THIS OPERA HOUSE.

Auckland Star, Volume XXVII, Issue 290, 7 December 1896, Page 3

THIS OPERA HOUSE.

"THE WAGES OF SIN."

The change of bill »fc tho Opora lloueo on Saturday night drew a very l&rae audience, tho piece staged by Mr Alfred Woods being Frank Harvey's sensKtionnl drnmu, "Tho Wage* of Sin." Though running mera or ie.is in tho oeual melodramatic groove, ib ia a disfciactly powerful play, witn plunfy of dramatic situations, and wish the lightsand shades cleverly iaterwwren in tho long and elaborate p!ob. The central theme deuls with •• '-he shadow of the crime " which always hawge ovor si culprit. In the preaenft instance tde guilty one if a poor woman, who, sunk from high life to the depths of London poverty, i« a moment of desperabiun Hte&la a pur*o to obtain foed for her starving cinh). Evon when rescued and broaghli back to her old friends the shadow of her crime retnain3 with her. However, everything, of course, ends happily. Tke-villain <>f the play, who had marriad the heroine under false pretences, and had brought! hor to such depths of misery, is denounced. Sbo &u4ti her former lever, whom *ke had thrown over for the villain, and the course of true love runs at lasb untroubled. Though the piaco m» through five act*, tho iatere<)b wast rimtained throughout, asd tho attention of tho audience never waNderod. Tho part of the heroine was moab abiy sußCuined by Miss Idrone Thornton. The brunb ot fcho work fell bo her share, but she came through ib with credit. She threw an oarnestnes* and vigour into hor noting which appealed directly to tho sympathies of the audience, while there was not a touch of exaggeration in the tragic scenes. Mr Alf. \7(soda had a quiet; bub powerful parb as tho curnfca, and ho made it very effective. Mr Alfred Boothman naada a capital viilain. Tall, dark, and with a " baaao profundo" voice, he suited the itarb to perfection, while hi* acting wtiß natural and vigorous. Mr Colioib Dobson gava n really fitso pourtrayal of a dignified but kind-hearted military officor, while Mr E. B. Russell waa very comical in thecharactor of Ndd Drummond. Miss Echal Grey acted her part sympathoticnlly, and, wun repeatedly applauded. Miss Marion AJedway depicted to the lifo the woman "in the. groan-grocery line." The quainb vulgarities of tho vendor of cabbages kept her hearers in continuous merriments Miss Maud Gywno was good aa the "budding" actress, and the minor characters were all wall sustained. Tho staging and mechanical effects were all that could be desired. The play will bo repeated thin evening.