STAGE JOTTINGS.

Auckland Star, Volume XLI, Issue 293, 10 December 1910, Page 14

STAGE JOTTINGS.

' ■ t-Htm wMwt to Alteration,) -" - . pee, Ji te W. -rr Qwtte WiPTO'it^jr tert with WHy t*jrtiiTffl' AWIBW haw* ?*«tw.^' : - ; '-:-

#t Ws ¥*i«tjf« T?}<*tre, tit tmm* M. ime, ' k Wfe»t H«w«ae4 te Jflp«_•. , '?fflp lata Phfts. tmrtA 4^tmii«iftifttb»fii«*ftdp«*Aft ftge, »»4 IS «H(i 19 MY* fp?-. tHßP.put pfjfc -Twp re«w l»f«r- -Mr. WteWjWff; Vmp Zealand Wt¥ IH dW» W*tt WEraifierabie TB|a will in thp present revival agwin aSSUme that breezy character. Mr. Fred \% haa b?W specially engaged to pl*y bin OJ4 pf Bbenezeririn which he mado something of a distinct success Whefle Jfcpjf- Yftfa Arpold. AiTr Shftrp, wi»« the wig of llbeqezer for tk't «f a barrister, and in that capacity has been practising in Wellington. -yyUl again (Swpga hi? headgear for- this interesting Jfia Jast the%tPioftl work was with Ada Rsevo afc the London Criterion., ftnd in '♦The Jfjfht T**t Hailed-* with jppfbea QB, He %w to the serionssesfi of the law, whence he wttl return after the present iViterlyfa B.e*i_rice U»y will play Gfoßdley,. "dBp«(8 a will 1* play«it for a few nighte only, ap4 ti»e smos, wift close at the end pf next wpel?, wife ope or two perfprnisnws Of mai% oi the Pftrty, 1 * ';>:""-

To return to a, imgge-_.tj._m made feat i week. What about '-IV Balkan "Priftv 1 cess"? WiH the WiiMaww uwwgement consent to its flr*t prcsduetiftU 6p t.hi*| Wdet The ppsitipn i* tWv Tlsa V&J m wen m ?ehws.al to* wm Umi and fe ready fe? yrpdnetion- Jt'wai, »I PPW w fact, to.mvve been produce*! dur* fog the Qhr.stouM season pa "the pffief side, as ppe pif Mr. TaliU' pi«se pari*- i iFWhs informs we a week or two ago. Now, will "the i\m" h«i*w New Zealand with giving it first chunee (fqr owe in ft way), with all the dresses eta, fresh mk '■ "just of the «p to aay; ox uhftll we he {«#*! oflT ffltyl .#|jk Dollar prineeaa" aa the only original pro, I duetipn b,m&, two jevivalat % think it Is %f to ns tp <¥»& fgi «The mSbw Princess," and to endeavour to gee that I ,we get it. The new pieoe enjpyad a yery jm In temm afyl/.tedeed. ranked smong the few jji the lyrip lafit. ye%r. The s<«W» *ra #t tu'oue of those lw* pean States to which (, Zenda" act the fashion. The librettlat *nd wmposef j compriaei Mr. Fred liOnadale WM, mfc auch ft big snepeas with I< The King of Cadonfe*), and Mr. Pftwl ReuVw*

Apropos of the ivbnve, we tr» «o eont tinnally told that scenery cut §re '<'f)faetly UiflMiiie" ("and who deniges of it Betsy'-* as Mrs. Gamp would observe) that there can. be no,,difficulty about a debnt^ l *fe?fe;"*'SO lai'"as setting is concerned. Anyway, apparently the alternative is a revival of "The Belle of New York,?- Md the BeUe-rthouglj still a Belle, and attractive-—is a hit passe.

"The Collar Princess," -which is the next big Williamson attraction, was practically "made" in London (at Daly's) by the magnificent acting of Lily Elsie and Robert Michael is; and, having seen that- production, and being well aware of the difficulty of the main parts, and the material to be drawn on here, I can quite understand that the comedy has proved awkward to cast, and that the present attempt, after a shuffle in the parts, is not, in the opinion of some critks,- entirely successful. The "Bulletin," for •instance, remarks: " The Dollar Princess' is obviously not so well fitted to the company as many a Williamsonian musical comedy of poorer material. It now loses more than it gains by the putting of ; Florence Young in the part of Qlga and the transferring of Olive Godwin to the name part; for, whereas Miss Godwin filled the bill as a mock Countess escaped from a circus, she is not much like a 'Murkan millionairess who attends to the housekeeping. All tho same. ' The Dollar Princess' is a notably tuneful work, with intelligent aspirations to satire in the first act. -Bert Gilbert, Lottie Sargent, Greene, Clayton, Percy M»d others are , back in their old positions. The show is | stpurtly mounted, and the rush to the Princess's on the first n'ght prosmi3ed wfll f ox the revival.

