Theatre: Burlesque Suit

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A suit more jocose than bitter was brought in Manhattan last week by Abraham, William, Herbert & Morton Minsky, proprietors of three burlesque theatres, against Sidney Ross, proprietor of one art gallery. Mr. Ross has been holding an exhibition called "The Theatre In Art" (TIME, April 11). There, on Sunday, he held "burlesque day." That made a bit of mutually profitable publicity for both Mr. Ross and the Minskys. One would have thought that it would cement their mutual respect and admiration, but such was not the case. On Tuesday Brother William Minsky caused his lawyer to write to Mr. Ross protesting a painting by one Myron Sokole, called "Burlesque a la Minsky."

"The painting, such as it is, depicting three dancing burlesque girls wholly lacking in form and beauty (one slightly cross-eyed and all ugly, fat, misshapen and sensuous) is a misnomer of its title. Remember, burlesque has done no harm to art. Why should art attempt to harm burlesque?" The Minskys asked $50,000 damages.

Undaunted, Mr. Ross stoutly declared that "it would be unfair not only to the artist but to the cause of freedom in American art to yield to your request." The suit will not come up for "probably quite a while." Curiously, the Minskys were not at all miffed with another painting called "Burlesque," by famed Thomas Benton, depicting a young woman gaily waggling her fundament at a dozen goggling male customers. "That's modernistic," decided the Minskys.

There are three burlesque theatres in Brooklyn, six in Manhattan. The Minskys own half of the Manhattan ones. Until last winter the Minsky mother house, the National Winter Garden, was at Houston Street and Second Avenue, teeming Jewish district. Father Minsky immigrated from Russia and became a leading merchant on Grand Street when Grand Street was the location of Lord & Taylor and Arnold Constable. He was also elected alderman and got in the construction business. With Lawyer Max D. Steuer he put up the Winter Garden Building. It housed two theatres, one on the sixth floor, one on the first. Brother Billy, 45, started showing films in the upper auditorium in 1912. Brother Abe, 54, had been running a nickelodeon theatre of his own and drifted in to help. When Brother Herbert, 40, acquired his law degree from Columbia and Brother Morton, 30, was graduated from New York University, they helped out, too.

For a while they showed vaudeville, but in 1915 they turned to burlesque. Brother Billy, onetime newspaperman, ablest of the group, had at that time never seen a burlesque show. He prefers Wagner, Dostoevsky, "deep books" and Edgar Wallace. Unlike other theatrical entertainment, burlesque requires no rehearsal. It is a traditional art. There are some 400 "bits" and Brother Billy simply specifies what series of bits he wants his stock company to perform each week. Sample "bit" is "Bibs & Bibs," involving two couples, one including a henpecked husband, the other a browbeaten wife. After a few drinks the situation is reversed.