DRAMATIC NOTES.

Press, Volume LX, Issue 11524, 5 March 1903, Page 10

DRAMATIC NOTES.

"Weekly Press and Referee."

The Williamson Musical Comedy Company is now in Wellington playing a brief return season at the Theatre Royal. A new piece, "A Circus Girl," was staged on Monday night.

The Hawtrey Comedy Company is able to put into the field a cricket team of more than ordinary merit, and with such firstclass players as Redgrave, Musgrove, Hammond, and Monk, the team takes a lot of beating. While in Dunedin the team played several matches, and came out with an unbeaten u-ecord, and on Friday last the first match played in Christchtirch resulted in an easy win for Ihe theatrical representatives. Mr Hawtrey is a very keen cricket enthusiast, and he evidently inspiies the members of his company with some of bis enthusiasm for the game.

Under tine direction of M-γ J. C. Williamson, at the Sydney To-vrn Hall on Wednesday night, February 4th, the Misses Amy and Dolly Castles gave tihe first of their two farewell concerte. Miss Amy Castles was in good form, and all her songs were tastefully and artistically rendered. So far as Miss Dolly Caetlee is concerned (saye a Sydney payer), it would be unfair to subject her to minute criticism. Admittedly immature, the little lady possesses a Toice certainly worthy of cultivation, and if, at times, her interpretation wae faulty, that drawback can easily be overcome with study. While she may not., perhaps, reach the topmost rung *>i the professional ladder, she should go sufficiently near it to compensate, her for the closest application she might make to her art.

The fact that the Maori opera "Tapu" is almost entirely the work of >"ew Zealanders, the music being by Alfred Hill, and the libretto by Arthur Adame in conjunction with J. C Williamson, will lend special interest to the firss performance in Christehurch, which takes place at. me Canterbury Ha!i to-moirow evening. The principal idea of the story ia that the Commonwealth, having failed to induce New Zealand to join the Federation, has sen:, a delegate to agitate amongst the Maoris in the hope that native discontent may prpve the first

etep towards the accomplishment of the desired end. The delegate comes to New Zealand and gets lost in an inhospitable part of the Tarawera Country, where, the natives not being civilised, all primitive customs are in vogue amongst the people. The natives are informed that the delegate is coming to see them, and expect his arrival. They mistake a stray comedian, who crops in promiscuously, for the delegate, and receive him with great pomp. He i» treated with true Maori hospitality, and finds the delegate business pays so well that he decides to keep up the imposture. When the real delegate arrives, accompanied by a bodyguard of four stalwart "new women," the Maoris take him for a fraud, and the complications begin. The delegate is taken prisoner, and is doomed to die, but he is given a chance, he may either marry the sorceress or be cooked. He prefers to be cooked. Just as the unfortunate delegate is being hurried to the pot, a band of civil servants, who have been sent to look for him, appear on the scene and identify him. Then the leading lady claims the "comedian as "tapu ,, to her, the delegate is duly honoured, all the incidental love-making is worked out to a happy ending, and everything ends as it should in a well-constructed comic opera. The scenery (by Brunton) is described as being excellent, while the dresses were specially designed by Will Barnes, lately of Sydney, now a leading designer in New York. Mr Hill, the composer, will conduct each of the three performances of "Tapu" on Thursday, Saturday, aud Monday. There will be no performance on Friday owing to the hall being otherwise engaged.

Referring to the departure for South Africa of Mr and Mrs Sydney Drew, wiio have just closed their long engagement with Mr Rickards, the "Sydney Morning Herald" gives a summary of this clever couple's antecedents, showing that they have somewhat condescended in devoting themselves to the variety stage. "Mr Drew belongs to a theatrical family, which dates back 114 years, and has given several famous-ar-tists to the stage. His mother, Mrs John Drew, the celebrated Mrs Malaprop of the American stage, is the grand-daughter of Mrs Kinloch, who supported Macready for so long. His father, Mr John Drew, stained in Australia, about 35 years ago in "Handy Andy' and other characters. His brother, of the same name, is the famous actor of so many classic characters in New York and in London, under the late Augustin Daly's management. Mrs Sydney Drew, who is a daughter of McKee Rankin, and the sister of the beautiful Phyllis Rankin. the original Fifi in the •Belle of New York,' has enjoyed a noteworthy career in classic comedy with her husband." The Drews have gone to Johannesburg to assist at the opening of the new Empire Theatre there. From Mr Ueorae Dean, the proprietor of the Royal Waxworks and Vaudeville Company, I learn that business continues excellent at the Choral Hall, Wellington, where the company is now in its thirteenth week Mr Fraser Shaw (tenor) hsws joined the company, and made a distinct hit with his illustrated songs, "My Georgia Rose" and "The House of Too Much Trouble." Mr Dean has sscured several new pictures for 'his Edi-sonograph. The competitions, which have proved so popular, are stili held at regular intervals. Mr Alec Anderson, the representative of the Majeroni Dramatic Company, writes from Masterton, under date February 15th: "Just a line to let you know that the Majeroni Dramatic Company are tnjoying the pleasure of playing to big houses, and are all in the beet of health. We are just concluding our northern tour (which hab been an artistic and financial success), and are shortly returning to the West Coast, opening at West port on March 12th for three nights; Greymouth and the other towns to follow."

