Life, 1923-05-17 · page 29 of 46
Life — May 17, 1923 — page 29: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page presents a "Confidential Guide" to Broadway theatrical attractions, likely from the early 1920s. Rather than containing political cartoons, it features theater reviews organized by tone and genre. The single illustration shows a well-dressed man in formal attire surrounded by caricatured theatrical characters and figures, captioned "And There You Are!" This appears to be satirizing the theatrical scene itself—the crowded, chaotic nature of Broadway productions and the diverse cast of characters populating them. The text categorizes current shows into sections: "More or Less Serious," "Comedy and Things Like That," and "Eye and Ear Entertainment," offering brief, witty critiques. The tone is irreverent and dismissive toward many productions, suggesting Life's editorial stance was one of sophisticated skepticism toward popular entertainment. The page functions primarily as entertainment journalism rather than political satire.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Owing to the time it takes to print Lire, readers should ver BOX OFFICE y from the daily newspapers the continuance of the attractions at the theatres mentioned. More or Less Serious The Adding Machine. Comedy—An ef- fective presentation of the life and after-life ofa bookkeeper, showing that slavery is a difficult thing to shake. The Apache. Punch and Judy—To be reviewed later. The Cat and the Canary. National—Mys- terious hands and carnivorous bookcases in a thrilling conspiracy against the peace of mind nc in Art Theatre. Frasce—To be reviewed later. The Fool. Times Square—Showing that people would rather get their religion with grease-paint on it. The Last Warning. melodrama, but who cares? Morphia. Eltinge—The drug problem com- plicated by having a bad play written about it. Lowell Sherman does more for the part than it deserves. Peer Gynt. Shubert—Poetic drama which is always poetic but only occasionally drama. Joseph Schildkraut as Ibsen’s nomadic hero. Rain. Maxine Elliott's—Jeanne Eagels ‘as the unchastened woman who has broken sev- eral. records and traditions in a glorious fashion. Romeo and Juliet. Henry Miller’s—Jane Cowl and Rollo Peters in a boy-and-girl affair which is worth seeing. Seventh Heaven. Booth—A lot of people seem to like this; so we must just be a crotchety old thing. “Junk” would be our word for it. Sweet Nell of Old Drury. Forty-Eighth St—To be reviewed later. The Wasp. Sclwyn—You may get a laugh tthe more serious parts of this melodrama. That’s about all we can promi Whispering Wires. Broa ous killing. Comedy and Things Like That Abie’s Irish Rose. talk about it. ti Aren't We All? Gaicty.—To be reviewed ater. Barnum Was Right. George M. Cohan’s ~-Burlesque melo-farce which has its mo- ments. About two of them. The Comedian. Belasco— acting the actor. The Devil's Disciple. Garrick—Early Shaw, with one act of real stuf The Enchanted Cottags ple who are susceptible to w this has considerable charm i Give and Take. Fort: for a cent. _ Icebound. Sam H. Harris— in regulation New England stuff. he Love Habit. Princess—Genuine French farce. Mary the 3rd. Thirty-Ninth St.—Pleas- antly radical thoughts on marriage. Merton of the Movies. Cort—Glenn Hun- ter tearing your heart out as one of the events of the season. The Mountebank. Lyceum—To be re- viewed next week. My Aunt from Ypsilanti. Earl Carroll— Reviewed in this issue. The Old Soak. Plymouth—Just a little new wine in a very old bottle. Papa Joe. Lyric—One of the season's big mystery plays, the mystery being how it lasts, Polly Preferred. tle—Entertaining, if not epoch-making, movie comedy. Pride. Morosco—To be reviewed week. _ Secrets. Fulton—Margaret Lawrence makes & a little more than ordinary sentimental drama, Klaw—Impossible urst—Ingeni- Republic—Let’s not ionel Atwill —For _peo- Be far aanstern te of itself. St.—Two a acting next So This Is London! Hudson—Satire which stayed out in the sun too long and turned to burlesque. You and I. Belmont—Very natty West: Empire—Alice Brady chester talk, well spoken. Zander the Great. bringing distinction to a comedy of bootlegging in the Great Southwest. Eye and Ear Entertainment Bombo. Winter Garden—Al back fora few weel Caroline. not_much else. The Clinging Vine. Knickerbocker— Peggy Wood in one of the best in town. Jolson reeks. Ambassador—Good music but Elsie. Vanderbilt —Another one of those. The Gingham Girl, Central—Fair. Go-Go. Daly’s—Cheap but lively How Come? Apollo—Negro show not up to standard. Jack and Jill. Globe—Expensive but dull. Lew Fields is in it now, however. Little Nellie Kelly.” Liberty _The Music Box Revue. Music big show and a merry one. Sally, Irene and Mary. going. Up She Goes. factory, Wildflower. Casino—A splendid score. Ziegfeld Follies. New Amsterdam—You might as well see them, anyway. peedy. Boxs—A Century—Still Playhouse —Very _ satis- And There You Are! comicbooks.com