Still a family show

Press, 28 August 1984, Page 1

Still a family show

When the founders of the Black and White Minstrel Show first billed it as a family show 27 years ago, they did not know how true that would prove to be. Peter Hearne and Anne Wilson, both dancers in the cast now touring New Zealand, are the latest in a long line of Minstrels and Minstrel Maids who have planned marriage after meeting during the show. The two Australians will marry in Melbourne when the show finishes a return season in Australia. Their decision to get married follows another family tradition. Peter Hearne’s parents were married in Auckland at His

Majesty’s Theatre 25 years ago. They were members of the cast of “Call Me Madam,” which was playing at the theatre, and the wedding was held between performances. The 1984 New Zealand tour of “The Black and White Minstrel Show” began at His Majesty’s on July 17 after the show had played to sell-out audiences in Australia for seven months. The Christchurch season will open this evening at the Theatre Royal, for one week. . For a show that began its stage performances as a six-week fill-in at the Victoria Palace, “The Black and White Minstrel Show”

has become something of an English institution. Summer seasons are still played every year in England as well as touring shows to other parts of the world. The present tour is the third to New Zealand; the others were in 1963 and 1969. Although Peter Hearne and Anne Wilson are in their first season with the show, the comedian, Peter Kaye, has had a long association with the Minstrels. “I was in the original show at the Victoria Palace,” Mr Kaye said. The other cast member of the present show to have been in the Victoria Palace

show is Stanley Matthews, one of the three principal singers. The others are Lee. Lawrence and Jacqui Rae. Mr Kaye believes the Black and White Minstrels are still performing because “it is good family entertainment. That has not changed in 27 years." He, too, has a family link with the show. His wife was a TV Topper and left the show to have their son. Very little has changed about the show, according to Mr Kaye. “The traditions have been kept. Some of the songs are new, of course, but the vocal arrangements are still done by George Mitchell.”

Many of the costumes worn by the 14 Minstrels and Minstrel Maids are based on the original costumes, but the black makeup has been replaced by a brown that looks better under stage lighting. The black and white face make-up was originally used as a gimmick for the black and white television series that launched the Minstrels, Mr Kaye said. “With black and white television black make-up was fine but under stage lights it looked dreadful. The brown we use now comes up as black.”

Mr Kaye does not wear make-up, but he changes faces several times, using latex masks he has made, to create impressions of famous figures. Making up a Minstrel face takes about 40 minutes, Mr Hearne said.

“Fortunately it only takes about 15 minutes to wash off. Of course, I have done it much quicker in emergencies,” he said. The record for Minstrel make-up is held by one of the original performers, Dai Francis, who managed the task from white to black in three minutes and a half. The brown make-up on face and neck means the

white shirts worn by the Minstrels must be washed after each performance. Long white gloves to the elbow are worn under the performers’ shirt sleeves so there are no “flashes of white flesh” during performances. The performers are quick to dispel the notion that the show would appeal to an older audience. The music, costumes, and dance make

the show excellent entertainment, they say. The choreography has been updated and is fast moving and contemporary, according to Miss Wilson, who is the dance captain for the show. The show also includes a Hungarian juggler, Steve Bor, and an illusionist from Poland, Miodo.