Life, 1929-03-08 · page 24 of 44
Life — March 8, 1929 — page 24: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This satirical piece diagnoses why Broadway theater is declining. The author argues that New York's upper classes—"very best people" and "Park Avenue" residents—are abandoning theaters for Madison Square Garden's boxing matches, hockey games, and bicycle races, which draw eighteen thousand spectators nightly. The cartoon depicts aristocratic spectators thronging to violent sporting events rather than theatrical productions. The deeper critique: modern audiences crave raw action and gore over sophisticated drama. The author claims contemporary society has become "primitive" and "bloodthirsty"—comparing it to Romans watching Christians thrown to lions. Young women no longer believe in romantic ideals (Santa Claus, spirituality, or playwrights like Shaw and Mencken); they want authentic brutality instead. The satire mocks both declining theater patronage and the era's apparent moral coarsening among the wealthy elite who prefer spectacle to art.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Alas, Poor Yorick! S THIS seems to be the Open Asn for diagnosing “The Trouble With The Drayma”, and as none of the Doctors, including Grover Whalen, D. F., Sinjun Ervine, D. D. F., and George Jean Nathan, S. R. O., have been able to get at the seat of the ailment, it is plainly up to me to step forward and hit the nail on the thumb... and what's more I'll do it with pictures! . . . read this aloud to the family and you have all the effects of a Talking Movie... only worse! ... now that the entire group is clustered about you with ex- pectant faces, hold this copy of Life (on sale at all newsstands—ten cents the copy, adv.) up and let them see the dandy picture by Russell Ziegfeld Patterson just below this article... that, my little kiddy widdies, is why the sick men of Broadway are sick! . our very best people, and quite a number from Park Avenue are crowd- ing into Madison Square Garden near- ly every evening to witness Hockey games, Prize Fights, Bike Races, etc. which takes about eighteen thousand people away from the theatres nightly. . » » Quod erat demonstrandum! The Effete East The effete East has gone primitive . the past hardboiled decade has produced a bloodthirsty race . . they want their drama real... make believe no longer satisfies them... history repeats itself... the arena is once more crowded with noble Romans cry ing for-more christians to be thrown to the lions . . . thumbs down to stall ing fighters and fightless hockey games! . . action and gore is what they want ++.the gore, the merrier! .. . no more does the debutant shudder at a bloody nose . . . she’s bored to death if there isn’t a knockout . . . she’s brought up on hard parents, hari! liquor and hard facts . . . she doesn’t believe in Santa Claus, Peter Pan, Bruce Barton, or Eddie Guest . . . nor does she believe in Schnitzler, Shaw o Mencken . . . she doesn’t even know they are sick! ... but, a thousand pardons! ...1 started in on the drayma and here I am telling what's wrong with the world! That Outdoor Complexion Just to quiet your fears that I'm about to break into a Brisbane editorial, have you heard of Southern Tan?... The reason for the decline of the Drama Madison Square Garden. it's give com jthial Mia you brell think lor b Fac! Sh the | kmok home rinks, ell n The rding oom, round fortune inished ure for comicbooks.com