STAGE JOTTINGS.

Auckland Star, Volume XLIV, Issue 34, 8 February 1913, Page 14

STAGE JOTTINGS.

HIS MAJESTY'S THEATRE. To-night— Pictures February 17 to 22—Rickards" V-iu<leville Co February 24 to March &—"Get Rich Quick WaHingiord. PICTURES. King's Theatre. Royal Albert Hall. Lyric Theatre. Kiug George—Durham Street. New-ton Picture Palace (Continuous) Queen's Theatre (Continuous). Globe Theatre—Queen Street (Continuous). VAUDEVILLE. Opera House—Nightly. Auckland boys who are jiow men may recall the genial Bob Love, first as a vocalist and later as husband of the lady owner of Hannston's famous circus and menagerie. Mrs. Love died in Calcutta on December 18th, the day the circus was to have opened there. She had been 35 years in the show business. Mr Harry Lander, tie etories of whose carefulness in money matters axe being repeated in American newspapers, presented lus wife at a Ohrietmae dinner, {jiven by Mr William Morris, witih an absolute promise to retire frojn the stage as coon as he has saved £120,000. Tho comedian estimates ithat lie will have this sum safely in the bank eit the close of his farewell itour of the world, which will start in New York in 1914.

Clement Scott, in "The Drama of Today," tells a curious story about Mr George Rigraoid, the actor-manager, whose death was announced recently. John Oxenford, the critic of "The Times," bad been seriously ill, but, hearing of Rignokl's anxiety for his opinion of the performance, good-naturedly got up from his sick-bed, " accompanied," saye Sir Soott, "iby one of the most distressing and hacking coughs I have ever heard within the walls of a theatre. When the cough started, it waa barely posfidble to distinguish one word spoken on the stage." The cough grew louder and louder, and Rignold at Iwst came forward and eaid he could not go on acting " unless the old gentleman in the private box can suppress his distressing buit evidently depressing cough." Oxenford at once left the theatre, and after the curtain fell, someone said to Rigraold, "You have sent away John Oxonford, of 'The Times,' who came out of a sick-bed to help you at your own special request!"

Outside a picture palace in Brussels, Belgium, a man was walking up and down the street in a sta.te of great excitement. The manager of the show approached the stranger and made inquiries as .to wlnait had upset him. " What has upset mc!" exclaimed the man, suddenly producing a revolver. "My wife i* in that building with her lover, and I am going to kill them loth when they come out!" Anxious to avert the tragedy which 'he saw was inevitable if something was not done to prevent Hβ perpetration, the manager slipped into the theatre, stopped the performance, and related to the spectators the interview that Jie had just had with the desperate husband outaide. " And now, ladiee and gentlemen," the manager went on to say, "any of you who prefer to do co can leave by *he emergency exit over there, which opens out on to a side street." The lights were lowered, and the performance woe resumed, but before the last film was 6creened it was noticed that 13 couples had taken their departure.

XeHa. Webb, of the incoming Rickarde Co., I am informed, i» a blue-blooded aristocrat from the arietocra-tic Southern State of Georgia. VHA.. Her grandmother, Ella Wallace, was. a noted American authoress. General Lew Wallace, a.ucW»of the novel "Bon Hur." is her grand-uncle. Hack in her mother's ancestry it> William Wallace, wi' whom tin? Scots bled. In her father's familytTec is Sir John <_>gden, an Elizabethian knight.

The cast of "Get Rich Quick Wallingford -, includes Messrs Fred Xiblo, Harry Cnrson Clarke, James H. Manning, K. Perie Bush, Cyril French, Edwin Lester, Adams, Fred Cambourne, Robert Whyte, Arthur Glynn, David Jefferson, Henry Matsumoto. George Whitehead, H. H. Wallace. Syd Smith, John De Lacey, Robert Greig; also the Misses Beatrice' Holloway, Margaret Dale-Owen, Maud Wingfield, Rosalind Smeaton, Marian Dunn, and Enid Bennett

