East Side Story!

[Mme. Defarge]

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/14/arts/frank-jacobs-dead.html

By Richard Sandomir, 04/14/21

Frank Jacobs, Mad Magazine Writer With a Lyrical Touch, Dies at 91

He deftly mocked pop culture, politics and more for 57 years. He also wrote new lyrics for familiar songs, which led to a lawsuit from Irving Berlin and others.

A fan of musical theater, Mr. Jacobs teamed with Mr. Drucker to turn “West Side Story” into “East Side Story,” a musical battle at the United Nations between gangs led by the United States and the Soviet Union. The Soviet premier (and gang leader) Nikita Khrushchev sang:

When you’re a Red
You’re a Red all the way
From your first Party purge
To your last power play!
When you’re a Red,
You’ve got agents galore;
You give prizes for peace
While they stir up a war.

Back in the day when I was a sophomore in high school I convinced our legendary drama teacher, Mrs. Sparks, to put together a production of the entire satirical Mad Magazine piece for a school assembly. It was pretty f*ing amazing.

[Stuart G]

1. Mad is/was a great magazine..Jacobs was one of the very best writers...Oh, Would You Like to Buy an

Old Copy or Two?

I've got a Few..

[Mme. Defarge]

2. Never have forgiven myself for

tossing out years’ worth of issues from the ‘50’s and ‘60’s.

[PoliticAverse]

3. Best satire magazine ever. n/t