AMUSEMENTS.

Auckland Star, Volume LVIII, Issue 155, 4 July 1927, Page 5

AMUSEMENTS.

■ . "LADY BE GOOD/' LAUGHABLE MUSICAL PLAY. j From "Lady Be Good"' one brings nwav vivid impressions of beautiful colour, schemes, very charming frocking. clever! i ballets and the amusing fooleries of Jimmy; . Godden and Elsie Prince. This second Williamson-Fuller venture is not quite so J good as '"Nanette,'' ■which had D-itter. music and something like a plot, but the i new piece is undoubtedly amusing and | very bright. The music is more jazzy j than "Nanette," which had some real j tunes in it, but the ballets are better, ori • at any rate they are more attractive. Some j . very lovely colour effects are secure:. . mainly by means of the dresses, lints | and shades rather than decided colours I s have been used with very charming 1 results, two in particular being vcry 1 artistic—one in which shades of hjnna predominated and the other in which the ■ prevailing note was sea green. i '"Lady Be Good"' might be called any- . thing from '"The Mixture as Before,"' but l apparently it gets its title from the heartrending cry of J. Watterson Watkins (Jimmy Godden). the lawyer who can't draw the Mexican girl's dollars without producing the lady herself—and she is serving a sentence for having bitten a gentleman's ear. He wants a temporary genorita, and eventually Judy Trevor (Elsie Prince), who is '"living on the sidewalk"' in New York, or wherever the play is supposed to take place, consents to play the role. Those who remember this amusing little lady in '"Nanette"' will be able to visualise how she revels in her mantillafandango part. Her keen sense of the i grotesque enables her to get every ounce i of fun out of the exciting situations in which her impersonation places her. She is particularly good in the laughable scene where she is produced i before the people who have to be! satisfied there is such a person, and! Watkins acts as her interpreter. (.mo of the few female comedians —as distinct' from the plentiful comediennes—she can I charm as well as make one laugh. Jimmy Godden has another of those semi-serious parts in which he is so good. His Watkins. the lawyer, would hardly be an or-a-ment to the Bar, whatever he would be to i the bar. As in '"Nanette"' he has some | jingling songs to sing, but it is his j eccentricities and mimicry that make i him such an asset to the show. He and Elsie Prince have some killinely funnv dialogue and make the most of it. In addition to her other '"parlour tricks.'"' Elsie Prince adds that of dancing, and gives some further examples of her combination of the dance and the acrobatic turn with the aid of some of the young gentlemen of the company. Of the voices in the company. Mr. CHude Holland, the baritone, has the best, but it must be confessed that there is nothing of a .very fascinating nature for him to sing. "Mexico"' being rather reminiscent and not very convincing, either as to words or music. There is some excellent dancing, and among the specialities should be mentioned the work of Alma Mackie and Jack Smith. There is much robust humour in the piece, but one must protest aeainst at least one of the "jokes."' A lady is twit- . ting her gentleman friend with not being very intellectual. "You only use your j head," she says to him, '"as a place to part scurf." _ One might expect that sort 1 of humour from a couple of blowsy old , ladies over the back fence in slumdom. or i on the lower deck of a man-of-war—but it . seems a little out of place, and unneces- . sary. at the theatre, where to some of the audience at least it is very near to revolting. j Lady Be Good ' will be repeated nightly during the rest of the week, with matinee on Wednesday. t REGENT THEATRE. After a very enthusistic reception on ' Friday night, the tour leading semir j final ists_ in the Auckland section of the; f . Miss New Zealand 1027 screen contest' x were given a great hearing at the;r' j appearance at the New Regent Theatre j Saturday evening. All four girls were | beautifully gowned, and their parade amid I a gorgeous stage setting made one of the j 1 most brilliant presentations ever offered! - by the theatre management. Novel screen j r and stage tests were carried out. and the! ; contestants given an opportunity to display their acting capabilities. Their fur-; I ther appearances on nights later on this 4 week should draw larre audiences to th• - ■ Regent. On the picture section of the bill of fare the stellar attraction is Paramount"s > "London,"' in which Dorothy Gish is j starred. Her performances in ""Yolanda." ">>ell Gwynne" and "Orphans of the! t Storm' were the cause of much en-' thusiasm. She is seen as an orphan girl I staying in the great metropolis with her; aunt, whose harshness finally drives the girl to seek her fortune on the streets. She | meets a wealthy young man. who takes her home and persuades his mother to adopt her. This arrangement, however, does not i last long, for the two young people fall in love with one another and are married. 5 John Manners has the male lead, while the > film also shows Paul Whiteman. who has , been called "The Ring of Jazz," and his famous band. Special music has been '' arransed for the Regent Orchestra by Mr. Manrice Guttridge. and is rendered ex- '• cellently. Eddie Horton at the Wuriitzer s organ is an entertainment in himself. His - interpretation of Schubert's "Serenade"' z was popular with the whole house. o DIXIELAND HELPS WORKLESS. 0 The proprietors of Dixieland, at the j. suggestion of its manager. Mr. Norman , Loveridge. has determined to make a special effort for the benefit of the unemployed. A _ grand gala night has been organised for Tuesday. July 5. Many :i ladies of the Jewish community of Auckland have also taken great interest in the g effort designed to assist the workless of . this city. Mrs. Ada Follick, a well-known " social worker, who has assisted many y charitable causes, has organised ladies' Y committees to assist in the movement, t The Rev. Jasper Calder has placed bis band of voluntary workers at the service of the ladies committees, and it is hoped that the City Mission fund to relieve distress will be augmented considerahlv. A varied and entertaining programme c been arranged bv Mr. Loveridge and i.is i- staff. Miss Gwen McNaughton wsd s execute Russian and Spanish solo dance*, e The famous International Band will render. h under the baton of Mr. C. Howlev. some novel instrumental items, which have nr-v;r been heard before in Auckland.