"ROSE MARIE."

Auckland Star, Volume LXX, Issue 189, 12 August 1939, Page 7

"ROSE MARIE."

A HAPPY REVIVAL.

OPERATIC SOCIETY SUCCESS.

SHOW OF BRILLIANT FEATURES. The courage displayed by tlie Auckland Amateur Operatic Society in choosing "Rose Marie" for their year's public performance was amply rewarded in the quality oi its opening production at His Majesty's Theatre last night, and by the ready and unstinted appreciation of a large and enthusiastic house. A complete answer to timorous souls who had feared anticlimax from comparison with more or less recent stage and film productions by notable artists, last night's production was, in many of its phases, a brilliant surprise. It was a vindication of the confidence reposed in local talent to sustain the major roles with credit, and a display of the wealth of the play's sidelights in dramatic and musical features in which the interpretations were so striking and spirited that this 14-year-old world's sweetheart, "Rose Marie," came to many of the audience in a new guise, with fresh, lovable caprices that re-engaged their affections.

It was a "Rose Marie" sweetly garbed as they 'had never before seen her, ready to go places with a song on her lips, and going such thrilling places in such joyous company that the gaiety of the night was infectiously spontaneous.

The settings by \V. Baker, who painted the scenes when the play first thrilled London in the Drury Theatre; the ballets arranged with modern effects by Miss R. Powell, of Dunedin. and danced with a certainty and graceful rhythm that might have won the right of entry to a Russian ballet; the graces of the lesser lyrics and ■incidental music accented by the choral and orchestral work to a point of charm recalling that the Friml-Stothnrt pact had given us also "Firefly" and "Katinka"; the sudden realisation that here was a "Wanda" of unsuspected influence in the moulding of the romanceall these, and other features were bright threads in the kaleidoscopic -Indian rug of colour, spectacle, music, dance, comedy and romance that was the "Rose Marie"' woven under the spell of Stan Lawson, his staff and the company all.

Sybil Phillips in the title role and Tony Bex as Jim Kenyon displayed adequate! dramatic and vocal ability in the very difficult task of satisfying an audience grown critical of the leading lyrics and personalities through other .performances in which the parts had been taken by great notabilities. They made the romance of man and maid a charming reality, and their voices in the "Indian Love Call" duet and the theme song reprise gave the necessary distinction of these outstanding lyrics. Rex's "Rose Marie" song with Fred Baker (Sergeant Malone) was a feature of the musical programme, and Miss Phillipps' solo with chorus. ""Sedate and Stately Minuet" and bridal song fully emphasised the sprightliness of the nnisic. The pair made a lead of exceptional strength that added confidence to the cast.

The '"Wanda" of Bettina Edwards was one of the very pleasant surprises sprung | on the house, for the character was elevated into a prominence which was not undue, though hitherto overlooked, by the artiste's able dancing characterisation, supported by a ballet conception which made the '"Totem Tom Tom" number one of the play's highlights. Fred Baker's resonant baritone was a distinct asset in fitting him into the pait of Sergeant Malone, and, with Miss Phillipps and others, in making the lyrics "Why Shouldn't We." "Only A Kiss" and others stand out in the vocal numbers. •

On the comedv side the play's success owed much to the manner in which tTie arch and frolicksome Lady .Tanc was portrayed by Antonia Martinengo. Her dramatic experience and talent enabled her to give the right whimsical touch to flirtatious passages with Fred Baker as the power behind the bar counter and in the frock shop, and she rose gallantly to the demands for more hilarious acting. to knockabout point, in her comedv with Basil Robson. The latter lias a flair for the more robust tvnc of funmaking, and in the role of "Hard-boiled"' Herman, alternatively fawning- and bullying. he kept the merriment moving brisklv. Other excellent studies were Xorman Wright's Kniile. the Hawley of Brian Fisher-Betts

anrl Flo White's Ethel Brander. Mr. Wright's nice singing tone in support of tlie principals, and Miss White's solo. "'Pretty Things," were features of their work.

In a production rich in highlights and outstanding attractions such as the .backwoods hotel, totem pole lodge, novelty shop, ballroom and Kootenay Pass scenes, with appropriate ballets of most intrigningly novel type, and costumes, frocks and settings of striking character, as well as .picturesque characters, the most outstanding and vivid personalities were those of "Wanda - ' and of the little solo dnnseuse, Rowena Jackson. Probably less observed, hut equally important in its ultimate effect, of giving full savour to the many-sided charms of the play, and a balanced production not dependent on just a couple of singing stars, was the zestful efficiency of chorus and orchestra under Mr. Colin Muston's baton. Without a single fAlse step or note the company carried the show to a brilliant first night success, and they even triumphed like professionals over one or two backstage hitches and an unexpected counterdiversion in the stalls.

"Rose Marie"' will be produced nightly for the next two weeks, with matinees on Saturday.