Middletown transcript., 1915-01-30
''BTLLY'S BUNGALOW"
A Sparkling Comedy by Odessa
and MiddIetOwn Players
DELIGHTS A LARGE AUDIENCE

DELIGHTS A LARGE AUDIENC CE
On Monday evening our talented
friends from Odessa made a dramatic
descent upon our berg, and assisted by
two of our own gifted artists gave the
citizens of Middletown who herring
packed the Town Hall, genuine treat
by presenting in a delightful fashion
the three act comedy, "Billy's Bunga-
low" by Elanor M. Crane.
A summer house party of nine,
spending few days at Billy Middle
tons bungalow on Cedar Island, are
suddenly benefit of cook and butler,
and worse yet, of the only boat that
could end their marooned miseries!
This desertion left the party in sad
plight from the culinary stand point
practically mine miles from lemon, :"
as Sydney Smith once said, since tho
their larder was not quite empty, none
of those novices knew how to use it.
In act II some amusing Illustrations
of amateur cooking are given, wherein
Col. Varker volunteers to make the
coffee, and Teddy Thurston to scram-
Bile the eggs. The Colonel's Mocha
brew after 10 minutes or SO boiling, was
strong enough to float an iron wedge
in its tannic acid stew, and Teddy's
burnt-leather "aig" product smelt SO
strong the cook himself had to hold his
nose during the operation
The choice of Mr.. Taylor Barnett as
Teddy to make the impossible omelet
was something of a misfit, for every
wise housekeeper in the audience could
plainly see from the deft manner in
which he broke the hen fruit that he
had done the trick before.
The host, Billy Middleton, who does
not know hominy from rice, finds big
lot of it and purposes to boil "a
cupful" for each member of the party
only four quarts or SO! The event
would have reproduced the distress of
the young wifey's first essay in rice
boiling, wherein the pesky white grains
swell0d and overfowed, and swelled
and oVerhowed till the distressed dar-
ling had half the empty pots and ket-
ties in her kitchen filled with the stuff,
and more still coming!
Miss caldwell side steppedhe share
by declaring she didn't even know how
to "broil tea"-a witty variant of the
jest about the green young cook who
couldn't "boil water without scorchlng
it,.
The "fresh" collegian, Gordon Mid
dleton, who was bidden by Peggy to
''cut some bread" sawed away till he
had enough of the staff of life stacked
up to stock restaurant, and the
"bloody Hinglishman, Hon. Francis
Fairweather Spaulding, volunteered to
milk the "cream cow, and got kicked
into cooked hat for his pains!
The entire cast was well sustained,
and each character acted with life and
naturalness that drew no end of appre-
ciative applause and merriment from
the house.
Miss Helen Brady as her custom is
played with matronly dignity the role
of Peggy Middleton, Billy's wife. Miss
Rebecca Watkins as Kitty Campbell,
the "bud'', and Miss Frances Watkins
as Dorothy French, acted the amusing
love scenes. the flirting, the pouting
and the tears, so to the life one might
have thot they had had some experience
therein! Mrs William Davis, as Miss
Cauldwell, did the senti mental "old
maid" to perfection, her angling for the
colonel being clever enough.
The two roles that lent themselves
most to character display, were those
of the Hon. Francis Fairweather Spauld-
ing an English exquisite, and Colonel
George Varker, from Washington. Mr..
Alexander P. Corbt in the first, and
Mr.. William Rose in the last, sustain
ed tn )se roles to the full, while Mr..
William Keegan made the most of his
as Billy Middleton the Bungalow host
and Messrs. Taylor Barnett as Theodore
Thurston, and Edward McIntire as
Gordon Middleton, did no less with
theirs.
Take it altogether the thing was well
done, and will no doubt equally please
the Chesapeake City public where they
appear on February 1st for the benefit
of the Episcopal Church, and the Odessa
folks who will will welcome the troupe
home on the Sd of February.
The affair, which was under the
charge of the Junior Auxiliary of St.
Anne's Episcopal church netted their
missionary treasury $167. rs to the great
delight of their worthy rector Rev. P.
L. Donaghay.
1t would be graceful act of praise
worthy benevolence for these sprightly
comedians to repeat their enjoyable
performance here or, at Smyrna for the
benefit of the hapless starving millions
who compose Belguim's heroic bread
line.