THE GAIETY SEASON.

Auckland Star, Volume XXIV, Issue 91, 19 April 1893, Page 5

THE GAIETY SEASON.

••FAUST UP TO DATE."

Ips the highest compliment thab could PERH .t0 the"Gaiety Company, without be pßlv exaggerating 'its merits, would be t0 v thab it entertains its audiences so J? e*Li,| y that they forget to be critical ; t\ er words, tbat they are so well pleased "V. _hat they see that they never trouble Wider if it might be better. To du- *°- C°a_ audience in this frame of mind is a f-frnph for any manager, and is certainly 'which Mr Musgrove might have justly timed last night, when "Faust Up + Site" wok the place of " Miss Esmerl_a" at the Opera House. Notwithstand- • that the weather outside was about as !. d as it could be, the attendance ab the theatre was one of the largest since the Antra, company opened. If one were Srioa-ly to analyse "Faust up to Date a play.the P lece wouW inevitably sutler f\he examination, for ib is composed of J? fl; ms iest aud most gaseous element., ■ft the burlesque was never intended for "h serious treatment. Ib is its very VehtnesS, inconsequence, and ultra-ab-mtW that constitute one of its chief JL rmß . and help, as much probably I the brilliancy of its scenery and dresses, to make it so popular, Ardent lover, of the drama and of grand Inera may think tbab they would find it bard to forgive Messrs Sims and Pettit for bavinf burlesqued such a magnificent tragedy or opera as «' Faueb." Forgiveness, however, will come easy to the most staunch supporter of the dignity of the tragic stage when he has seen their joinc production a8 represented last night. To tell the truth, beyond the retention of the original title,'which is rendered ludicrous by a flippant addition, the burlesque has almost nothing in common wibh the opera. The characters bear the same names, bub they are not the same characters. In the one they have each a serious part to play, in the other there is nob an iota of seriousness in the whole of the gay company, which seems bent on seizing every opportunity to laugh or dance or sing. Of course, there is .ome sort of order even in the burlesque, bub the leading actors s.eem to have carte blanche as far as regards the insertion of the mosb atrocious gags and new busine«s, and they never lose an opportunity to heap Pelion on Ossa in the wavof making»a situation as supremely ludicrous as possible. Those who have seen Mr Lonnen and Mr Courtneidge in "Miss Esmeralda," and know their powers toprovokelaughter,can guess whabtheeffect is when these gentlemen exert them, elves to render still more ludicrous a burlesque which the authors spared no pains to cram with fun, When these lords of misrule are on tho .tago, it becomes a scene of unlicensed folly, where the most natural thing seems to be to piay the fool, and everybody tries to be natural. When this is the state ofanair. among the actors, it can easily be conceived thab the audience do nob eib in solemn silence. Xo wonder that they join in the general feast of unreason when their gravity is availed every moment with some new incongruity, some pun more audacious than its predecessor, some facial contortion more grotusque than usual. The Mephistopheles of the burlesque is not the cold, calculating, cynical devil of the original drama. He doe. now and then assume that role, but is evidently so uneasy in it, that he is glad to fall back into what is clearly his natural character—that oi a free-and-easy, familiar, jocular, and even funny fiend." He has one thing in common with the arch-enemy of mankind ; he can assume any shape, and for the entertainment of liis audience he sacrifices the dignity which we h_d always thought belonged to him—till wo saw "Faust up to Date "'—so far as to take on himself tha outward figure of a London costermongcr and sing Cockney songs. Mr Lonnen is well supported and sometime? even outdone in his folly by Mr Courtneidge, who, under the namo of the brave, high-spirited Valentine, presents os with a fatuous and perennially befuddled carpet warrior of the extreme Bacchanalian type. His appearance would be quits sufficient, withoub the the arrant nonsensicalness of his speech and action, to keep the audience in a state of laughter. So much for the gentlemen who sustained _o well the reputation of "Faust up to Date " for absurdity that knows no bounds, but the power and will of the comedians. Though fun is the key note of the wholo burlesque, there iff not wanting to the piece all the beauty and grace which Rweeb feminine faces, graceful feminine figures, and brilliant feminine garments, that vie with the rainbow, can supply. Miss AddieConyer. as Marguerite, is one of the most serious of that mad company, but, as it would havo been altogether a violation of the scheme of the burlesque nob to put jusc a souncon of fun into the impersonation, she is made a barmaid, and is introduced to Faust and the audience, when she is iD the act of putting an extra polish on to a half pint glass. The earnest prayer of the habitues of the stall was tbat all barmaids might be like her. These same gentlemen, and indeed the whole house with them, accorded a most enthusiastic welcome to "Ta-ra-ra," when that mosb piquant actress Miss Leamar sang the " terrible ditty," and danced bhab W.7 ._ measure with wild mcenadic fury. More preferable to 113 is the floating gracefulness of Miss Lethbridge in her skirb dances, which are undoubtedly the most beautiful displays of terp.ichorean art that have 'been seen in Wellesiey-street. The important part of the rejuvenated Faust was taken by Miss Lelia lioze, and she made it one of the most charming by ber sprightliness and grace.

Lastly, let us devote one word to the scenery, the costumes, and the general staging. They can most easily be treated as a vhole. for ib is as a whole, as a brilliant ever-shifting kaleidoscope, where the laughter of girls mingle with the liveliest of music, that " Faust up to Date " will remain loosest in the memory. From the time the curtain rises on tha gardens of the Paris exhibition to the closing scene in Nuremberg Square, the srage presents a combination of harmoniously blended odours that is only to be found in happy, sunny stage land, and only there when companies as large nnd as well-equipped a3 the Gaiety occupy the boards. The samo burlesque will be staged to-night and toJnorrcv.