Life, 1928-02-23 · page 20 of 35
Life — February 23, 1928 — page 20: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page is a **theater guide and entertainment column** from Life magazine, not a political cartoon. It reviews Broadway productions currently running, organized by tone ("More or Less Serious" and "Comedy and Things Like That"). The **single illustration** depicts a scene titled "The Surprised Actor Rises to the Occasion"—showing what appears to be a theatrical moment where an actor reacts dramatically to an unexpected situation on stage, likely illustrating how performers improvise when something goes wrong during a performance. The reviews mention notable actors of the era (Helen Hayes, Ina Claire, Alfred Lunt) and significant plays, including Eugene O'Neill's *Strange Interlude* and *Marco Millions*, and a production of *Porgy* performed by Black actors. Several entries reference race explicitly, reflecting the segregated theater world of this period. This is primarily **informational content** for readers seeking theater recommendations—not satire or political commentary.
📄 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 Behold the Bridegroom—. Co trated examination into the lovesick hi young woman. Judith Anderson heads the cas Civic Repertory. Fourteenth St.—Eva Le Gal- licnne and associates in an assortment of plays, most of them worth doing. Maxine Eltiott's—Helen Hayes giv- t story of Diversion. Forty. Ninth St—Another tragedy of youthful heart. ing in suicide, ed 6 he 's of Richard Bird, een Nesbitt y Stas Dracula. Fu nm wolving, with and maniacs. Escape. Booth—An interesting speculation on an escaped convict’s chances, with Leslie Howard excéllent as the convict. A Free Soul. 7 { neat in were- Willard Mack's st al NAYS F : girl ig this one. La Gringa. | Littl—Reviewed in this issue. Hoboken Blues. Playwrights‘—To be re- viewed later. Interference. Lyceum—Dirty work with poi- d genera | to the ap- a good ent, however, ast $4th St—Another es comes through with cast n Laboratory Theatre. tiny thea a good play. The Ladder. Belmont—All seats are {ree to this one. Figure it out for yourself The Merchant of Venice. Hroadhurst—George Arliss and Peggy Wood give this a chance to be seen again in a favorable light. These Modern Women. Fltinge—With Chrys- tal Herne. To be reviewed later. The Mystery Man. Bayes—Not unless you just have to see a mystery play and have écen all the rest. Our Betters. revival of Maugham'‘s play. later. Porgy. Republic—Negro life in a Southern city, played by Negroes, and one of the good things of the season. The Racket. Ambassador—The Chicago po- lice #5. local gunmen. The best of its class in melodram: Salvation. Empire—Reviewed in this issue. The Shanghai Gesture. Century—Plorence Reed back again in the popular tale of Chinese sin and sham Sherlock Holmes. William Gill viewed later. The Silent Chandler from Loni ie Strange Interlude. John Golden—Unless you are a Theatre Guild subscriber you probably can't get into this five-hour play of O'Neill's anyway. It should be seen, . de force The Trial of Mary Dugan. der trial which keeps you in interested. Comedy and Things Like That And So to Bed. Bijou—An affaire that Mr Pepys might have written about if he had kept his diary longer. Atlas and Eva. Mansfeld—With Harry Delf. Bar- 'o be reviewed next week. eam who make Plymouth—Hal Skelly and it difficult for love A good show. Cock Robin. Forty-Fighth St—Murder in ur circles, with Beatrice Herford furnishing Henry Miller's—Ina Claire in a To be reviewed m—A revival of To be re- Cosmopoli: “s old. melodram Morosco—With Helen A melodrama House. ional—A mur- your seat and elightful comedy. The Command to Love. Longacre—The art of amorous dalliance as applied to diplomacy by Mary Nash and Basil Rathbone. Tue Surrrisep Actor Rises To THE Occasion Excess Baggage. Rits—Vaudeville folk in marital trouble, with a big scene at the finish. Hot Pan. Provincetown—To be reviewed later. The Ivory Door. Charles Hopkins—Pleasant fantasy by A. A. Milne, with Henry Hull as the King- Who-Goes-Through-the- Door. Marco Millions. Guild — Eugene O'Neill's comprehensive and elaborate satire on the Vene- tian Babbitt, with Alfred Lunt as Marco. Meek Mose. Princess—Another Negro play, To be reviewed next week. Paris Bound. Music Bor—Madge Kenned in a lightly sophisticated comedy dealing with polite infidelity. caviar. The Queen's Husband. Playhouse—A good old- fashioned drama of social revolution, made into something else again by the presence of a new type of stage-king in Roland Young. The Royal Family. Selwyn—Delightful con- versations and excursions among the members of a patrician theatrical family. nnons. Martin Beck—Mr. and Mrs. Gleason furnishing practically everything in the line of entertainment except Little Theatre ex- perimentation. Am L Sydney and NM cient kidding, even Shakespeare can be made funny in modem dress. Whispering Friends. Hudson—To be re viewed later. Eye and Ear Entertainment Artists and Models. Winter Garden—The best of the series for good, rowdy entertainment. Plor- ence Moore, Jack Pearl, Jack Osterman and Ted Lewis. A Connecticut Yankee. Vanderbilt—King Arthur and his Gang entertainingly attacked by modern kidding, with excellent music underneath. The Five O'Clock Girl. Forty-Fourth St— Some nice tunes, and Mary Eaton and Oscar Shaw. Funny Pace. Alrin—The best dancing in town, what with the Astaires and all. Victor Moore and William Kent for comedy. Golden Dawn. Hammerstcin's—Real operetta on a big scale. Good News. Forty-Sixth Si—Leading the field for general zip. Harry Delmar’s Revels. Shubert—Prank Pay in a regulation revue which maintains a pretty good level. Harry Lauder. Knickerbocker—Last week Lovely Lady. Sam H. Harris—A show es- pecially made for Edna Leedom. The Madcap. Royale—Mitzi for Mitzi-fan- ciers. Manhattan Mary. A pollo—Well, there's Ed Wyan— The Merry Malones. Erlanger's—Mr. Cohan himself in something by himself. My Maryland. Jolson's—The Civil War in usical comedy costumes. The Optimists. Century Roof—Luella Gear, George Hassell and Bobby Watson in a pleasantly intimate revue. Edyth Tottee—To be reviewed m be reviewed next week. . Rio Rita. Lyric—Over a year old now. Wal- ter Catlett, Ada May and Bert Wheeler still at- tending to the comedy. . Rosalie. New Amsterdam—Something new of Mr. Ziegfeld’s involving Marilyn Miller, lots of ind, fortunately, Jack Donahue, = She’s My Baby. Globe—Beatrice Lillie being Beatrice Lillie, which is enough for any show. Ziegfeld—A beautiful production. with fine singing. Charles Winninger, Jules Bled- soe, Helen Morgan and Norma Terris. Sunny Days. Imperial—With Prank MclIn- tyre and Lynne Overman. To be reviewed next wee Take the Air. Waldorf — Will clowning is worth the entrance fee. 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