Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-02-23
Broadway S AII--
Night Police Court
Produces More Real
Drama Than Any
.IHeater on the Street
ofaMiIlion
and 1t Plays to Full
Houses Of Slummers
TN Evenlng Dress,
Buns, Students and
Acfors Hunting
Ne7o Gags.
Sketches BY George Clark.
BY GILBERT SWAN.

EFT Is perhaps the only court in the
world where ladies in ermine and gents
in tau hats struggle for a place In the
waiting line after midnight OF Sat-
urday: where Broadway actors hurry
over after their nights performance in search
of material for their acts.
Street walkers, waiting to be called before
the magistrate, roughly elbow against elegant
young men and women out of the Social Regis
ter. Students Of social affairs stand sOlemnly
along the walls, peering through horned
trimmed glasses and making notes on the mar
gins of serious Shocking tones.
The wise mob" comes early and gets front
seats. On long, hard seats just beyond the
spectators rail and facing directly upon the
judges bench, gather specially favored guests.
Generally they are theatrical folk or writer's.
For this is BroadwayS "all-night" court. It
Is encountered in the Fffties, just to the west
OF the Street Of Million Lights. And there. is
no theater in the length and breadth Of the
gay white way which furnished drama, comic
or tragic, such as is to be seen here in a single
evening.
All through the night this drama ebbs and
flows. 1t is an endless metropolitan panorama,
focused in single room-all of its cheap rack
cts; its chickering's and hghtings and quibblings;
its telnpers and its chivalries. Here, in a COM
Portable, steam-heated room, with o dusty
American nag at one end. couple of old roll
top desks and a crush of conglomerate hui
mainly, may be encountered not only the side
walks Of New York, but the cutters and the
shady lanes as WELL
Such dramas as are enacted here are snapped
out IN minutes and fractions of minutes.
They fash on and ON like subjects in news
reel.
THE curious crowd sits expectantly, like an
audience at a mystery play, wondering
what win happen next II the cases seem
boring, the silk-hatted boys wander on to q
night club. II there Is little wise-cracking or
IL there are few character studies the actors
move along. The unusual audience shifts many
times during an evening. And there is always
waiting list-a throng gathering in the hail.
way or banked against the rear walls ready
to pounce upon the FIRST vacant seat
Many q vaudeville gag has come from this
court Theatrical sketches have come from
this court. Famous character impersonatiOns
get new material" from this court It IL q
theater in which, for q change, life provides
the drama. Real people are the actors and
actors are the audience.
The action usually begins at IL O'Clock or
Whereabouts and grows more intense by mid
night. AS the night wears on. the type Of
drama changes.
If Judge Brodsky is ON the bench his crew
OF Broadway followers may be depended upon
TO be there. Judge Brodsky was himself on
the stage once upon q time. He Is credited
with having as glib tongue and as keen q
talent for quick retort as any phrasemaker In
Manhattan.
by way Of illustration: A Broadway pitch
man" has been arrested for peddling with
out a license He had been working the late
theater crowd and . policeman had picked
him up.
"And what were you peddling?" asked the
Judge
"Just novelties. your honor" replied the
eringing figure
~Yes but what?"
well, was selling ladies garters--"
Ladies' gartefs-" observes the Judge with
b twinkle IN his eye. "Since when were they
novelties?"
This, of course, gets big laugh from the
vaudeville sector, and you can bet couple Of
Spanish doubloons that youu hear this crack
the following night In supper clubs and variety
g houses.,f.. 49, H3'E,Eef5es Il 49, "1lfs.d
SO it goesa Gus the huge Negro who ped