(What does it coet to drese for the variety stage? It depends on what you are. If a knock-about comedian, any old thing will do. If a star lad(7 entertainer, then the capital sunk in drees, for the stage alone, will -be as much as' would purchase a considerable business in full going order. Mies Nella Webb provides an. example. Her stage -wardrobe, without jewellery or private wardrobe, is insured for £3,000 to cover its value. Mies Webb's ontlfit begins with the 10 Paquin gowne. They arc of varying value, from 120 guineas down to 85 guineas. In them there is an outlay of something over £1,000. Then there are lace coats, muffs, and hats. JPure are a separate item. Coming to Australia towards summer, the artist has left her furs behind. Afternoon gowns for matinees, must be provided, as well as evening gowns. They are s-imple, inexpensive little costumes, about £40 to £45 each. One little eu-perstition involves Miss 'Webb in extra outlay. She will not open anywhere except in" a gold frock. She thinks it her a lucky start off. The gold frock causes the stage costuming just to tip over the £3,000 scale with the insurance company.

Mr. J. C. Williamson in an interview at Melbourne said:—"lt should be of interest to Australian audiences to know that Mr. Lewis Waller and Miss Madge Titheradge will visit Australia in July. I had the opportunity of seeing Miss Titheradge in 'A Butterfly on the Wheel. , She is developing into one of the finest emotional actresses in England. The Waller season will include 'King Henry V.' and 'Monsieur Beaucaire,' in which Mr. Waller was the original Beaucaire, and 'A Butterfly on the Wheel.' Then, too, Mr. Tallis and I have secured the rights of the London success, 'The Sunshine Girl,' which has just opened in Sydney; The Girl in the Taxi,' a successful successor of 'The Quaker Girl.' and 'Princess Caprice and Gipsy Love/ The last should enjoy the success of The Merry Widow.' The London production was delayed by the necessity for making a special selection of a company capable of taking the parts. Further, we have purchased the rights of 'Within the Law,' the American success, and Mr. G. M. Cohan's musical play, 'Forty-five Minutes from Broadway.' "

Ten million pounds a year is a low estimate of the money paid by the people of the British. Isles to see pictures. In the United States, where there are 15,000 picture theatres, nearly 150,000,000 dollars a year is taken at the doors of thoee places of .entertainment.

Moving pictures of the runeral of the white wife of Jack Johnson, the negro pugilist, were recently by the Chicago police-

Miss Eugenic Duggan is an advocate for making the best of things and looking upon the cheery side, also a believer of the influence of environment and colour upon the nerves; therefore her , dressing room at the King's Theatre is all pink, and roses riot over the creamy loose covers of the furniture.' A most striking touch is given by a set of black satin ribbon embroidered toilet tidies, which represent some admirer's kindly remembrance of her.

(A Frencn version of "Kismet" wae performed very recently at the Theatre Sarah Bernhardt for the flret time in France. The audience wae a very brilliant one, and the lavjeli manner in which the play was staged won Tmetinted admiration. But, notwithstanding the gorgeous staging, it ie dioubted whether "Kismet" will repeat ite triumph in London, for it is stated in a cabled report that, despite the splendid acting of M. Guitry ac Hadji, the beggar, the audience found the play somewhat monotonous and childish towards the end.

Mr. Fred Niblo, the young American comedian, who achieved an electric triumph in the title role of "Get Rich Quick Wallingford", is, says a Sydney newspaper, thoroughly wrapped up in his art. His first acquaintance with the stage waa obtained through taking part in amateur theatrical*); and it was his connection •with these that really gave him the idea to adopt a professional career, but this was not until after he had gained success as a society entertainer, and had won popularity in vaudeville. It was' while appearing in vaudeville that he was asked to cut his turn down a bit—it consisted of the monologue style of entertainment —and try it on the variety stage. He did so, and the novelty of his performance won him distinction, and what was said to be the biggest salary then paid for this class of performance. After repeated offers Mr. Niblo was eventually persuaded to accept a position in dramatic work. Opening in the "Fortune Hunter" in New York, Mr. Niblo subsequently starred in that play for two years in the States. In fact, he was still playing it when Mr. J. C. Williamson saw him, and engaged him for the present Australian tour, and it is stated that he receives the highest salary ever paid by the "firm" to a dramatic artist.