Saye the London "Daily Telegraph" of the dramatic year just closed:—That there have not beeii quite so large a number of striking individual performances in acting as there have been hi former years may be partly due to the fact that several of our most" interesting actors have spent most_ of the year in America. Sir Henry Irving only "returned from the States to give a revival of "Faust," Mr Martin Harvey produced one bad play, "Eugene Aram," and then hurried off to America. Mr Charles Hawtrey was only in England long enough to produce two indifferent pieces; while Mrs Patrick Campbell, Mr Weedon Grossmith and Mr Willard have epent most of their time oii the other side. Sir Charles Wyndham, however, gave several interesting performances, especially that of securing a, knighthood ; while the following, taken haphazard, lire some of the most notable personal successes of the year: — Miss Ellen Terry as Mistress Page in "The Merry Wives of Windsor," Miss Marie Tempest ac Kitty in 'The Marriage of Kitty," Miss Annie Hughes in the title part in "A Country Mouse," Miss Gertrude Elliott as Little Britain in "Mice and Men," Miss Marion Terry in the title part in "Eleanor," Mrs Calvert as the housekeeper in "My Lady Virtue," Miss Suzanne- Sheldon as Huguette in "If I Were King," Mis« Constance Collier as Athene in "Ulysses," Miss Ethel Irving in the title part in "The Girl From Kay's," Miss Lilian Braithwaite as Nancy in "The Finding of Nancy, ,, Miss Ellen O'Malley as Merthe in "The Mouse," Mr Beerbohm Tree as Faletaff in "The Merry Wives of Windsor," Mr Arthur Bourchicr as the Bishop in "The Bishop's Move," Mr H. B. Irving as the butler in "The Admirable Crichton," Mr Henry Kemble as the Duke in the same play, Mr Leonard Boyne in "The Marriage of Kitty," Mr Seymour Hicks in "Quality Street," Mr Charles Warner in 'The Telephone," Mr Henry Ainley as Paolo in "Paolo and Franceeca," Mr G. P. Huntley in "Three Little Maids," Mr Robb Harwood in "The Little French Milliner," MrEdward Sass as the circus master in "The New Clown," Mr Mark Kinghorne as the drunken engineer in "Captain Kettle," Mr Thomas Kingston in "Monsieur Beaucaire. , ' Miss El.en Terry has gone back to Mr Beerbohm Tree at Her Majesty's, to play in a revival of "The Merry Wives," and, as she has other separate engagements in view, among them an American tour with Mr Charles Frohman, writers are jumping to the conclusion thai her professional connection with Sir Henry Irving is ceasing. To a representative of the "' Daily Express." however, Miss Terry gave this idea a flat contradiction. She was asked :—"Thc-.se plans mean that you have played your last season with Sir Henry Irving?" "That kind of nonsense has been hinted at and written for 20 years," says Miss Terry, with a pardonable shade of" annoyance in her'voice, "but it is no more true to-day than it was 20 years ago." Mr Richard Ganthony, author of "A Message from Mars," has recently completed a new play, to which he has given the title of "The Prophecy." 'History has a curious knack of repeating itself, and, as in the case of Mr Gantiiony's earlier work, managers, it would appear, have looked askance upon his later piece because of its extreme unconventionally. Consequently, he has determined to give it a short trial trip himself. In this manner he proposes to test its merits and demerits on his owtt responsibility. In order to secure an appropriate environment, for the astrological and psychic mystery that pervades his story, Mr Ganthony has laid the scene of the play in Sweden, and selected 1598 for the period. It was in that year a total solar eclipee took place, and for a long time subsequently the date of that occurrence was referred to as Black Saturday.

At the conclusion of Madame Melba's tour, Mr Albert Clarke, who hae been attending to the box office arrangements on behalf of Mr Musgrove, will remain in the colony to await the arrival of the "Sweet Nell of Old. Drury" Company.