ENTERTAINMENTS

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2368, 26 January 1915, Page 8

ENTERTAINMENTS

■9. COMPANY..

ABBoGILBHET AND SULLIVAN OPERAS.

Afctfe-Grand Opera House to-morrow J- C, Williamson's new English, Comio Opera Company will comI jßienco their season in Gilbert and Sul- '-' i$ va £ s do l lcl ously tuneful opera "Tho [Gondoliers." The ingredients employed Roy Gilbert' arid Sullivan to niake their ; ■ -.works the;most popular musical plays fofthe present generation aro tuneful faie,lodies, catchy airs, magnificent chor!<jsev*, quaint and genuinely humorous situations, fresh, original fun, and gorigeoiis mountings. The rendering of ijha famous and fascinating cachuca, with Jthe'', oastagenotsv accompaniment, is [always a reliable measure of the' capa[city of the chorus, and in Auckland re|opn;fcly it was received with great enthusiasm, and no fewer than three encores were nightly demanded. It is ttted that never before has that very polar number "Take a Pair of Spark;g> Ej-es" been sung as it is sung by :..'Edward M'Keown, who is said to jibe pile of .the greatest tenors yet.heard ;.' jin. taie works of Gilbert'and Sullivan. nThe comedian, Mr. Charles Walenn, has Janeiro 'than sustained his London reputation; where he,is a popular idol. Miss jGlaiily 8 Moncrieff, the soprano, created Sgioiit enthusiasm in Auckland. Frank rlWilsbn, Albert Kavanagh, _ G.. Villiers VArndi'd, are members of the organisation who made themselves very 'popular' with playgoers' in Auckland. ■ KW Ziealahders should be proud of Miss Ethel Morrison (Ethel', Maginnity),'-' as. ■ i taJented youug actress;'.after. ap- ('. ' ipearing successfully with the-Wellington >-. :amaUeuu3, went to London, where :her . jtalefita were at once and; ' 'Bheiwas at once engaged-wjiakertbe: ! kjonfraHo role's in the Gilbert' ■••'anS^Siil---

; Jivan operas. -She wilLmake her debut I here; as. the Duchess of Plaza Toro in '■"the Gondoliers." Miss Pearl Ladd and [Mies Eatie May are two delightful Eng- ! lish actresses. Only three performances | can. bo' ; giveh~6f'"The Gondoliers," 'and' \ it will be followed by "The Yeoman of ] /the Guard" (three performances). "lo- '■- jJantho" (three-nights), "The-Mikado"-' ' j(three perfoOTan\Se^,U"HMJS".~'Tiriar : I ■ (foro'JJ (two performances), and "The jpintjj§s of Penzance". ( perform- \ "ancos|. The ogeras-aTe staged under | l.liie' supervision bT Mr'.' Richard WeathSiersbjr; The box plans for the entire i '' feeaspfi open at the Bristol, i Sand Jtickets-for the'early doorsj stalls, j l.and.Sjallery.'may-bei purchased at Miss \Lennpx's.,. ..... ~

;.-[ • "HIS MAJESTY'S'THEATRE. "" i I- "The'sew" pfo'graMMe"bf vaudeville pre- , at His Majesty's Theatre last *piglfti'included several entirely new and j mterestinfe "turns." Foremost-on the | ' (hill was John Early with tW'inoßt un-' | luuualj;title, of ; The !• .<ipwgramme-Ho£e" to"his 'act gives the I !ad*.ice "Wafohithe-hatsi""': but" anyone? i. ' Sin iite audieni;e..;who,;attempted.,tP.;fpl7, !'■ ijlow the advice_ found the feat "a; rather | idiffitjult. oner*-"' 'When- one sees -'top-Eats > ; gravelling unerringly along the owner's ! through the atmosphere, | iprojejjted 'from "the nether-member into I v air, but ■always •■ -returning ito the [• . {conventional. head— [.. phe .&6t wW-'-'mystifyirigv' v ""Earl' was 1 jiather embarrassed last night when he j to ailecE- in one or two of his projected jfea.ts£"but made up..for this.'with some I |amx«srng acrobatic eccentricities. An- ■ artist who. met ;with aj good ;', Arecepfiton was "Madame' Rose" 'Lorenz, : pvho jpexfo'rm'eli'most'"gracefully"soihe vdarirfe feats on the trapeze. Madame JScheff gave another thrilling perform--lions.. ?V.The -Driscoll itTrio|pleased,' excitingly: .v withi.their L &musing paftet and vocal,,aDsnrditieß, ; t |whilo}''The Two Franklins" were 'equalj}y sv/ccessful in their farcical Bketoh The humour in :.■■ ftffie'ste"£ch and"'Preston,; I TneßSi'-'-wss' httr<3ly-of-- ther wholesome kind. Other turns which Set with.good'receptions..were:.M.'Kena an&'Gue'sty whose"coriclulnrig bariuf uaical-selection was very fine indeed; ißrinkrnan, and- the Steele -Sistersj 1 b j_. [vocal trio (an inevitable "fill up"'turn); T' fend' Herman and Shirley. ■ The latter {repeated their unique, and enjoyable flittje sketch, "The Mysterious Masi- _, : '■" I The" programme will bo . repeated /throughout the week. '■'.■':. ■ '(' •''}'. ..... ... ■

