"ALADDIN."

Auckland Star, Volume XLV, Issue 70, 23 March 1914, Page 9

"ALADDIN."

THE WILLOUGHBY PANTOMIME. The wond.r is not 'that pantomimes are so mm__ alike, but that the makers of this form of entertainment always find,something new to satisfy the jaded palate of the inveterate theatre-goer. They have long passed the limit of juvenile appreciation f'>r -wgieh they were first invented, ami tue homely nursery rhyme is _j embroidered with etceteras that the young folks are only capable of appreciating a tithe of what a decade or so ago wa. built up fc-olely for their delectation. \V_ still have the breezy boy, the guileless girl, and the mannish mamma, but they say and do such very modern ami up to date tilings that mast -of '.be small auditors regard them merely as people who rill up the gaps between the events which really matter—Lhe advent ofthe knowing steed with hi. acrobatic attendant (usually of tie -imian tribe), and the other ocular oddities which still make the pantomime a bright and glowing- spo: in .the infantile niemorv. -Aladdin."' Mr. George \t illoughby's pa-ntomime. which re-introduced, Aucklanders to tiie glittering story of the

"Arabian Ni_lits"' on Saturday evening at His Majesty's Theatre, follows the fortunes of that gay youth much in the same way as oilier pantomimes. It opens with more t.h.in a suggestion of dullness. All the good things, like the huge diamonds, are not found until w.ll on in the evening, and the second avt goes alone merrily, with a rush and a clatter that sends everyone home amused and satisfied '"Aladdin"' is

well put on. although there are no specially gorrjeouf scenes as in some of its -predecessors, and thcTe are crowds of shapely people who buzz around Aladdin and his quaint maternal relative in a vivacious manner. There •ire not many very catchy songs, which is fortunate, as i he principals are not Melons or Carusos. The best voice belongs to lhe ('Miss Mabel Batchclor). who -in_s a_.tr actively about the topics such young people discu=s —-Hear;. That. Fr.!." ' "'I Need You," and things of 'bat kind. Miss Carrie Moore round handsomely a.s Aladdin, billed as "a JV-Trm urchin." All one can say is that if all the urchins of that wonderful city have as many and as resplendent ciTstirmes, the offsprinir of the millinnarrrfi min=t be very fine birds indeed. Also in the. it-trac-tive 5.1 rh of a siajje boy is our old friend. Miss ilrace Palotta. who w-.is warmly W-Iconrcd in 1 his her latest role. We have had more amusing Widow Twankeys than that of Mr. Edward Stanley, hut, .that is not to say that he does not contribute largely to the fun of the .h'storic search for the wonderful lamp, and the encores he received snowwi that he whs appreciated. Aladdin's uncle 1 Mr. iTVrcy Clifton) is another of the amasinc characters in ihe piece. Mr. Joe Morns and Mr. Ernest Shand as a donkey and monkey respectively arc responsible for much fun. The monk-ey is specially _ood, and his by-play funny with the exception of the foraging expedition, which, although life-like. Iwrrdered on the. disgus ting.

Two of the features of the pantomine ;are the performing ponies introduced by -Mr. Morris, and the two troupes of acrobats. .Mr. .Morri.-' ponies, three in number, are exceptionally clever. Two of them wrestle Willi a coloured attendant named John He.d_e —a very droll man—and the hy-play of the smaller animal of the two is almost human. There are two bits of acrobats. The Royal Mid_ets are six or .-even girls who put on an interestine; turn. Morris and Shand, (wo of the Mephistopheliaa type of acrobat also bare a clever turn, and the third member of their troupe, Tiny Tot Mar.jorie. is the smallest and cleverest child we have seen on the stage. She cannot be more than ahout live years of age, yet she goes through some mo*fc difficult feats in tumbling, which excited the most genuine applause of the evening. She is so tiny that one almost feels sorry for her. An innovation is the Ragtime Revue, with which the first, act comes; to a. conclusion. For this event the people taking part do not come on in time honoured manner but walk over the audience on a specially erected gangplank filling ip the central aisle, which common-sense and the city by-laws require s-hould he left open. During the revue Miss Fallon and Mr. Marcelle gave an exhibition of ragtime dances. As we

said bpfore the piece is well put on. and the lighting effective, with the exception of an irritating limelight that works from the front of the gallery. There was an overflow house on Saturday evening, and the applause showed how the pantomine was appreciated.