A SUCCESSFUL ENTERTAINMENT.

Alexandra Herald and Central Otago Gazette, Issue 1210, 3 December 1919, Page 5

A SUCCESSFUL ENTERTAINMENT.

The looul Town Hall was packed to ovei flowing last Thursday evening on the occasion of the entertainment given 113- members of the Girls Physical Drill Glass, assisted by a tow gentlemen friends. The programme of uttraetivo Hems which had been in circulation for some'days, no doubt drew tbo crowd iu anticipation of something particularly good, and no out- went away disappointed. The staging effect was very pvetty, being ' draped and furnished as a drawing room. The chorus girls were uniformly dressed in vuo rose tunics, short Itiaclc skirts, and pink stockings.. The gentlemen wore white flannel trousers, and dark maroon bowlei jackets. The' whole company looked smart,, the colours harmonising. The programme, which was kept going with little delay, was well received. Encores were frequent, but tha length of the programme prevented response, although in somo casea'the audience were not to In: denied and insisted on recalls. The entertainment started with; selections from the Alexandra Orchestra,, the audience showing their appreciation of. this- local musical combination by hearty applause, which was well merited. The* action song < Drilling ! bv'thefeomu'ahy was quite a novelty, the song.beingittcoompanied with a few simple physical,,drill exorcises, as also some appropriate dance; steps. ;This/;;was a nnst effective' item and an encore win in sisted > on. -A Let/ the great 1 big world ' and ' That dear old homo,' two nice songs, thy solo part being sung ; by - Miss Mborhead, the company joining- in -the-., chorus.,.. The first was accompanied by a maypole effect. Mrs Gladstone, monologue, being a selection from ' Tonight's the night,' was very well .rendered. ... Thewouls were f-poken quietly,-clearly and, effectively, getting in tho requited touch of humoiuv Tlj6 rniisic was appropriately soft and in ho. way interfered .with tho elocution, "Miss Berry and Mr. Bellr were partieul&gjy I happy in the presentation of ' titfj | .Mr Baggy Breeches,, assisted by several of the/': chorus, A:)l ' dressed in quaihv Dut«h costumes, of brilliarib' hues and^wbll•patehed.'' The audience enjoyed^this item: /Miss. -N : ..: •O'lv-'jne 'cello /solcr 'met' ! vtits] the usual weloome,, sis ted. on. and given,. Three son >/s had to be/given bY MrXeddell b<ti'.>v the audience would.be coutent to piss ou ito the nest item on tho programme.,

His first was 'Father Q'Flyn/ and his fchirdi the old favourite.,' Shot eOx with spots.' A short comedy entitled ' All's Well ' ; concluded the first part of the programme, in which three of the company, Mrs Gladstone, Miss Schaumanu and Mias M'Corkindale took, part, the last narajsd taking the part of a male character with considerable success. The second part of the programme included—Song, ' Rose of No Man's Land,' Miss M'Ginnis and chorus ; songs, ' Black Eyed Susan ' and « Maryland ' Mrs J. A. O'Kano in coon costume, and chorus. During the singing of the chorus, Misses M'Corkindalo and Schaumann also in character costume danced a fox trot. Another comedy in which eight of the company took part—Misses Ross, ,T. M'Corkindale, Brown and Maskill, and Messrs Marsha, Thomson, Phelan and Holloway—titled ' The Rehearsal/ from which the audience got a deal of fun. Songs—"The Goblin Man 'and ' Chu Chin Chow ' by the company, Miss M'Corkindale acting the part of the goblin man, and Mr Moorhcad that of the Chinaman both in appropriate costume and both sustaining their difficult parts well. The programme concluded with a chorus titled ' Follow the Tram Tracks/ the singing of which way preceded with a short comic item by four gents in which one or two local hits were introduced. The accompaniments for tho evening were played by Mrs O'Kano with her usual marked ability. A * real good show ' was the general verdict. The entertainment must have entailed considerable work on the part of the organise!s, through whose efforts a sum in tho vicinity of £is will be handed over to tho local Fallen Soldiers Memorial Fund. A successful dance followed the concert,