Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1913-05-06
"Officer 900" Sets Audience at
the Newark ArOar With
Laughter.
PLAY is AN EXQUISITE
COMEDY OF MIX-UPS
Thrills of Excitement Inter.
sperse Funny Situations, Civ
ing Solidity to Pleasure.

"Officer $685." nrelodramatic farct
in three acts. with its entire origina
New York company and direct from
two triumphant seasons at the Galety
Theatre, New York, made a decided
hit with a large first-night audience
at the Newark Theatre last night.
The play Is from the pen of Angus.
tin MacHugh, who has been credited
by dramatic reviewers as having
written the best American farce Of
the century.
Be that as it may. "Officer 666" is
funny. 1t Is good. clean, wholesome
fun, and you laugh because you can
not help it. In fact. at times, you
split your sides laughing. It is all
broad farce, and yet it Is a farce
that has many moments of genuine
dramatic thrills, a series of climaxes
that succeed each other In the sur
prising intensity of the rapid devel-
opment of the plot.
And the. plot: Travers Gladwin, q
wealthy young man who has nothing
to spend but money, nothing tc
breathe but air. has made valuable
collection of pictures abroad. Re-
turning home incognito, as it were
he learns that his old butler is thiel
and that he has conspired with Al
fred Wilson, one of the most noto-
rious picture gallery thieves at large
Wilson. by the way, has assumed
Gladwin's name to win the heart OF
the young lady with whom he is In
love, and well nigh does it except
we'll. that is another story.
When Gladwin finds that he is moi
himself, that Is, that someone else
is posinA as he, he determines to
take action Immediately. Through
Miss Helen Burton, the girl with
whom the clever thief is in love, the
real Gladwin learns that she is going
to marry Travers Gladwin. that they
are going to elops because of the
objection of her aunt to the scheme,
and that they are going to take sew
eral of the more costly pictures with
them.
These little. snatches of informa-
tion, coming in such a rapid-fire man.
ner. fairly stagger Gladwin and his
friend, Whitney Barnes, and the
former goes out in quest of the fell
low who is masquerading under his
name. And then the young lady in
the case appeals to him, too, and he
was thinking aloud whether it was
the name Travers Gladwin or the
man that Miss Helen was in love
with
Just about this time Officer 666. in
the person of Patrolman Phelan
happens along and a happy thought
strikes Gladwin. The girl had said
that Mr. Gladwin was going to take
some of the most costly of the pic
lures with him when they eloped.
Why not lie in wait for him in the
garb of a policeman and catch the
thief red handed. All of which
sounds we'll in print but does not al
ways work out in real life as Gladwin
soon ascertained.
Gladwin induces officer Phelan to
lend him his uniform for an evening
for the sum of $500. and then things
begin to come in rapid succession.
officer 666 Phelan becomes his cook.
and 10 and behold, it is not long be-
fore Mr. Wilson. the picture thief,
excuse me, meant Mr.. Travers Glad
win 2, confronts Mr.. Travers Gladwin
in the guise of policeman.
And the girl, of course; she lives
up to her part of the elopement pro-
ceedings, but the real Gladwin per-
suades her that her intended Is an
imposter.
: Rather cruel of him, but then. he
afterwards wins her himself so that
she becomes Mrs. Travers Giadwin
anyway, and then the police arrive
on the scene and the crook escapes,
because he was such gentlemanly
crook and his tastes ran in sucn ar
tistic' lines that Mr.. MacHugh would
not have done right if he had allowed
him to be captured.
George Nash as Alfred Wilson,
alias Travers Gladwin, and Edward
Abeles as the real Gladwin are billed
as the headliners. and While they
deserve that rank let us volunteer
the statement right here that every
member of the company does his or
her (and there are only three shes
in it,. share in making the play
success.
C. Morton Horne as Whitney
Barnes, Gladwin's friend, a deucediy
ballv fine Englishman, furnished con-
siderable of the humor, as did Fran
els c. McGinn as officer Phelan.
Miss Doris OLSON as, Helen Burton,
and Elsie Glynn as Sadie Small. her
cousin, were charming and carried out
their parts to perfection, but Camilla
Crume as Mrs. Burton might have
been a little more wrought up,
doncher know
The affair was benefit one for the
Young Mems Catholic Association, of
rs New street, and large crowd
turned out. The proceeds will go
toward the erection of a new build
ing for the association.