New Britain herald., 1916-09-27
NO STONES THROWN
 AT HOUSE OF GLASS;
Robert MiddlemaSS, New Britain Boy, Given Housing Welcome

Just where ''The House of Glass"
 which played at the Lyceum last night.
 derived it's name is mystery that
 may never be solved. Surely none of
 the characters who played in this
 glass house were throwing stones, or,
 at least, none were perceptible to the
 audience. No brickbats went through
 windows. If anything, those who car
 ried burdens they did not want to ex-
 pose were extremely cautious to keep
 them under cover But that is apart
 from the play. The main thing that
 matters in this narration is that a New
 Britain boy played the leading role
 in this four act play and, seemingly,
 all his friends in New Britain turned
 out to accord him a welcome to his old
 home town. It was a great event. a
 gala occasion, for Robert Middlemass
 There was scarcely a vacant seat in
 the house.
 Supporting MT. Middlemass, ordin-
 arily she would be called the leading
 character in the play, was Miss Adel-
 ina O'Connor, very remarkable emc-
 t1onal actress. Last night, despite her
 clever acting, she was forced to share
 the greater part of the lime light with
 the man from New Britain. And, be
 it said in passing, he was at his best.
 New Britain today is proud to have
 such a representative of the histrionic art, such a brilliant young satellite who plays under the proscenium arch. It is no wonder New Britain turned out to welcome a visiting son. We also take more than passing interest in the stage success of Robert Middlemass because at one time he was a fellow worker on the Herald. Newspaper men do have way of sticking to- gether
 To the play: It is a distressing sort of thing for a that; but, at the same time, it is intensely dramatic and ex- tremely interesting. There are mom- ents in '"The House of Glass; when many members of the audience feel like mounting the stage and ending the whole affair,-cutting short the suspense. Therein lies it's interest 1t has more big moments than any other play that has been in this neck of the woods for To these many months, at least since the stock company held the boards last year. And it all has to do with the pitiful life story of Margaret Case. She is an innocent young girl who lives in a New York lodging house. While there she meets and ! falls in love with James Burke, a clev- CT young crook, who has made a big haul. Margaret knows nothing about his career and when he presents her with a fifty thousand dollar necklace she takes it, believing he has inner ited sum of money from a relative. They are to go away and be married. Just as she is packing her trunk, and while James Burke is reterating his love for her, in walk the police. He is put in irons, and Margaret Case is taken out unconscious.
 Ten years later so the play goes, Margaret Case is married to a pros porous railroad man in Kansas City,
 Henry Lake. She has forsaken New York, where she was arrested with James Burke as an accOmplice in tho robbery. Tn fact, she has broken her parole,- after having served three years in jail. She never confides this secret to her husband. While in Kansas City she takes an active interest in uplift work,-trying to better the environ ment of criminals Her husband is made a tempting offer by a great rail road president from the East. She dreads the going back to New York and is warned not to do so by James Burke, the criminal, who is now clear of prison. Her husband accepts the offer, however, and soon the twain
 are back in the big town. There, as