The Washington times., 1912-03-12
Julia Murdock Describes "Baby Mine"
As the Funniest of All Funny Plays

First you laugh, then YOU giggle, after
the curtain has been raised on "Baby
Nine about ten minutes. After that
you "ha, ha' right out loud. and in
about five minutes more YOU have
broken all the laws of Conventiunality
and are roaring at the humoi OF Mar
aafct Mayo's play which Is being seen
in the Bolasco this week l defy any
one to sit through the three acts of this
play without laughing 1t can't be
donr. Beverly Sitgreaves once said to
the writer. in summing Up a Broadway
musical comedy. ITS good enough, but
Ike lot of plays. it has places In. It
where YOU can sit back in your seat
and th!nN about your laundry"
l'ut not in BABY Mime" Not a
thought triHkles through that audience
It can't think, because 1t is laughing
toe heartily. Even deaf and dumb
men, or blind one could see the hu-
NOR in this play, which deals with
pretty, naughty, little Mrs. Hardy and
her plan OF dcsoiNinS her husband into
believing that he is the father Of a
child and thus bring about a rcconcllia-
tinn between them.
Poi Hardy Is n confirmed and con-
"tituti"n1l llttr liar. She would rather
lie than cat. "Whv we can be sitting
in thu same room with a clock. she fac
ing IT. and I with my back turned 70
u tn ask her what time II Is. and
she will look straight into the face of
the clock ana lie q half hour cut of the
way complains her husband to his
lest frirnI, Jimmie dcnk5, in explain
ing this foi5le of his wlfes to him.
Play Is Based
On Familiar Theme.
Tho play is based on that old. fa-
miliar theme of a substituted personality
This theme is the one that has brought
more than 80 per cent of the plays OF
ancient and modern times to success.
One can recall a hundred of them. but
mighty few with as many laughs to the
minute as are contained in Baby
Mine
Ioie Hardy has lunchcd down town
with Jimmie jerks, not because she
particularly cares for Jimmie, she ex-
plains, but because she was hungry and
Jimmie happened along at the psycho-
logical moment. Husband is told Of his
wifc's little lunch party by the head
walter of the cafe, though the fact that
the man in the case was Jimmie was
l'ot ulSClOSeu. ltaruN comes home in
rage accuses his wife, who denies the
luncheon entirely. There is a spat and
Hardy packs his grips and leaves. Zoie
repcnts. of course, and after a confer
elCe with Mrs. Jimmie, these two de-
lightful CJnspirators cook up scheme
TO bring him home. 1t is to send him
me ssaga announcing the arrival of the
StOrk with Il baby boy.
This, after a lapse of time, Is done
and Hardy, so Ovcrjoyed at the news
tEdt he is parent, doesn't stop to take
a regular train, but hires a special He
reaches the bedside of his wife before
she has had time to secure a suitable
infant. In the emergency Jimmie Jinks,
poor, old. good-natured Jimmie, who
has been trained by his wife to eat out
of her hand, play dead dog, jump
rings and all that sort Of thing,
is hustled into service with instructions
to secure the nearest available child and
bring it home. He finds 1t at a mater
hity hospital. and he gets 1t to the
Hardy home and into Mrs. Hardys pink
bCudoir just in the nick of time. But
while Hardy, with his patcrnal instinct
fully aroused and working overtime, is
totinS his infant and saying gurgly
words to it, along comes word that the