Twin Beds

Twin Beds (1914), a farce by Salisbury Field and Margaret Mayo. [Fulton Theatre, 411 perf.] Complications begin when an intoxicated Italian tenor, Signor Monti ( Charles Judels), wanders by mistake into the room of Blanche ( Madge Kennedy) and Harry Hawkins ( John Westley), a floor below his own. By the time Blanche comes home Signor Monti is all but undressed. She persuades him to put his clothes back on, only to find the alltoo‐efficient maid Norah ( Georgie Lawrence) has removed them for cleaning. Naturally, Harry arrives and is furious. But when he warns Monti that a scandal could follow with Monti's picture in the papers, the befuddled tenor can only thank him for offering him some much‐needed publicity. Signora Monti ( Ray Cox), an Amazonian harridan, also enters and also misunderstands. They are screaming at each other when the curtain falls. Greeted as one of the best comedies in years, the play was threatened with bad business by the outbreak of the war. Producer William Harris Jr. arranged one of the wildest publicity campaigns Broadway had ever known, including dray wagons and trucks with the name of the show plastered on their sides, which conveniently broke down at well‐traveled intersections. The play soon caught on and became one of the era's most popular comedies.