Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1911-01-31
THE GIRL IN THE
TAXI" IS GREAT
FOR OLD FRIENDS
Roue's Trusting Wife, Country
mans Sporty Wife, Ze Petite
Maid-AlI There!
WINSOME BESSIE WYNNE
WINS FAVOR AT PROCTOR'S
"Uncle Toms Cabin at the Coz
lumbia and Fun at Other
Theatres.
IT HOSE who FASTENED to the New

TT HOSE who hastened to the New
ark Theatre last night expect
Ing to find something rare and
racy found something rarely dull
There Is about as much originality In
THE Girl In the Taxi" AS can be found
In the average seventh grade grammar
essay. And, like that same essay, II
is very funny In spots. from various
viewpoints.
In a way, THE Girl In the Taxi"
written by Anthony Mars and adapted
by Stanislaus STANCE, Is comforting.
One finds there 80 many of ones old
friends. The ~domineering wife of the
old sport. who In everyday life Is dig
nifty p~ersonified; the lisping, trusting
young wife Of a young sport. who also
wears a daytime attitude of righteous
rectitude; the very sporty wife OF a
countryman, who spices her life with
intrigues in which her rich, stupid hus-
band has no part, and the young son OF
the ~domineering mamma, who finds in
! his veins the blood of his father.
despises all of her careful training; 70
head waiter, wiz re accent, and 20
petite maid wiz re same. All are there
to remind one of old times aud Of things
one has laughed at before.
The plot begins: The father and
mother of BERTHE refuse to increase that
young mans allowance of So a month.
Berthe, very much in love with love-
through the medium of the young wom-
an upstairs-ts respondent. His cousin,
Percy, enters with his wife at this juno
ture. Percy finds the high life" of
New York necessary to his rvo sys-
tenn at least twice a year. so pretends
serious Illness in order to get there and
enjoy nocturnal revels, while his wife
is sleeping the sleep of the unsuspect-
ing. He tells BERTHE of an adventure
with a girl in a taxi and of how he had
to pose as her husband In a Broadway
restaurant three years ago, when Wat
son, a friend of Bertie's people, dis
covered them together.
His Young Imagination Is Fired.
Bertie's young imagination Ia fired
by the narrative. He longs for similar
adventures. A little later a perfumer
and his wife are shown In. They want
" lilhlih oCA u NAA ~ - c@
conferred upon the wife for financing q
home for deaf and dumb animals.
Percy gIeefully Informs BERTHE that the
wife is the girl in the taxi" BERTHE
falls in love straight off.
Next act finds EN- all at the Broad
way restaurant. each without the
others knowledge, as they fondly
think. Complications, plus situations.
ensue, until everybody discovers all.
Business of confusion. Also mistaken
Identities. Next morning more confu-
sion, and the explanations that simply
have to come at the end OF farces.
And there you are!
At times the action is spirited enough
to provoke volumes of laughter, partic-
ularly in the second act, the scene Of
which is laid in q private dining-room
Of the aforementioned Broadway res
taurant. Between those times the prin-
| cipals try hard to make funny the
scenes that are not.
The Acting La All Right.
Carter de Haven. a blithe young mar
with a nimble pair of heels and the
crouching gait that the very young
college student adores, is featured as
the son, n plays the role with a keen
sense of Its requirements. His work In
the dinlng-room scene, wherein the
bashfully bold boy attempts to order
q wine supper for the a~nything-but-
bashful lady, is ~convulsing. He also
interpolates a novel song and dance,
"I Belong to the Midnight Crew."
which is very acceptable.
Fred Bond. of vaudeville fame, plays
satisfactorily the outwardly serious but
inwardly frivolous father, and Jessie
Millward makes a dtgnifed, lovable
mother. Mignon, the a x girl, is in
terpreted by Miss Laura Guertte. whose
assets are an excellent figure, startling
ly beautiful costumes and a pleasant
laugh. Jeanette Bageard Is piquantly