Martinsburg W Va evening journal. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1913-1920, 1918-03-21
| 0IS7 on
ARTHUR GUY EtIEYl GO

for further details.
After parade. the next afternoon ]
was almost mohhed. Everyone In the
sketch. When informed them that II
would take ut least ten days of hard
work to write the plot, they were bit.
terly disappointed. | Immediately got
busy, made Il desk out OF biscuit tins
in the corner of the billet, and put up
a&sign 'Empey 4 Wallace Theatrical
Co" About twenty of the section,
upon reading this sign, Immediately
applied for the position of office boy
| accepted the twenty applicants, and
sent them on scouting parties through
out the deserted French village. These
parties were TO search all the attics for
discarded civilian clothes, and any
thing that we could use In the props
of our proposed company.
About five that night they returned
ed down with a miscellaneous assert
ment 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 plllage.
After eight days constant writing
completed two-act farce comedy
which / called "The Diamond Palace
Saloon" Upon the suggestion OF one
of the boys In the section sent proof
s,ft ha t.N tft1,v In
London. Then assigned the different
parts and started rehearsing. Dnvi0
Belasco would have thrown up hit
hands In despair at the material which
| had to use. Just imagine trying tt
teach Tommy. with strong cockne,
accent, to impersonate Bowery tough
or Southern negro.
Adjacent to our billet was an opei
field. We got busy at one end OF II anc
constructed a stage. We secured the
lumber for the stage by demolishlnt
an old wooden shack in the rear o.
our billet.
The first scene was supposed to rep
resent street on the Bowery In New
York, while the scene of the secon(
act was the interior of the Diamond
Palace saloon, also on the Bowery.
In the play took the part of ABB
Switch, farmer, who had come from
Pumpkinvllle Center. Tenn, to make
his first visit to New York.
In the first scene Abe Switch meet
the proprietor of the Diamond Palace
saloon, n ramshackle affair which tc
the owner was financial loss.
The proprietor's name was Tom
Twistem, his bartender being named
Fillem Up.
After meeting Abe, Tom and Fillem
Up persuaded him to buy the place.
praislng 1t to the skies and telling
wondrous tales of the money taken
over the bar.
While they are talking, an old Jew
named key Cohenstein comes along,
and Abe engages him for cashier. After
engaging key they meet an old
Southern negro called Sambo, and
upon the suggestion of key he is en-
gagged rs porter. Then the three OF
unem, arm In arm, seave 70 take pos
session of this wonderful palace which
Abe has just paid $4,000 for. Our
,tain.)
In the second act the curtain rises
on the interior of the Diamond Palace
saloon, and the audience gets it's first
shock. The saloon looks like "A pig
pen, two tramps lying drunk on the
floor, and the bartender in a dirty
shirt with his sleeves rolled up, asleep
with hfs head ON the bar.
:, Enter Abe, Sambo and key. and the
fun commences.
One of the characters I'm the second
act was named Broadway Kate, and
had an awful job to break in one OF
the Tommies to act and talk like q
woman.
Another character was Alkali Ike, an
Arizona cowboy, who just before the
close of the play comes into the saloon
and wrecks 1t with his revolver.
We had eleven three-hour rehearsais
before I thought 1t advisable to pre-
sent the sketch to the public.
The whole brigade was crazy to
witness the first performance. This
performance was scheduled for Friday
night and everyone was full Of antici-
patton; when bang orders came
through that the brigade would move at
two that afternoon. Cursing and
binding was the order of things upon
the receipt OF this order but we
moved.
That night we reached the little VIII
lage Of S. and again went Into rest
billets. We were to be there two
weeks. Our company Immediately got
busy and secured the village for a
suitable place in which to present our
production. Then we received another
shock.
A rival company was already estab-
llshed in the village. They called
themselves "The Bow Bells ano
put on sketch entitled. "Blighty-
What Hopes7" They were the divi-
sional concert party.
We hoped they all would be soon
In Blighty TO give us chance.
This company charged an admission