The Palatka news and advertiser. [volume] (Palatka, Fla.) 1908-19??, 1911-12-22
PALATKA GETS THE
THIRD DEGREE
Famous Kline Drama Will be
Presented at 0rpheum Soon

Manager Kalbfield of the Orpheum
Theatre concluded arrangements OF
Tuesday whereby Palatkans will bt
given the opportunity within the mex
three weeks to see Charles Klein's IA
nous drama, "The Third Degree"
The company to present this splendid
drama in Palatka is the same high-grade
company that is presenting il in New
Orleans, Louisville, Atlanta and Other
large cities.
CONTRARY TO all criticisms on The
Third Degree" says one New York
paper, annie Jefferies, the young wife,
in the peculiar Klein drama, does moi
battle alone for her husbands fife. Fal
be ii from single handed combat on
the part of Charles Klein's little charac-
ter, for at every performance Miss Grace
Lord, who plays the young wife, has
from fifteen to eighteen hundred staunch
supporters, who sob, strain, struggle and
smile with her.
"As she fights" continues the paper,
so do her supporters, after the heart
breaking third degree examination,
makes his confession, il is indeed a
study TO look over the faces of the spec
tators. One would think, to see the
earnest expression of the watchers in
the orchestra, that every man, woman
and child in the theatre was married to
Howard Jeffries, for the spectators are
the fighters mentally, not material fight
ers, and fight they surely do"
That the above is a true impression OF
the feeling that exists during the action
of this the latest product of Charles
Klein, author OF ''The Lion and the
Mouse, is best told by relating the fol-
lowing incident which occurred during
performance at where "The Third
Degree" was being presented several
weeks ago.
Several elderly women, one seeming
ly more deeply interested than her com
panions, occupied box to the right of
the stage. While JefferieS, who is
charged with having caused the murder
OF his friend. Underwood, but whom
the audience knows committed suicide,
was being quizzed by the police, the
women became agitated, moved her
chair closer to the rail of the box and
with hand teleScoped to her ear, drank
in every word uttered.
intenseness itself, noticed the agitation
of the party in the box and when the
piece reached that part where Captain
Clinton says TO Jeffries, "You did it,
Jefferies, come own up, tell the truth,
you shot Robert Underwood" and as if
TO emphasize his remarks takes shin
ing revolver from his pocket and shows
it 10 the weary victim, who answers,
"Yes, shot him." the strain on the
audience could almost be felt and the
elderly lady, no doubt forgetting for the
once her whereabouts, jumped TO her
feet, grasped one OF her companions by
the arm and said, so loud that it was
audible all over the house, "That's
how they convicted Walter" and then,
as If realizing her embarrassing position,
dropped into her chair and began sob
bing.
Luckily this was the finality of the act
and during the intermission the party,
with the sobbing woman, left the thea
tire. II was afterward learned that the
year previous a son of the woman had
been convicted of theft TO which he
confessed and which the entire city
knew he had not committed, and was
then serving term in the state prison.
This vivid play, with the same elab
crate production that obtained with il
during its long run at the Hudson Thea
tire, New York, comes TO Palatka soon
for one night at the Orpheum Theatre
and the facl that the same manager and
author were responsible for "The Lion
and the Mouse" are also responsible for
"The Third Degree" should alone
recommend it TO the great theatre going
D,hiiC