"HELLO, POPEYE"

Press, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22492, 29 August 1938, Page 2

"HELLO, POPEYE"

■' ♦ FRANK NEIL’S BRIGHT REVUE

BILLY COSTELLO HEADS STRONG COMPANY

The full ranee of song, dance, comedy. and novelty entertainment is covered in “Hello. Popeye.” Frank Neil’s Hollywood revue. the Chnstchurch season of which opened at the Theatre Royal on Saturday. Distinctive acts are presented with the interludes oi the tvne which have made revue so popular at high speed, and the general polish of both performanceand staging place the stamp of merit on HeUo Popeye.” The entertainment is crisp, bright, and diversified. . The climax to two and a half hours of frivolity, specialty turns and pleasant pictorial scenas is the act staged by Billy Costello, the possessor of the voice of that quaint celebrity of the cartoonist, Popeye the Sailor Pop r eye’s voice is world famed; but, until Billy Costello threw aside the facial mask of the screen character on Saturday before Canterbury friends of the iovial sailorman, the personality behind the voice was a stranger to them. His many friends were not disappointed, for on the stage Mr Costello reproduces to the full the vibrant and rather remarkable singing personality of Popeye. He does wonderful things with a voice encompassing the whole range of tone; his is a trick voice, masterfully controlled. There are other acts of a quality meriting their being headlines on any revue bill. One of the most delightful. amusing, and brilliantly executed dance features seen on the New Zealand stage is “From the Sublime to the Ridiculous.” in which three clever Americans, the Elite Trio, appear. Refinement marks it. even in the burlesque passages. The development of this adagio dance is rich comedy. Then another claimant for top place on the programme is Billy Rayes, who juggles balls and clubs while dancing and pattering along his sophisticated path. His ease and nonchalance make his dexterity all the more bewildering. Something positively new in tumbling is shown by the Kermond Brothers, who work at cyclonic speed on the ground and through the air. Their acrobatic comedy is smart, too. The harmonica playing of Horrie Dargie is a delight He can “swing” music with all the restraint of a Duke Ellington band and then switch to the more charming melody of Friml, and then climb to a new peak of mouth-organ musicianship by a delightful interpretation of “Hungarian Dance No. 5,” by Brahms. The harmonica, applied to Dargie’s lips, becomes a diapasonic instrument, not a shrilly piping reed. Extremely neat simultaneous dancing is tne best offering of the Ritchie Boys, although their “Egyptian Nightmare” ranks as good burlesque. They dance as one man when reading newspapers, and introduce many new steps.

The comedy team is strong. It’s star is Ruth. Rudie. who, as a really funny woman, is a rarity. Saturday’s audiences were convulsed with her comedy as the lugubrious and knowledgeable woman in the uproariously amusing scene in which she was partnered by two other Americans, Syd. Page and Peggy Earle. Miss Rudie's eccentric dancing is also highly 'diverting. Syd Page’s comedy is of the minstrel sideman type and it is a pity that he has only one opportunity for dramatic acting, as he shows, in “Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde,” that he has a flair for histrionics. Miss Earle’s style is bolster ously exuberant. Joey Porter, a* standard comedian, makes numerous appearances in sketches, a mixture of new and old. Some of the jokes in the lighter moments of the show have been shaken from the chestnut tree, while a few could well have been rejected altogether. Beautifully designed, dressed and lighted ensembles provide the spectacles of “Hello, Popeye.” The 10 vivacious girls of the chorus, and also five others of a more decorative Marcus type, display many picturesque costumes while moving with elegant grace through the classical dances and with sparkling rhythm in the modem rou-

tines. There seems to be ivj end t the movements which can be demise** for ballets, which remain one of tne basic attractions of revue. The vocalise are Kay Zammit. whose sopiano voice is well controlled in the diversmea songs, and Betty Lambert, an trallan soubrette and true to type. Then singing is pleasant, their stage presence is dainty and they dance aeaiCTThe dance and song scenas are elaborately mounted and the ingenuity « the electrician is exploited to heighten the many effects which please the eye. “Hello, Popeye'’ is a balanced showIt has no dull moments, inaeca. few revues have been so packed with outstanding acts. The show is a£ * : , st ®s along its merry course by the wars oi Wally Reynolds and his orchestra"Hello. Popeye” will be presentio throughout this week.