Life, 1925-04-09 · page 23 of 41
Life — April 9, 1925 — page 23: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a **theater guide** from Life magazine listing Broadway shows currently running, organized by genre ("More or Less Serious," "Comedy," "Eye and Ear Entertainment"). The accompanying **illustration** shows Joseph Schildkraut in "The Firebrand"—a stylized Art Deco drawing of a man in Renaissance costume, capturing the theatrical glamour of 1920s Broadway. The guide's brief, sardonic **reviews** mock the productions' plots and performers. Examples: "Dancing Mothers" teaches parents "how to handle their children—and co-parents"; "White Cargo" moved theaters so often the magazine threatened to drop coverage; "Is Zat So?" is "very funny indeed, even if you don't know any prizefighters." This reflects Life's role as a **sophisticated satire magazine** targeting educated readers familiar with current theater. The snark assumes readers share the magazine's urbane skepticism about Broadway's commercial formulas and melodramatic conventions.
📄 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 verify from the daily newspapers the continuance of the attractions at the theatres mentioned. More or Less Serious Cape Smoke. Martin Beck—A spiteful old South African’ witchdoctor and the trouble he caused. 7 " Dancing Mothers. Maxine Elliott's—Still continuing to teach parents how to handle their children—and co-parents. The Dark Angel. Longacre—The war's ftermath in terms of love and allied sub- jects. More affecting than most plays of its Class. Patricia Collinge beads the cast. Desire Under the Elms. far! Carroll— The stirring of what passes in New England for sap. Neither O'Neill’s best nor worst. The Dove. Empire—Holbrook Blinn and Judith Anderson in chile con carne. Ladies of the Evening. Lycewm—What a young girl ought not to know My Son. Nora Boyes—This is getting to he as much of a pest to this department as “Abie's Trish Ros Night Hawk. come. back? Old English. Rito—George Arliss in a delightful characterization. Ostriches. Comedy—To be reviewed later Puppets. Selwyn—Reviewed in this issue. The Rat. Colonial—Paris underworld stuff Silence. National—H. B. Warner as the good grifter in crook melodrama. They Knew What They Wanted. Klaw— Pauline Lord, Richard Bennett and Glenn Anders making a good play even better What Price Glory? Plymouth—Putting war in its place in splendid fashion. White Cargo. Thirty-Ninth St—If this show moves to one more theatre, we drop it out of the Guide. We can't be bothered with following it around town The Wild Duck. Forty-Eighth St—An excellent production of a play no one should Comedy and Things Like That Abie’s Irish Rose. Republic—The oldest profession in the world. Ariadne. Garrick—Laura Hope Crews in a rather hefty Milne trifle. Beggar on Horseback. Shubert—A return of Roland Young and last season's delicious dream-satire. 7 The Blue Peter. Fifty-Second St.—To be reviewed next week, Cwsar and Cleopatra. viewed later. Candida. Ambassador—Peggy Wood in the title role of Shaw's comedy. Bijou—Can a streetwalker Guild—To be re Eve's Leaves. IWallock's—To be reviewed next week. The Fall Guy. Eltinge—Reviewed in this issue. The Firebrand. Morosco—Benvenuto Cel lini at play in an entertainingly amorous anner. The Guardsman. Booth—A moderately rood comed: reatly enhanced by Lynn Fon tanne and Alfred Lunt. The Harem. pretty poor stuf Is Zat So? Chanin's—Very funny indeed. even if you don't know any prizefighters. The Little Minister. Globe—Reviewed in this issue. Loggerheads. week. Mrs. Partridge Presents—— Belmont— Blanche Bates in a very nice reversal of several: popular plots. Pigs. Little—Clean but amusing. Quarantine. Henry Miller's—Vivian Mar- tinvand Sidney Blackmer on a honeymoon by mistake, She Had to Know. Times Square—Just the thing for Grace George. The Show-Of. Playhouse—Still leading. Starlight. Broadhurst—Doris Keane in Belasco—Lenore Ulric in Gaicty—To be reviewed next episodes in the life of a French actress, from soup to nuts. - . ‘hite Collars. Cort—Yes and no. Eye and Ear Entertainment Artists and Models. Cesino—That kind of revue. Bringing Up Father. Lyric—To be re- viewed later. China Rose. Knickerbocker—Pretty mild. Lady, Be Good! Liberty—A_ good all around ‘show, with Gershwin music, the taires for dancing and Walter Catlett on the clowning end Louie the 14th. Cosmopolitan—Leon Errol in a beautiful show to watch The Love Song. Century like their music straight. Music Box Revue. ‘or those who Music Box—Fannie Brice heading a good cast in a generally ex- cellent revue. My Girl Vanderbilt—Good stuff Puzzles of 1925, Fulton—Elsie Janis, with Jimmy Hussey, in'a smart and amusing show. unexciting Rose-Marie. /mperial—Delightful score, well sung Sky High. Winter Garden—A typical old-time musical comedy, with everything, in- cluding Willie Howard. The Student Prince. can't beat this singing. Topsy and Eva. Sam H. Harris—The dear Duncan Sisters in alto and soprano “Uncle Tom.” Ziegfeld Folli Fifty th St.—You New Amsterdam—A new edition and funnier than the Follies have been for years. W. C. Fields and Ray Dooley have joined up, and Will Rogers is still in. JOSEPH SCHILDKRAUT IN “THE FIREBRAND” comicbooks.com