Life, 1920-08-26 · page 20 of 36
Life — August 26, 1920 — page 20: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a humorous theater-season review from *Life* magazine's drama section. The "Secretary's Report" satirizes Broadway's commercial excess by presenting the summer 1920 theater season as a business ledger, dividing shows into "Assets" (worthwhile performances) and "Liabilities" (disappointing ones). The joke targets producers who ignored the magazine's publication schedule and flooded the market with fifteen shows in June-July, forcing *Life* to lump them together rather than give individual coverage. Notable assets include W.C. Fields' comedy and the Ziegfeld Follies; liabilities include George White's "Scandals" and a George Bernard Shaw adaptation butchered by the Irish Players. The bottom illustration depicts a rural car-repair scene—likely satirizing technology's growing role in American life. The satire mocks both theatrical oversupply and modern automotive culture.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
The Secretary’s Report T is somewhat disconcerting to have to announce that in the two months dur- ing which this dramatic department has been discontinued, the New York dra- matic season has gone right ahead just as if nothing had happened. Producers, in their mad frenzy to pro- duce, disregarded the fact that no mention could possibly be made of their plays in these columns before the middle of August, and blindly brought on no less than fifteen new offerings during June and July. They are now reaping the whirlwind by having their plays all lumped together in the following general summary. It is too bad, but they should have thought of that before they sacri- ficed everything to an early start. We come, therefore, to a gay old bird’s- eye view of the early summer season, which takes in chiefly a vista of shapely and highly powdered shoulders as far as the eye can reach, For the sake of brevity, let us condense the text matter into the form of a report. If there are no objections (and even if there are), we will now ask the corresponding seerc- tary to read a detailed statement of the dramatic activities in our New York dis- trict during the months of June and July and early August, 1920. Assets * Date of Entry June 22—Fannie Brice’s “ Florodora” song, W. C. Fields’ automobile scene and Jack Donahue’s shadow dance, all in the Ziegfeld Follies. June 24—The Mojares Brothers on the slack wire at the Winter Garden. July 12—Johnny Dooley’s falling and Hal Skelly’s dancing in “ The Girl in the Spotlight.” July 14—The view across Central Park from the Century Promenade. July 15—William Demarest and his 'cello in “Silks and Satins.” July 19—* Come Seven.” August 2—The idea behind “The Charm School” and some of its execution, especially Minnie Dupree’s and James Gleason's share. August 5—Roland Young in “ Scrambled Wives.” August 9—“ Good Times” at the Hippo- drome, Liasitities Date of Entry June 7—Most of the comedy in George White's “ Scandals of 1920.” June 10—“ The Fall and Rise of Susan RY I CAN'T HELP YOU, OLD MAN LL TELL YOU WHAT YOU CAN DO, OVER TO THE GARAGE AND GE Lenox.” She fell on June 30, and did not rise again, June 21—Mutilation of Shaw's “ O'Fla- herty, V. C,” by the Irish Players. June 21—The Sinn Fein audience at “O'Flaherty, V. C.”" June 22—The drunken “The Follies.” July 13—The “Josephine” song and the seminary scene in the “ Midnight Rounders” on the Century Roof. August 9—" The Girl with Carmine Lips.” baby scene in Whatever the season may have lacked so far in clever lines and original music, your committee is glad to report an en- couraging abundance of good taste and beauty in the matter of staging. George White's“ Scandals,” “The — Follies,” “ Cinderella on Broadway,” t:e two shows UT I DON’T KNOW A THING ABOUT A CAR.” PUMP UP ALL THE TIRES AND THEN RUN T ME TWO GALLONS OF GAS.” comicbooks.comiul