“Miss New Zealand” Show Has Beauty, Song, Fun

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31676, 11 May 1968, Page 14

“Miss New Zealand” Show Has Beauty, Song, Fun

Not often is Christchurch treated to the variety of beauty, song, and fun that was provided by the “Miss New Zealand, 1968" show at the Civic Theatre last evening. From start to finish the small audience, largely women, enjoyed the varied fare.

Competing, at first ineffectually, with a number of disconcerting advertisements on stage, a Maori concert party welcomed the Miss New Zealand contestants as they entered a darkened theatre from the foyer, led by the member of Parliament for Southern Maori (Mrs W. TlrikateneSullivan).

On reaching the stage, the girls performed the traditional rubbing of noses with the first row of the concert party. Thus, the first view Christchurch audiences had of the Miss New Zealand contestants was a row of trim derrieres.

The Quin Tiki band swung the show into action with three numbers, followed by the steel guitarist, Les Thomas. Then came the Miss New Zealand contestants, some displaying nervousness by dropping their voices, and speaking indistinctly. Lou and Simon held forth immediately after, but it was unfortunate that the volume adjustment on the micro-

phones was ill-arranged, and their quick humour was sometimes drowned.

The Quin Tikis returned with the best musical bracket of the evening, including a tour de force on the drums by Gary Wallace—who contorted himself for several minutes but always seemed to find a drumstick when he needed it—and the ever-popu-lar solo by the vocalist, Keri Summers “Vaya Con Dios.” Peter Pom exploded into the second half with a speeded-up version of “Never On Sunday,” followed by a clear and almost orchestral rendering of “Somewhere My Love” on his guitar. His playing of "The Old Rugged Cross” was well received.

An unexpected visitor to the show was Paul Walden, who arrived in time to introduce the popular John Hore, who Mng many of his wellknown songs accompanied by Peter Pom and elements of both the Quin Tikis and the Peter Pom band.

It was during this bracket that the “Miss New Zealand” to end all “Miss New Zealands" came to light A most unglamourous but eomic Gary Wallace—whose costume only half succeeded in changing his sex—"floated” across the stage to the laughter of the audience.