The story concerns a Russian soldier brought to New York City to produce Bolshevik propaganda, who strays from his mission.

Adverse audience reaction to the original ending resulted in Tarkington rewriting parts of the play during its opening tour.

They regard him as an amiable halfwit, and so assign him an easy task: printing propaganda tracts when they reach New York.

He confounds his colleagues proposals by pointing out the inherent difficulties, and thwarts any suggestion that Maria carry out her task to assassinate an official.

Poldekin realizes he has embraced the idea of America in preference to Bolshivik theory; as he does so, the act ends with a Decoration Day parade, only the flags of which are glimpsed over the top of the tenement fence as they go by to stirring music.

In the original ending of the play, Poldekin dies at this point, with Blanche afterward placing a small American flag on his chest.

They cited the humor in "Poldekin's method of showing the absurdity of Bolshevik reasoning by pushing its principles to their logical conclusion".

They also defended his ending, "warmly debated among playgoers", by suggesting if Poldekin had survived it would trivialize the threat of bolshevik radicalism.

[6] The production next played a few days at Parsons' Theatre in Hartford, Connecticut,[7] where again the local critic reported audience dismay at the ending and suggested that it might be changed.

[10] Another Springfield newspaper critic went even further, opening their review: "Just why Booth Tarkington should becloud his latest play, Poldekin, ...with a tactless and blundering death denouement is a mystery".

Tarkington, responding to audience reaction, revised the Act IV ending overnight, which was performed for the first time on March 19, 1920.

[13] Thereafter the production played smoothly to decent reviews in Detroit,[14] Philadelphia,[15] and Cleveland[4] before the inevitable summer shutdown, when Arliss would return to England.

The critic for The Brooklyn Daily Eagle had a mixed opinion: in the hands of Arliss, Poldekin was as delightful as any Shakespearean fool, but the play itself was Tarkington at his weakest.

[19] The Brooklyn Daily Times reviewer concurred: the play was weak and provoked little response from the audience, but Arliss as Poldekin was amusing.

They also praised Julia Dean, E. G. Robinson, Mannert Kippen, and Sidney Toler, but thought Elsie Mackay "was lost" as Maria.

Broun excoriated Tarkington for not distinguishing between political and economic systems, and faulted his confusion of bolshevisim with various forms of socialism.

[5] Due to a shortage of available theaters, George C. Tyler's production of Bab with Helen Hayes had been delayed, so he decided to replace the underperforming Poldekin at the Park Theatre.