Mystery submerged in comedy, melodrama bubbling over into farce--that is "The Nightcap" which began Its run at the Wilbur on Monday. There are many exciting moments--scenes which in a different atmosphere would have held the spectators breathless; to be sure, the audience was breathless anyhow, but in this case it was too spent with laughter to move. It could only sit and wait for the comedian, John Murphy, to crack another joke. Nor was it ever disappointed; the joke was always forth-coming and, what is more, it was always good. After two minutes of Mr. Murphy, no one in the house was able to take as anything but a joke the murder of a financier, the hysterics of his wife, or the calm plot of the hero to have himself killed so that his life insurance might save his bank from ruin. Yet somehow, there is no hint of burlesque in this rendering of the "detective" theme; it is not that the play "makes fun" of anybody or anything; it simply is very funny to see. The skilled finger of Guy Bolton is evident in not a few of the most amusing bits.

The American public goes to the theatre either to be harrowed or to be amused; in general it had a little rather be amused. It is not strange, then, that "The Nighcap" so delighted those who saw it, for it provides plenty of entertainment. Under the cover of a "mysterious" butler, and later of the comedy figure, "Jerry Hammond", the background is swiftly filled in and the audience is swept, in a whirl of laughter, from complication to complication. For it is the unusual feature of the play that the action is continuous, one act taking up the story exactly where the proceeding one left off. Mystery there is aplenty, nor, as is so often the case, are there any "loose ends" and false clues put in just to befudle the spectators. With the possible exception of the butler's first appearance, nothing occurs in the play which is not either adequately led up to or logically evolved from some preceding scene. Yet through all the hurry and excitement there runs a note of exaggeration which prevents even the most emotional moments from being taken really seriously.

Max Marcin, co-author with Guy Bolton, has given his handwork a first class production. The single set in which the action takes place, is excellently designed, and well executed. The acting is even and not in the least forced or conventional; the absence of a "star" has led Mr. Marcin to put several of the parts into the hands of capable farceux. Mr. Hawley's "Jerry Hammond" bordered on the stereotyped, but Jack Raffael, as a slightly inebriated bank director, was very careful not to overdo his part. Miss Risdon, in the role of "Mrs Knowles" gave some fine examples of emotional acting, which unfortunately were set in too mirthful surroundings to be taken at their full value. For the play is after all a farce, and as such worth being seen and enjoyed.