STAGE JOTTINGS.

Auckland Star, Volume LV, Issue 76, 29 March 1924, Page 18

STAGE JOTTINGS.

I Lillian and Girls, a new act for the | ! Fuller circuit, has been booked in Lon- j !don toy Sir Benjamin Fuller. They are j said to be a trio of the prettiest and i cleverest girls seen in vaudeville. ! Tho difficulty in getting an actress of j ability who is* willing to play opposite j a real negro is rumoured to be seriously retarding the production of Eugene j O'Neill's new play, "All God's Chillun j Got Wings." ; Lieut. Commander John Philip Sousa had the honorary degree of Doctor of [ Music conferred upon him by Marquette : University of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, I I recently. The formalities took place at j a student - faculty convocation. The "March King" became leader of a band at the age of seventeen, and he has been I at the head of the present Sousa Band • since 1992. France, Belgium and Eng- ! land are among the countries in which he has been honoured with decorations. , Blake Adams, a well-known London j comedian, who is now in Melbourne, ; and is to appear undor the J. C. William- ! son Ltd. management, is a son of the I famous English dramatic actor, who was i a notable figure on the English stage some years ago. He supported Sir Henry | Irving in his best-known productions, and for some years was also associated with Mr. Cyril Maude. He also toured under his own management "Beauty and j the Barge," one of the most successful ' plays in Mr. Maude's repertoire. Mr. , Blake Adams, jun., was appearing in j the London production of "Whirled Into , Happiness" when he was engaged for j Australia by Sir George Tallis. There has. been some confusion in Mcl- | bourne over tho similarity of the names ; of two actreesee who are now appearing there, for Miss Madge Elliott is playing in "The Cabaret Girl" at Her Majesty's j and Miss Gertrude Elliott in ''Bluebeard's Eighth Wife" at the Theatre Koyal. A day or two ago J. C. Williamson, Ltd., received an application from ; a patron for seats at the first-night i performance of Miss Madge Elliott in ( ! "Bluebeard's Eighth Wife," and in the i ' course of his letter said he hoped the . popular young artist would make a sue- j cessful appearance in the new comedy! | Dame Nellie Melba, on hearing of this : incident, said that it was only a little j while ago that ehe was asked whether at her next concert ehe would oblige by singing Tolstoy's "Good-Bye." j At the Royal Albert Hall Sunday concerts of late, says the London correspondent of the "Metf lurne Age," (January ,17), Australian singere have had unusual j prominence at functions which provide as many visiting star artists as is possible. Thus, on Sunday week, Mine. ; Lily Payling was the contralto soloist i of the afternoon, while hist Sunday i Mme. Rosina Buckman and Mr. Mai- ' colm McEachern were both on the pro- I gramme. As to tho visiting star artiEts ; referred to, the Royal Albert Hall will be the scene this year of the triumphs . which certainly await Galli-Curci on her first appearance in London. This en- > gagement has long been talked of, and . it is now announced as entered into, at j prodigious cost! This famous lady is j not due to be with us, however, until ; October next, a fact which, neverthe- i less, has not deterred the management from advertising already the first concert. It is nine months away, but there is understood to be a large demand even sow for Galli-Curci seats.

A cable message recently published recording the death oi Mrs. Banks, widow of the author of thai old-time favourite, "Silver Theada Among the Gold," tells how the Danke , house was wrecked in quarrels over the £15,000 the eong produced. It was in the seventies that this eenimental ballad was the rage, and the amount rtSie author received is rafchor more than the £12,000 reported to have been netted off "Yes, we have no Bananae," cays "T.D.H," in •the "'Dominion." Tho first tremendously popular eong is etated to have been "After the Ball," for it was probably the first eong that one could buy everywhere in 'English-epeaking countries. 'Before it appeared the music publishers had not waked up to the idea of distribution. One of the arts of. popularising a Bong is to pay leading vocalists to sing it, and one American vaudeville favourite, Miss Eva Tanguay, used to get easily £100 a week for each song she eang, and as her programme included six, this brought her from £600 to £ 1000 a week in addition Ito her salary.

There is a great dearth of good British plays, according to theatrical managers in Bondon. Three London theatres—the St. Martin's, the Ambassadors and tho Queen's —are starving for want of suitable bills of fare, and the Reandean management of these theatres is offering £-100 for the best three-act or four-act play by a now British author. The play must 'be the work of a British subject who has never had a play performed entirely by professional actors for a run of more than a week. In addition, the play must not have been published —a condition which bars much interesting work that never has found its way from the bookshop to the theatre. The great dearth on the London stage at the moment is comedies. The average playgoer has ehown fairly clearly that ho does not want problem plays, and managers scarcely can be blamed for looking rather askance at tlie "serious" drama. But one would think that it should not .be necessary to go to the trouble —as more and more managers are doing—of adapting comedies from tho French to amuse a London audience.

i The successful competitor in the coni test for the first award of the Caruso ■American Memorial Foundation, which 1 will be held in Now York some time in i Hie spring, probably will be Bent abroad, where many opera houses are j available, to obtain the experience and final training coming from actual operatic appearances. Eligibility will dej [vend upon familiarity with a few opera roles, as well as general education and 1 musical talent. The amount of the i award depends on the proceeds of a j performance of "Cavalieria Iluatioana" and "Le Ooq d : or' at the Metropolitan ' Opera House, for -the benefit of the : foundation, of which Paul D. Oravatii lis president. "Caruso, probably more ! than any other single artist," said Mr. I Cravath, "'made the opera a democratic I and popular institution. Because his j appeal to the general public was bo genuine it was decided soon after his J untimely death to perpetuate his influ- ; ence on 'America's musioal life by eslaJ)- ---! lishing a permanent and practical ' memorial. The foundation was organised to 'help talented young artists, in j need of financial assistance, complete ! their musical education. The contest for this year's award will be limited to ' American singers, native born or ; naturalised, who are preparing for an j operatic career."