Entertainments.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 1, 26 September 1907, Page 11

Entertainments.

THE PANTOMIME SEASON.

"MOTHER GOOSE."

" Mother Goose," which has been 'wandering 'round the fifth continent sinco last Boxing Night, aiid which has been successfully hatching that "mirth that wrinkled, care derides" 'atthe Opera House sinco Monday evening ast, is just about tho cheeriest thing in pantomimes that this country has yet witnessed, tho best proof of which'lies in tho'' continually - over flowing audiences tlmt have been the rulo everywhere it' has been played. Tho modern pantomime is distiiictly not a phase of theatrical entertainment that calls for analytical dissection ; it is, in nine cases out of ton, based.on 0110 of those threadbare nursery legends that old age has rendered honourable; the merest thread of which is used to hind an elaborate vaudoville show :(:ul scenic spectacle, padded with rat-a-pisn choruses andrelieved, quite • irresponsibly, with specialities. "Mother Goose"- does not depart from this recipo any more than her predecessors, and nobody cares, anyhow, ono way or the other, but tliero is a wonderful spontaneity of. action, and a certain brilliance in the pit-a-pat stage-management, the conception of several of the .disjointed scenes. A moment or two is snatched from the whirl of song, gag, and ballet to tell how tho silly old mother, of immortal memory is endowed with a. gooso, whose speciality is to produce golden eggs, but not content with the opulence that follows, she, liko Faustus, desires youth and beauty, and gets them both (according to the comic idea), and so loses the goose. There is : thcn ail alleged hunt for the feathered money-spinner, which is finally discovered to havo returned-to the royal prcsenco in Gooseland, a territory in which tho courtiers young and old, military and civilian, aro beaked and web-footed. Boforo reaching this blest haven of Nowhere, Mother Goose's native ugliness has returned, aiid nothing remains to be dono but to rest-oro her lost poultry to realise tho happy end, which is tagged with the usual' medley of broken bits of sonp;s that have been sung through the performance. .

It would ■ be incongruous if tho Mother Goose of Mr. Harry Phydora was not a !):;istei ous!v amusing character. And it is. Mr Thydora is one of the smartest comedians and merriest gaggers that havo visited Now Zealand for a louj; time, and his business right through the evening is bright, and clever. On the air-ship with Jack (Mr. Harry Rhine) he was e.:haustless ill his huinourous resources; his .",'itics, with his fiery but hiirhl.v rcLV.:iii'io steed (clevmly don", by Queen and I>d'linin) in the limiting :-"""ie: and his vec.il reh'-irsal. of how "sheh" v;as deserted e.t the altar stamp'-d him a "rod fool, a •• virthy foal." Of tlie «tlifr comedians, Mr. G. Victor f.ev:i;:il, as

unspeakable Scot, was better than good,-and his soug "V/e parted on the ahorc," was capitally sung. Mr. Harry Shine is always fun:];,', and his efforts aro approved. Miss Olive Godwin makes a charming Gill, and score;' iu botii her pretty songs, "Lilacs" and "f-omebody's Sweetheart." She was also the singer of the strikiiiglyoil'ectivo illuminated swing song. Miss ilia belle Morgan as the principal boy, Coiii:, looks well, but is somewhat e.)lourlcss in character, and her singing lacks 'gladness, which, bower..-, aid not prevent her being double encored for that pretty ballad "Moon Dear." Another energetic comedienne is .Miss I ran 1- Ditlon, who, as Gretohen, acts and uances with plenty of life..

Miss Beatrice English as the good fairy Heartsease, tlio counterfoil to Malignuin the Had (impersonated dramatically by Mr. Oswald Cushing) floated en and off in a halo of silver limelight, and sang a love ballad creditably.

Vihat is a great and abiding joy in "Mother Goose" is the dancing of the children, who aro a big feature in the production. Tho toy ballet was anuunigly clever, and tho flower ballet (iu conjunction with the adults) was a thing of beauty. Tho. acme of Lcrpsichorean agility was represented by the little Dartos (Eddie and Deeima McLean). Lennon, Hymnii and Lennon, who appeared in the last pantomime seen in Wellington, repeat their clever act, and the Lozarde i'rio do some demon . tumbling. No effort has been wasted 'to make the show a rare scenic treat. The Toy Town set is quaint to a degree; the hunting scene (with a hunting chorus reminiscent of "Dorothy") might be a of an oil painting of some old English countryside; "Lover's Gate" is rurally pretty, and the golden house or Mother Goose in the first act ami the court room of King Goose at the end are gorgeous to the degree of being bewildering. The dresses aro superb throughout. A fine orchestra, uudoi' Mr. Geo. Kail's able • baton, does its work well.

".Mother Goose," which was also performed yesterday afternoon to tho intense deiight of a battalion of childran, is unique as pantomimes go, inasmuch as there is only ouo interval. The thanks of the public, too, are due to Mr. Williamson for omitting the usually silly and quite unnecessary hiiriujuinsde. " SWEET LAVENDER." Mr. A. \Y. Pincro's "Sweet Lavender" is one of the most charming comedies that'clever writer ever constructed, and its performance by. amateurs ('under tho direction of Miss Hardingc - Malthy) in tho concert chamber of tho Town Hall on Monday and Tuesday next is being looked forward to witli considerable interest. 011 Monday tho comedy will be preceded by the curtain-raiser "A Servant's Problem," and 011 Tuesday by "Tile Crystal Gazer." Tho name part in " Sweet Lavender" will be taken by Mrs. Maguiro (nee Miss Aggie Marshall), with Mr. W. P. Bostin as tho eccentric Dick Plonyll, and Miss Hardingc-Malt-by as Ruth Rolt. The performances aro in aid of tho funds of tho Nurses' Home and Prisoners' Aid Society. Tho Governor and Lady Plunket arc to bo present 011 Monday evening.

The. Royal Panoptikum is not in tho Opera House, but it is very near it—in Lower Cuba Street—and is a lively place of amusement where a very fine exhibit of wax models is exhibited in conjunction with freaks of nature, a c-yeiorama, and other curious and clever sights and sounds.

A vaudeville company,- organised by the Fuller proprietary, left Wellington yesterday "morning for Masterton, where they play 'to-day at a matinee iu addition to a night performance. The.-itinerary of tho tour is Wanganui, Nov.''Plymouth. Feilding, Hawera. Palmerston. North, Marton, Daunuvirke, Napior, Hastings. Waipawa. Tho tour-will conclude at Gisbornc 011 October 18.