Life, 1928-03-22 · page 20 of 34
Life — March 22, 1928 — page 20: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
The cartoon depicts a melodramatic scene with two figures in a bedroom. A man in formal attire (top hat and tails) appears to be a theatrical villain confronting a woman. The dialogue below references a "Melodrama Villain" ordering a woman to leave with her baby, and an audience member's interjection: "Oh, don't say that. It might be the President's Daughter." **The Satire:** This mocks the theatrical conventions of melodrama—specifically the villain abandoning an unwed mother and child, a stock plot device. The audience member's comment is a topical joke suggesting that even villains should hesitate before casting out a child if she's connected to the President, implying either political favoritism or the absurdity of clinging to melodramatic tropes when real-world consequences (presidential connection) intervene. It's satire of both overwrought theater and the arbitrary power of political connections. The page is primarily theatrical reviews from *Life* magazine's arts section.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
already splendid cast makes this oduction better than ever. More or Less Serious Coquette. Maxine Elliott's—Helen Hayes Quicksand. Masque—With Robert Ames. giving a memorable performance in a tender Biltmore—D: of Stribling’s tragedy. ow Ben the title réle brings Diversion. Forty-Ninth St—T some good acting all the way from Texas. sorrows of a youth who loved an Silent House. Morosco—Sneaky Chinese, teresting by Richard Bird and C y_ gas-chambers, den fortune, Allan . while Guy Standing helps things along as Dinchart and Helen f, taken together, the worried fathe equal one v a Dracula. Fulton—An cere and skilfully The Spider. Century—A real thriller comes written vampire play, doing strange things to back again, in case some of us missed it last year. your spine. Spring 3100. Little—Some high spots, but Escape. Boot of an escaped melodrama s better than this vict across the excitingly told by Strange Interlude. John Golden — O'Neill worthy, and superbly acted by Leslie Howard. ds a life-time story into five hours. Lynn A Free Soul. Klaw—Not gre pod Pe 3 the woman ol y¥ loves does bril- enough for an evening off. Kay Johnson, who tlude for di is always nice to look at, plays the drunkard’s is at seven-thirty you time for daughter and the gambler's girl. That oug! “asides” of your own. be line enough. The Trial of Mary Dugan. _National—s Shubert—Laurette Taylor makes best murder trial in town. With Ann Harding up completely for anything Zoe Akins's play and Rex Cherryman. lacks. "Some beautiful acting. Twelve Thousand. Garrick—To be reviewed Her Undora Child. After tour later, sticks for at least te fs this extraor The Wrecker. Cort — Highly _ interesting venture reaches town, hat ho shocker. Broadway. 4 Jaterterence, Exes > Did-echon . dramas, iyentislactory evening of love ; P poison, with A. E. Mat dd acastto i Comedy and Things Like That King Henry V. Hampden's—Walter Hamp- den and a competent cast in one of S! And So to Bed. Bijow—A little amorous dal- best. liance of Samuel Pepys’ which he wisely left out The Ladder. Seats free. This show of his di belon; ants us all to beheve The Bacheler Father. felasco— Reviewed in Reincarn this issue The Mystery Man. Bayes—Not so good Burlesque. Marriage on Approval. Wallack’s—Pretty with some nts. scrub play-writing with Lawrence Leshe’s good Cock Robin. Forty. Fight written acting murder mystery, well all for Napoleon. Fm pire—With Lionel Atwill as the ¢ Herford’s “Man of Destiny.” To be reviewed Mary jater The Command Republic—An impressively ‘ E Porgy. y egro life. The addit cross-section of } MEvopraMa VILLA! Out you must go, my proud beauty, with your babe! Voice From THe Aupience: Oh, don't say that, It might be the President's Daughter, Owing to the time it takes to print Live, readers should verify from the daily newspapers the continuance of the attractions at the theatres mentioned. Excess Baggage. R: Miriam Hopkins an Eric Dressler do a lot toward turning vaud villians into real people. The Great Necker. Ambassador—Taylor Holmes doing his best with something between old-fashioned farce and old-fashioned terrible. The Ivory Door. Charles Hopkins thing nice for whimsey-lovers by A. A. Marco Millions. Guild—Eugene O'N. the clock back to Marco Polo's time and gives t a picturesque satire on the Go-Getter. Alfred Lunt at the prow, Our Betters. Henry Miller’s—Ina_ Claire scintillates in a revival of Somerset Maugha: crack at Americans in London society, more than abetted by Constance Collier is Bound. Music Box—Sophisticated view ital infidelity. Shimmering dialogue and always charming Madge Kennedy. The Queen's Husband. Pisykouse—Rolan:! Young as a charming king who likes to stop revo. lutions and fix up love affairs. Splendid er tainment The Royal Family. Selwyn—The home life of a nifty stage family. The Shannons of Broadway. Martin Beck- A swell show by the Gleasons. Comedy, pathe and good hokum, well mixed. Sh! the Octopus! Royale—Mystifyi sing. Three hours of dramatic ch and sand Whispering Friends. Hudson—Reviewed in this issue, Eye and Ear Entertainment A Connecticut Yankee. landerbilt—Some- thing out of the ordinary, with grand songs The, Five 0 Clock Girl. Ferty-Fourth St— i aton and Oscar w in a sure-fire musical comedy. Grade-A for theatre partics Funny Face. Alrin—The best individu: dancing in town, by the Astaires. Add Gershwin music and Victor Moore comedy, and what haven't you? Golden Dawn. —Hammerstein's—Good of eretta with East African background and lots of class. Good News. Forty-Sixth pace-maker for musical © Collegians keep it up? Keep Shufflin’. Daly's— Miller and Lyles. Manhattan Mary. A follo—Ed Wynn. That fixes it all right with us. The Merry Malones. Frianger's—Ob, pretty R00 My Maryland. — Jolson’: Frietchie incident set to mi in or Shine. Cohan—Joe Cook can stage a for us—one to three rings—anywhere any —The 19. medy. How do ro show with —The Barbara Rosalie. New Amsterdam—Marilyn Miller and Jack Donahue glorify a stupendous produc- tion by Mr. Ziegfeld Show Boat. Ziegfeld—Edna Ferber's, best- seller set to music, A big show with Charles Winninger. Helen Morgan and Puck and White. Sunny Days. Jmperial—Good score and ex- cellent dancing. Star cast Take the Air. Waldorf—Will Mahoney 1 ing enough fun to cover two evenings. This is a Rood show. The Three Musketeers. Lyric—To be re- viewed later. Experimental American Laboratory. 222 East 54th St— Bolestavsky’s splendid direction raises this to something more than Little Theatre repertory. The Cherry Orchard. Bijou Theatre—Tche- kov's fine play done in English. Matinees only. Civic Repertory. 105 West 14th St.— Eva Le Gallienne has established herself as a first-rate régisseuse with her successful crusade for inex- pensive drama. Greenwich Village Theatre. dhéte. A one-act play. a some singing and dancing. Hoboken Blues. Playwrights'—Terrible. Hot Pan. Edyth Totten, 48th St.—Good idea gone wrong. Just manages to miss fire. Theatrical table notion picture, and comicbooks.com a i