"THE THIRTY THIEVES."

Auckland Star, Volume XXXIII, Issue 242, 11 October 1902, Page 3

"THE THIRTY THIEVES."

There is a proverb that "A cobbler should stick to his last,'' and. another that a man should mind his own business, likewise a further one, that "Onlookers see most of the game"; and, steering- between the two former and the latter, one may be permitted to wonder for what inscrutable reason the management of the Musgrove Comic Opera Company put on so hopelessly an inept production as "A Chinese Honeymoon," devoid alike of Trit humour or music, ahead of "The Thirty Thieves," which, though by no means a Gilbert and Sullivan success, ox even worthy of comparison with "Florodora," is yet a tuneful, bright and amusing entertainment enough, and as superior to the former productiop as diamonds to paste. The plot 0 f modern musical comedy is rarely of importance, and almost invariably tails o— into an incoherent jurnbie and pleasing confusion long before the first act is half advanced. "The Thirty Thieves," which is two parts pantomime-burlesque to one of comedy, is no rotable exception to the general rule, save that the thread of the story is stronger than usual, and that there are some decidedly fresh ideas. "The Thirty Thieves" are a set of smart society young men who, having been robbed of their own money by gaming on the Stock Exchange, and by company promoters, resolve to "get back" by robbing others. A reward of £10,000, offered by the Lord Mayor, is already out for their apprehension, and they themselves and everyone else in the play, including the Lord Mayor himself, are after the reward. They put the police on the wrong track, and having terrorised the Lord Mayor's secretary into joining them burgle the strong room of the Mansion House, and remove all his gold plate. Also they cany off all the ladies of the chorus. The secret of their store is, however, known to an old woodcutter and his son—two very tiresome characters, by the way—and to their servant Marianna, with whom the captain of the Thirty Thieves, known as the Baronet, and other people, are in love. The Lord Mayor's daughter, and the secretary (Mr Lauri) are likewise in love with each other, and there are half a dozen or so other complications out of which fun is obtained, and through which somehow or other the burlesque is brought to a satisfactory close, with a truly magnificent ballet. There is eertainy plenty for one's money of one sort or another in "The Thirty Thieves." The dialogue, it is true, is deplorable, and the gagging excessively poor, but the latter half of the first act and the whole of the second are replete with music which, if of the lightest, is yet pleasing and catchy. Some effort should, however, be made to induce the members of the orchestra to keep within a few bars' time of each other. Half a score of times last evening both time and tune were ignored, each instrument "going on its own," as it were, the conductor being apparently oblivious that anything was wrong. This taste for individuality on the part of the instrumentalists while perhaps interesting as an experiment, is somewhat harassing to the vocalists and the audience, and one would suggest it should be confined to one or two selections only, and that these should be played outside.

The parts in "The Thirty Thieves" are much better balanced than in "The Honeymoon." Mr Lauri has the most of the work to do as the Lord Mayor's secretary, and he does it thoroughly well. Mr Lauri is not a noisy low comedian, and he does not drive his points at his audience with a sledge hammer, as one or two of his profession we know do; but he is really funny, and in/jses an immense amount of comic business into his part, taking advantage of any extra opening with amazing readiness. His scenes with Miss May Beatty, in which he cannot respond to her loving overtures for fear of breaking his oath to the thieves, are broadly comic, but free from anything approaching vulgarity or excess. Miss Beatty plays a moderate •part vivaciously and well, and her voice is much improved. "When a Gentleman is Paying his Addresses" and "Just for Once" are both capital songs, and were well sung. Miss Stanton, as Marianna, has good opportunities, of which she fails to take full advantage. Her singing, however, was appreciated, and she received an emphatic recall for her rendering of the interpolated ballad "With You."

Mr Piddock has much more to do than in the former production, and does it well. His fine baritone voice is heard to much advantage, especially in the song "How Can I Make You Love Me?" which gained a well merited encore. The other parts are well filled.

The Porcelain Ballet, with which the production concludes, is exceeding well worth seeing. The ladies are of the shapliest and the dresses of the most sumptuous and beautiful we have seen here for many a long day. The concluding spectacle was received with enthusiastic applause, which was thouoghly well deserved. "The Thirty Thieves" will be repeated to-night and on Monday, when the season ends.