As a fact, there are few pieces of its class which make greater demands on the histrionic ability of' certain 'of the performers. By Lily Elsie and Miefiaelis, the chief characters lifted right out of the ordinary—-a task I think few are capable of, for one must remember that that .really "great" antisfc Miss Elsie made the "Merry W»dow" at Daly's so different ft production from that to be -witnessed when performed «by any of the splendid provincial companies (the best of which I saw at Bkaplpool), that one could scarcely have conceived it the samp play. With Lily Els.ie in the part of "Sonia," one forgot the more questionable parts of the' play. She raised the whole standard," and imparted an entirely different atmosphere. Her entrance, at the last act, into Maxim's, amid all the questionable company of. actresses, roues, an/-' demi-mondaines, was a complete triumph of the domination of a first-class artist- over both stage and audience. Her pose, her walk, her appearance, her spirituality instantly quelled not merely the Uproarious "goings-on" on the stage, but' transferred its effect instantly to the audience. The immense superiority of her character, her purity, 'amid that was sordid and soiled, made itself pqignantly felt, though hot a ivord vyaiJ spoken (or sung), and the audience felt yieariously fhe sense of shame over be ing caught in ' such unworthy company, which over' the features of the admirable-played Prince. Sitting in one's stall; Miss Elsie had the power to' make one feel as ashamed and "small" aa one -would have felt; in bejng found in similar disreputable company by a women one respected, and 'Whose respect one desired. A very ' triumph of acting, you will admit.

I Too late for anything beyond briefest mention, this week, comes news of.Mr. ; Hicknrds' arrival hajclj: in Australia andh's recent engagements. Questioned by the jntervievyer, My. Rickiirds said: "Altogether I have arranged for ftbomt SQO persons tp come to Awstpdia, the turns I arranged for numbering si These engagements will cover up to the end of They will coat mc something like £65,000, Of this sum the travelling expenses will be £10,000. So I shall pay about £49,000 ip salaries." Lauder is not amongst the attractions; he is booked too far ahead. Details inna*-" "--> *»\ld over.- .

j Loraine, the English beauty .actor, who had the courage to soar into | world-wide popularity and into the 'heart of pretty, prosperous Marie Icohr On an awoptae, intends going into m»n--|ftg«B»eßt w Isia swa »?eonnt IM'n'.ffisnifd.MafiA" His little intended, although B«t 81. t|H Jnly next--iwhen the I weddipn l.»ppei«=4« «ne of th? iao.itd?Slr r 8*l« : Mil IBOft 4esife(J in BfffiWad/' liioraiM! ijimseif i? doing W tfee wild is ttw beatn4yefti§?4 pro ab wrth m<l is Ik? «r, Q$ wb#9, with ftfl fteronftHt there's «i--Mm *-filliMi.'fif ae* I»ftw| wt. apeofding te prc«sfr*n«ne; but »H going well, Refeert wtU oe?1*i«ly a&jep; wts IW4 fht-'PR'W pu l«?pffl%» fee* the "Bpite&j," is «e»t *n4 th«» the fwpktvrifttwiH «l H &A,?j"=*wW«l_. wb; | *#»te{:!.== ■■ WJjwwj" .te te .«*»,■ .•-:', Jji*f?* ftlw (inwfl tft »ra »<fUtt I In view of fttwrai'f«4ipa s! ?<The few*" hy th« §h**wpe*w eiw, *r4 wy B\»ppstiftp fawVi §\m\\\te pwt 9R We board? by thftt. wsateur c»Tgifflis§ti(», it ia interea'tmg to read that the comedy hag been brilliantly reyiyed in, London. Th* "Ilsiily gays: ArthiJT Jones has written ni«ny player plays, bui in *Ihe be wrote quits* one "of the wittiest cQflies«3B flf q\}F i\yosbptfer, indeed, hfts been writtep jn ppr time in the way of brilliant comedy than the third act of this play, and lastnlghtj at its revival, the play was reoaiyed with aU that f avanr which is only occasippally I accorded to a new production. Sir Charles Wyn4ham and Miss Mivry M°9T? ?s{•s«§ their 014 performances of Sir Ohristppher Peering and l*dy Jessie?, *fepea,n, and if anything <}eserves more praise than the pieise it'w the spting, ferSiF Phartes « f bivei wbw delightful «v* tt«.e g«Wei' I philosppher, and fliepd wh« shyest Jessica frovn herself, jwd Mis* afoore'g rebelliopa liady is qpw BW-Bi ! the best things she has dBPe, In an.esppllent cast all round Mr. Alfred Bishop and SstheifP #P«4»l'fflep' i Vm"' ,'" .-■:•--:.. ;: : "*:- -~. ";■" ' ;

Wteth't huge rfre«« mi mmmte opened a Dominion tour at the Bluff W wfe The preseftt eo,fflbwfttioi\ is s«id"to he aw of the strongest that the juieiars, Yif'Tth ia» ever brought to New Zealand. Th e PiT9U9 pTpyet progrftn>n\ Q includes quite a host of new performers, whilst th e menagerie has \>eei\ restocked .hy a nipaher qf' TWe W& IP' ' mills.

