in the stove On! Oht Oht Secoxy Customer: My hat! My ! A Sau Boy 1 T wanna drinka water! wat drinka water! f and retinu M. Marrertincs tlemen, A Dear O1n Wotan le say? What did he say? Hush! M. Maetertinck: | emen, Tut Dear Orn Wostan Tur What did 4,508 Customers Hush! r ! udies and gen Eh? Oruex Custom ' ‘OUR still, old wom Hold your tongt M. Maer Heet flaisir zat hi hem hebbel to-be Mooch LINCK xeev mi g ieu zees heftairnoen. Au Ct What? What? What? What? Ture Dear Orn Wostas Tue Heav or a Lecture Permit me to explain. Tue H F au: N Furty-seves STOMERS What? Eh? Eh? Bureau Axotner Lecture Bu- yermit me to explain Heap Lreerur t yt Forty-six Me! Att. Customers No! N No! M. Maetre reau heads) shell by heer Yest LINCK (f Heef foarce to-bus’ ie hintairrup’, | all hon 2« aires bux-faite Hi hem ze ERCEANT SNITHERS BRINGS IN SOME-COOKS custom—er jemen, hi rese ter, or two hours minutes, or possil hours and a half. 11 i ten raised Fixst Customex It beautiful What It was very beautif did it Customer: What Tt was very lovely Cus Tin Wasn't it splen what it Au. Customer WI what it meant? What tu did i meant? Heav Usire wasn't half bad. wouldn't he Lift r u This way ¢ Tur hack to my Do not ask It half derstand it This way out! Man r Ia prices Business ast rusl) office prices 1 must r higher, higher, higher. Dear Orn Woman (sobbing) I didn’t hear a word! I didn't Tue word! She didn’t hear a word faword! he luck of son ¥