Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1918-03-15

After parade, the next afternoon !
was almost mohhcd Everyone Ia thc
section wanted % part ia the proposed
sketch, When informed them tml 10
would take ut lousl ten days Of hard
work 10 write the plot they were Bit
terry disappointed Immediately got
busy, mndc a desk out of biscuit tins
In the corner of the billet aud put w
sign "Empey 4 Wallace Theatrical
Co." About twenty Of the section,
upon rcudlng this sign, Immediately
applied for the position of office boy,
| accepted the twenty applicants, aud
sent them on scouting parties through
out the deserted French ylllOgc, These
parties were 10 search all the 0ttlcs for
discarded civilian clothes, ana any
thing that we could use In the props
Of our proposed company,
About five that night they returned
covered with CRIME and dust, but load
ed down with II miscellaneous assert
mcnt Of everything under the sun,
They must have thought that | was
going to start department store,
Judging from the different things they
brought back from their pIllagc,
After eight days constant writing !
completed n twaNct farce comedy
which called THE Diamond Palace
Saloon" Upon the suggestion Of one
Of the boys In the section sent a proof
Of the program to Il printing house In
London, Then assigned the different
parts and started rchearslng. David
Bclnsco would have thrown up his
hands in despair at the material which
| had to use. Just imagine trying TO
teach Tommy, with strong cockncy
accent, to impcrsonatc Bowery tough
or Southern negro,
Adjacent to our billet was an open
field, We got busy It; one end of IT ana
constructed n stage. We secured the
lumber for the stage by deuOllshing
an old wooden shack in the rear of
our billet.
The first scene was supposed to rep
resent street on the BowcY In New
York, while the scene Of the second
act was the interior Of the Diamond
Palace saloon, also on the Bowery,
In the play | took the part of Abe
Switch, u farmer, who had come from
Pumpkinyille Center, Tenn, to make
his first visit to New York,
In the first scene Abe Switch meets
the proprietor Of the Diamond Palace
saloon, ramshacklc affair which to
the owner was financial loss.
The proprietors name was Tom
Twistem, his bartender being named
Fllem Up
After meeting Abe, Tom and Fillcm
Up persuaded him to buy the place,
praiSng it to the skies and telling
wondrous tales of the money taken
over the bar.
While they are talking, an old jew
named Ikey Cohenstein comes along,
and Abe engages him for cashier. After
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7'u'''', Il ''e'' '"', f., ,n
upon ''e SuEE'N''om ~ hwy =, - va
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them, arm In arm, leave to take pos
session Of this wonderful palace which
AOe mas Just paia So'Voo 'or' our
talh)
In the second ACT the curtain rIN'S
on the interior oI me pI''I'o''' l"I"''
saloon ana the "uuIpH'' S',S us ''IN'
shock Inc saloon LOOKS "N' I,N'
pen TWO 'rH'''I'S F'''S "ru''N WI Nv
Ioor' ana li'' o"r''"o'I III " "''N
SI'Irt WIN ms sleeves ro'''u up "S'''P
WIN MS hc'u on '''' p"I'
Enter Abe, Sambo ana key ana 'h'
ilun commences.
| one of the characters in the second
act was named Broadway Kate, ana !
had an awful job to break in one of
the Tommics to act and talk like a
woman
Another character was Alkali Ike, an
Arizona cowboy, who just before the
close of the play comes into the saloon
and wrecks it with his revolver
We had eleven three-hour rehearsalS
before | thought it advisable to pre-
sent the sketch to the public