Mr. Chia, who was married a few days ago, in Melbourne, to Miss Eunice OamrHo Russell, is a well-known Chinese resident of that city, and was formerly First Secretary to the Chinese Consulate. Miss Russell is one of Melbourne's prettiest girls, and at one time played in Julius Knight's Company.

Mr. Julius Knight is urging the J. C. Williamson management to arrange that he appears in Shaw's play, "Man and Superman," during his present Australian engagement.

Mr. Joe Smith, the Melbourne playwright, is getting a name as the writer of "girl" plays. His last play is "The Girl of the Never Never." The title of a previous play has been altered from "The Bushwoman" to "The Bush Girl." The Anderson Dramatic Co. will open their Sydney season with "The Bush Girl," and the other Australian girl of the Never Never will probably also make her first appearance in Sydney during the season at the Palace Theatre.

The members of the "Get Rich Quick Wallingford" Company rose to the occasion when called upo_n to assist to collect money for the Dunedin and-Christchurch Life Saving Associations. Mr. Fred Niblo, iMr Coreon Clarke, Mr Robert Greig, and other lea-ding members of the company engaged a lorn - , and with the assistance of the "Wallingford" band, they paraded the streets and delivered a delightful entertainment, while the lady members of the organisation proceeded to mix with the assembled populace with collecting boxes. Over £300 was collected in Christchurch and the Dunedin result was also satisfactory.

"Yes," said Mr. Hugh D. Mclntosh, chatting with a Sydney reporter, "we have floated the big concern with which I have been connected for some time into a company, with a quarter of a million capital. We will now fly our own flag as 'Harry Rickards Tivoli Theatres, Limited,' and it will be our endeavour to give Australians the best vaudeville. It is my intention to work the Rickards circuit in connection with a big circuit in London, and another big circuit in South Africa. In this way we will put a girdle, so to speak, round the Empire, and very little that is worth having in vaudeville will be lost by our Australian audiences."

Messrs Allan Hamilton and Harry riimmer, who, as announced last week, are reorganising their company, and at the same time strengthening it considerably, will revive "Dr. Wake's Patient" with an exceptional cast, when the company begins operations in Sydney this month. The new management, adding to its repertory wherever possible, has secured the Australasian rights of a new London play called "The Woman of Impulse," written by Victor Widnell. It is further announced that Pellissier and his original Follies Company from the Apollo Theatre, London, will tour Australasia next year under the direction of the new firm, which is clearly beginning work in a spirit of enterprise. *

The earthquake scene in "The Monk and the Woman," is one of the most Tealistic that has been staged. One thing that assists in the nightly demonstrations is the remarkably quick change from the interior of the King's cnateau, where the final scene with the king and the conspirators takes place, to the eruption of the mountain and the falling and blazing chateau. By means of some of the latest mechanical appliances the whole of the scenery is swept away with the working of a lever on one side of the stage, and the army of stage carpenters and property men are at their posts ready for a signal to set the mountain in flames. Instead, as in most dramas, coming in the middle of the production, this earthquake scene takes place at the end, and so sends the audience away with the vivid impression of a most realistic scene. '• Dagonet," in the " Referee," quotes the following amusing letter he has received from an aspirant to the stage:— " Sir, —I have been in domestic service for some years, and am anxious to get out of it. Could you give mc a letter to Sir George Alexander, as I should like to go on the stage? Having always been with first-class families, I should be more at home in society plays than melodrama. The Sunday off will be a great boon to mc, as my young man is in a business where he doesn't get his evenings. If you think the theatres are going to be open on Sundays, don't trouble, as that would alter my plans." Denver, Colorado, has just passed an ordinance regulating the frequenting of picture theatres, dance halls, and skating rinks. This, we are told, is for the protection of youth and prevention of juvenile delinquency. It is now unlawful tot any person under 18 years of age to attend public dances after 10 p.m., unless accompanied by a responsible chaperon. Children under 16 may not attend a public amusement after 7 p.m., unless accompanied by an adult. Two inspectors, a man and a woman, have been appointed for the better enforcement of this order. THE DEADHEAD.