The most recent the*trio&l eestson in London offers a curious record (notes | i«w pftper)- Three-of the runwg pfeys isane fr°m m e mhers of one famiiy— husband, wife? and daughter. 6eeU Jteleighft Wtiip" i heap* pi oot (horw-oof mainly)'; 111 wife, m& Ah hmiesi, ig, regpansible fw "Bi»ter M»\e " »t thft Oorwet; *ad ». ?lay w Trutlwi" it tte waTif m , theif davighter, Miss E(sft fcftWlM.4fc: The* wtwea dTO't wm«Wi » !w«iy fainiUes hm, -'-:.. ft iw»t intere*»w« intermw wi*mm tmm\ ift WrJ, (V wtHwuiw »'.4 .*• M t«. ffiiw bwing vms -W'flfeyt hewpe thf were too »Se?t fo.r *w.W«i commencing in London «t ffll* *nd letting the Mdiwee wt «vt *iev?m- Sew« that audiences in the Commonwealth a«d Dominion would not stand this; that they must have a two-hour's and three-quar-ters to three hours' performance for their money. The point is one on which I take a great interest, and in which I very humbly venture tQ differ from Mir. Williamson. I believe people would Tather haye little and good, than much and mediocre; ami I have protested, over and over again, against managerial ta?ties in spinning out a short play by inordinately long intervals. I cannot go farther into , this matter this week, but will' return | thereto in next issue, and shall be glad of | the opinions of those who care to send I them along. Before Wednesday, please!

Let v* all earnestly pray, that the Clarke-Meynell firm may soon alter their opinion with regard to New Zealand, and appoint a local representative to look after their interest over here. Being badly advised, the combination some time back dropped "a. ppt of money 14 in Neyr Zealand, and have' since looked upon it with an unfavourable eye, though one aeries of dates for next year has, I understand, been booked- As a fact,everyone of the splendid eugagejnenfcs made for the next two years for the Commonwealth would well repay sending to Nc»w These include "The Gay Gordons," the iJWWjoM play which opens in, Australia at Christmas. Miss Ethel Irving, due about May, to star in such plays as " Dame "Lady Frederick" and "His House in Onder« and "The Chocolate Soldier* comic opera. We would forgothe -last , named if only Miss Irving were vouchsafed us. She is, without any doubt whatever, the best actress, in 'her own line (high' comedy) , on the English-speaking stage today. The Ogoar Af.he of 1912, booked to»the firm, includes New Zealand. Other 1911-12 engagements include Conan Doyle's boving drama, "The House of Temperley," and, of courae, Lewij Waller. Of the whole lot the most to be desired is Ethel Irving.

The nevr theatre which Mr. H. B. Jrving proposed to build near Leicester Square Will probably be completed in' little mor* than a year's time, when Mr. Irving will open it with a Shakespearean play on his return from Australia. As already stated, it will he called the Irving Theatre. It will accommodate 2000 people.

It appears unlikely that ''Salvation Nell" will 1 he brought 1 to New? Zealand by the Williamson Dramatic Company, which opens in Christchurish on Boxing Night, and is due in Auejdaud latere? It is probable a lot of no .vsnaper 'controversy on the play—an extraordinary, on*— ia -hereby * avoided,, are, moreover, compensations, for "Arms and. the Man,'-, the frit of Bernard Shivw'e |>l»ys to bo produced (professionally) in New Zealand, will he included in the repertoire. The school pf "Shavian enthusiasts in the Dominion (and connected with the Press) is now. exceedingly strong; and, aa in company with £.?•§-, they understand the value of artistic 'Ibpoming,.'. W e are likely to h?^ r a g«od deal of the play before •wis see it. vhite it* wees*, if *ny*»y reasonably acted, ig awvred-

Cinematograph statistics-are aa amazing as some of the films. Bor instance, I clip the following, from an exchange.— The chief combination or American manufacturers of cinematograph films produce 20,000 feet a week of now films, of which eighty copies apiece must be made, Mr. Edison's royalty, begun only' recently, from this to ah income of £1600 a week.. The middle' men or pay manufacturers $ 1,80.0,000, for films, which the former rent at about £3,(..p0,QQ6 a year to the a?t\iai exhibitors or showmen.. They in turn collected nickels and dimes in 18Q9, at their 10,000 ticket windows, amounting to m,5W,0Q9, Aad these audiences numbered n\ore than two and a-quarter million souls per day—three the audiences ot aU tl»e regular theatre* in America put together! , THE DEADHEAD,