Evening Republican, Volume 17, Number 230, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 26 September 1913 — REALLY WASN’T A SINGER [ARTICLE]

REALLY WASN’T A SINGER

Prospective Stage Hand Simply Did His Best at the Command of the I Manager in Charge. Mrs. D'Oyly Carte, who died recently, used to tell this story of the old days at the Savoy, when her husband was staging the famous Gilbert and Sullivan operas. ~~~ A seedy-looking individual applied to Mrs. D’Oyly Carte so persistently for work that at last she referred him to her husband. At the moment the latter was busy trying some candidates for the chorus, but this did not prevent the applicant from interrupting to ask him for work. Mr. D'Oyly Carte waved him off impatiently, but, after the applicant had repeated the request once or twice, he gave in and handed him the words of a song. “Sing that,” he said, and he motioned to the pianist to play the accompaniment. “Go on!” ' After some hesitation the stranger lifted up his voice and sang, and the result was so awful that the manager interupted hurriedly. “Stop, stop!” he shouted. “What do you mean by this tomfoolery? You have the confounded impudence ft> ask me for a job?” The stranger looked hurt. “Well, I didn’t want to sing,” he said, with an injured air. “I ain’t no singer. I’m a stage carpenter, an’ I only sang to pelase you, ’cos you asked me to!”