New-York tribune., 1910-08-24
THE DRAMA
Baby Mlne," Farce by Mar
qaret Mayo, at DaIy's Theatre.


Theatre for several days. finally ahghted
last night and the result was Baby Mine,
a farce by Margaret MAYO
Lest one should think the play improbable
this note was printed on the programme:
THE idea of Baby Nine was suggested
by the following newspaper article:
q Chicago Ill. Jan. &.-There are In Chi-
cago to-day fully three thousand husbands
fondIine Infants that are not their own. but
babies adopted by their wives, and the de-
ludeG fathers are none the wiser.
This statement was made to-day by
Lyman w. Rogers. treasurer OF the Nation
al Maternity Hospital from which insti-
tuition. he says, some two hundred and fifty
infants are adopted into good homes every
year
The play reveals the uuhappiness OF
Alfred Hardy. a young Chicago business
mar.. and his wife Hardy is exacting and
his wife is careless, thoughtless and un-
truthful Hardy is unable to bear the
situation longer and deserts his wife Mrs
Hardy consults a friend and decides that
the only way to bring about the return of
her husband is TO telegraph him that
son has been born to him. The deception
works. and Hardy returns, to find his
household in CONSERVATION, for the haoy
has not vet arrived from the hospital lie
is brought in presently. however. by Jimmy
Jinl.s a friend. to whom had been dele
gated the unpleasant duty of getting the
infant from an unwilling mother
Miss Marguerite Clark played well the
leading woman's part and Ernest Glenden-
ing was successful as Alfred Hardy The
hit of the evening. how ever. was made by
Walter Jones who was most amusing as
Jimmy links The otlIer parts were very
well played.
Hardy goes into ecstacies over his son and
heir ana insists upon holding him in MS
arms. In the mean time the real mother
comes To the house and insists upon having
her child back. Jinks goes to the washer
wOmans to borrow one of her newborn
twins and afterwaTd takes the first wom-
ans baby down the fire escape to her, put
he is caught by a policeman and brought
back. Hardy then comes in and finds two
babies instead df one. And the resource
fui wife tells him that he has twins. 1heh
the Gatti woman apparently gets away WITH
her child. and to carry out the twin decep-
ton Mrs. Hardy sends for the Other child
of the washerwoman- Hardy comes III
again before the Gatti woman goes and
finds three babies He is then told that his
wife wanted to break the news gently 10
him. so she told him OF her babies one By
one His pride increases and he hugs the
three as tenderIy as he did one and. two.
But the end comes " hen the irate o Fiar-
ervN father Of the twins and the pleading
mother Rosa Gatti. meet in the bedroom
in the presence Of Hardy and his wife, Mr.
and Mrs Jinks and two officers Mrs
Hardy tells the truth and Hardy is discon-
soIate.
The play was prettily staged in three
acts, two of which took place in an attrac-
tive bed chamber with Miss Clark lodging
in and out of bed. Unlike John Drew III
'.Inconstant George she did not bother
to remove her slippers when she got under
cover.
The theme of the play is not the pleas
ATTEST that q woman playwright might ma
II makes a burlesque Of motherhood and
a farce of childbirth. and 1t handles little
babies as If they were sticks. The means
do not justify the end, for the play ends
practically where it began Only a gITllsh
little woman like Miss Clark could remove
the sting of vulgarity from the Wlfes part
And only very natural actor like waiter
Jones could bring q real element Of COM
edy into the piece.
The acting was better than the play Miss
Sara BiaIa was a particularly convincing
mother. who desperately sought the child
that had been taken from her contrary 10
her wish Miss Ivy Troutman was a sin
cere Aggie Jinks. z. D. Cromwell was d
realistic officer and Miss Ruth Findiay
played well the part of Maggie O'Flarety
the daughter Of the washeTwomau. Ernest
Glendfnnfng was forcefuI and sincere as
rho r1lIffhle Alfred Hardy