Later, Louis Fellman approaches Mrs. Allen with a note, supposedly from Bob Kirk but forged by Whispering Alex, suggesting he can be bought off for $50,000.
Hauser died on board the RMS Olympic, where he was traveling under an assumed name, during April 1912, while The Greyhound was still running on Broadway.
[4] The play originally had a first act character called Dr. Dunn,[5] which was eliminated by the time the production moved to Broadway.
[10] Clarence J. Bulleit of The Indianapolis Star thought the play weaker than Armstrong's Alias Jimmy Valentine and The Deep Purple.
[10] The reviewer for The Indianapolis News felt the authors' "...incidents were too many; they are not nicely joined and uneven exposition is the result... it stands in need of compression, unity, and concentration".
[5] A Chicago Examiner reporter, evidently dismissing Indianapolis, described the opening as the play's "first appearance in any big city".
[13] Percy Hammond of the Chicago Tribune nearly echoed The Indianapolis News reviewer about the play's incidents: "...in their present form they are diffuse...
The Greyhound was originally scheduled to premiere at the Astor Theatre on February 26, 1912, but was delayed several days for "scenic and mechanical rehearsals".
[14] The delay was not an issue, for Wagenhals & Kemper owned[fn 5] the Astor Theatre at this time, where their recent successes of Paid in Full and Seven Days had been performed.
[12] The premiere occurred on Leap Day, February 29, 1912, with The Sun explaining the title's dual reference to an "ocean greyhound" and the criminal who hunted thereupon.
[6] Charles Darnton of The Evening World thought the play weaker than the authors' earlier The Deep Purple but admired some of their "clever lines" and the acting of Elita Proctor Otis as Kitty and Jay Wilson as the Pale-Faced Kid.
[17] The critic for The Sun added: "It was potent to make the audience laugh, it kept its hearers absorbed, and occasionally it could impart a genuine thrill of suspense".
[18] The New York Times reviewer was enthusiastic: The Greyhound "...is, in spite of its rank sensationalism, an extremely clever thing in many ways... As an exposition of the illuminating qualities and directness of the vernacular, it is a remarkable exhibit".
[21] On April 27, 1912, the production got a foretaste of the labor strife that would soon engulf acting, when ten "supers"[fn 6] portraying ship's stokers went on strike for higher pay, preventing the curtain from being raised.
[22] On May 15, 1912, Wagenhals & Kemp Company signed an agreement with Cohan & Harris, giving the latter partnership a ten-year lease on the Astor Theatre, in return for $250,000.
[23] Cohan & Harris would assume control of the venue from September 1, 1912; until that time, or until Summer heat closed its season, The Greyhound would continue running.
However, while not planning to retire from producing,[fn 7] Kemper and Wagenhals were looking forward to a long vacation, including a world tour.