New York Idea, The

New York Idea, The (1906), a play by Langdon Mitchell. [Lyric Theatre, 66 perf.] Since Cynthia Karslake ( Mrs. Fiske) and John Karslake ( John Mason) are divorced, there seems to be no reason why Cynthia should not marry Judge Phillip Phillimore ( Charles Harbury), who himself has been divorced recently. After all, “Marry for whim! That's the New York idea of marriage.” The news prompts the ex‐Mrs. Phillimore, Vida ( Marion Lea), to set her sights on John. Before long it is announced that John and Vida will marry at the same time as Cynthia and Phillip. Enter an English roué, Sir Wilfred Cates‐Darby ( George Arliss), who would win both ladies away from their new amours. On the day of the wedding he invites Cynthia, an ardent horsewoman, to the races. She accepts and telegraphs Phillip that she will be late for the nuptials. The delay and Phillip's reaction to it convince Cynthia she has made a mistake. She rushes to John's home, only to learn that the wedding has taken place. Her dismay turns to relief when she discovers the bride and groom are Vida and Wilfred. She returns to John, who has kept her wedding ring just in case. Theatrical historian Edwin J. Bronner has called the work “a play of wit and substance, one of the outstanding high comedies of the American theatre.” It has enjoyed numerous revivals.