Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1913-01-28
Fun Vies with Pathos for
Favor at Local Theatres
Excuse Ne" Brings a Train
load of Fun to the
Shubert.
SCENES ARE ALL LAID
ABOARD A PULLMAN CAR
The Way Complications Follow
on Complications Is Bewilder-
ing and Laughable.

Excuse Me" Rupert Hughes 5
whimsical farce. made its reappear-
ance at the Shubert Theatre last
night When it was first brought
( here last season it took local theatre
goers by storm, but il last nights
reception can be taken as a criterion
I 1t bids fair or this its second visit
to prove even more of a success. It
is one of those few farees that keep
an audience laughing from the start
TO the finish.
The entire action of the farce,
which is in three sections, is laid
taboard the Overland limited. This
Pullman train is the most wideawake,
ridiculous, rapid-fre centre of fun
and laughter that has ever Travelled
through this city. If you have the
blues or a pet crouch" the Shu-
bert is the place to go. If this farce
yon't cure you, then your case IS
/ hopeless.
This train runs from Chicago to
Reno, and Reno is Jimmy Yelling
toms destination. He has learned
that Mrs. Jimmy intends to divorce
/ him, and he is determined to save
her that trouble. He loves Mrs.
Jimmy. He is a heartbroken man.
But he has made himself too popular
with his fellow clubmen; hence his
unpopularity with the wife of his
bosom.
Mrs. Jimmy, unknown to her hus-
band, also starts for Reno. So does
third party lady to whom
/ Jimmy has been much inclined to
pour out his troubles. This is a
/ happy family gathering for a four
day trip on a Pullman car to Reno.
Imagine, if you can, the complica-
lions that would ensue from such a
com blnation: then multiply by two,
and you will have an idea of the
things that happen to these people on
the trip to Reno.
And they are only few items on
the list of characters which Rupert
Hughes has worked into his trainload
of laughter. over the destinies of
the Excuse Me- express preside the
brusque conductor and the dusky
porter who mixes his philosophy
with the passengers drinks.
But their calmness of mind is not
strong enough to withstand the as
saults of the young bride, who
threatens to have Mysteries every
time things don't happen her way.
She cajoles and threatens by turns.
Having left all her luggage in a
taxi-cab in her mad rush for the
train, she f1atters the conductor until
he is almost ready to hold the train
for half an hour while she does a
little shopping. When he finally re-
fuses she announces that her father
| will have him fired. But for all her
wilfulness the conductor and the
other passengers and the audience,
too, can't help loving this spoiled
child.
AS interpreted by Geraldine
O'Brien, it is plain that her faults
are all on the surface and that they
will soon wear away when she rubs
against the world.
There is more to this whimsical
farce, but to tell it all here would
only spoil the enjoyment of those who
intend to spend an evening aboard
the carload of fun. Something new
happens at every turn, and the best
part of 1t is that you never know
what to expect next. The farce is
without an individual star, but all
who take part in it's action are stars
of the first magnitude in their own
respective parts.