J •$ ■''"KING'STHEATRE ■' !'; < ,*TI»: .Brute," . a powerful dramatio ■ 7ii£nfly by the Famous Players Company, ; .and' featuring' Malcolm' Williams, was ? j>K)duced for the first time in Welling■jtoa at -the King's Theatre'.last evening, "it is a powerful drama, full of touching incidents from start to finish. In witnessing the production one could easily Jbelievo that the whole of the characters tweere appearing on the stage and not !: on the, screen. ■■ The acting throughout 7,waS-splendid, particularly that of MalIcolm Williams. His supporting comjpany was also good. The film, wflioh is ]iSOO feet in length,; occupies' the whole lof second part of the /programme: '..' [Briefly told, the story is as follows:— '"The Brute," as he is called by name, j'bot not in nature, is a self-made, man, r l.wrapped up in his work, but loving'his I pretty and delicate wife and his little | j son Bobbie with all the ardour of his |great nature. He has no time to culI tivate the niceties of life, and his rugiged exterior and lack or social .graces, [.often annoy his wife, who, loves luxury. Ij'and secretly covets the wealth' and posiJation her bard-working husband .is .'uh|able to give herv"..'One day;:'.ian'!;"old v'Buitor, now rich,,'crosses her path .and. [renews his former advances,; in'spite of irtho fact that her husband is lis best '■ f, friend. The plot'thickens unknown to t the loving husband. ' The;:;new 'lover 'hurries west to„.settle his .business, and 'while there lie is;taken" suddenly ill and "dies. He :Brute's" wife. -Tlie'-latter is'now "crush"- ; ed with remorse'.vand'jfenlises'.'Leven in: .her grief, that. te;fearof..her husband's, : discovery of her'half-premeditated-puilt-jis greater .! admirer. Withf:.tlus;~fjl6t~cometf':';'thß

i realisation that she loves-her: ;husb'and

•■more than sho ever-did'aiiy other man. J How she accepts";the'"fortune' bequeath-: fed her, how the unsuspecting i'finally discovers' the'truth,, exerts.^his j supremaoy, and.'eyehtually conquers arid [forgives her is^yidly;porjtrayed,rn;t'ne' development "Mia;finale ; _of this /[ excitingly realistic-'dramaj- The •'supnort- ■ ing programmeasTa capifal'orie, and includes some fixcßlletft"films such' as an eduoative'"'scenic: "The School Tencher and the -Waif ."-■» featuring Miry Pickford; and. "Hello. "Mabel!" a Keystone comied.v;.:in"'*Wclx Mabel Normnnd plays the .part' of the -telec-hono tyrl j n B no t e ]. •"'Patbe's i War-Gazette" is well worth 'seeing this weeK-and it,gives splendid views of Russia'slirmy in the field.

EVERYBODY'S'THEATER

Of particular,interest'at'.theQpresent time is the great Vitagraph;'military produotlon entiUe4;:';Warfare- in_ 'the' SJiies," shown Everybody's Pjcture' Theatre 'yesterday: gfves a vivid idea of modem

'day warfare. Troops are seen in action, aeroplanes hover aloft and drop bombs, while tlie"climax is reached,'.when..one aeroplano seemingly crashes into' ari- \ other, and both hurtlo to the_ ground. I These are only some of the incidents centering . round .a; .tragic.. love.: story. ' The:: Keystone., vpicture,—now a regular and:looked-for event at "Everybody's," j is "The Masquerador." Charles Chaplin fakes the lead,' so jt.HQcds no aniplii fication of tho plot to vouch for its | comicality. The surprising paitof the I picture is how this apparently hopej lesaly awkward person is able to pose ;. _ , ns tho simpering, dainty maiden ho ■~-'" effects at -the -latter'end of tho picture. I Other pictures on the hill are: "The ; Tbiril.Sew_Zealandi E^r^tßpjarjfla^V

From Peril to Peril" (an enthralling Kalem dramaV "Wife's Athletic Mania'' (Lubin comedy), and the Gaumont War Graphic. PEOPLE'S PICTURE PALACE. It had to come Borne day—"Trilby" has been condensed into a one-hour photo-play. For the machine it has been acted by probably the best company of players who have ever appeared in an' English production of it, and the result is a fdm of great merit. This entrancing drama picture was introduced to Wellington people at the Peoplo's Picture Palace yesterday, and was witnessed at several showings by absorbed crowds. So much depends upon the spoken lines in the play that explanations on the screen . axe necessary at somewhat frequent intervals, but the explanations aro clear and not at all irksome, and the whole picture is a very fine condensation of one of the greatest of plays. The essential features of the story lend themselves very well to representation in pantomime, and the gesture and action of all the actors are almost beyond praise. The topical or news films are of especial interest just now. The day's events, or a judicious selection of them, are shown in the "Eclair Journal," one of the most interesting of the other items in the prograinme. The scene* include views of Lord Roberts's funeral, scenes at the base camps in France, and snapshots of parades of corps whose names are now famous. A little wholesome comedy is supplied by the picture entitled "The Twin Trunks." The two trunks helonged to a young man and a young woman unknown to each other, but bound for the same house party. The trunks were exactly alike, even to the painted initials of the owner, and the two people discovered, separately, of course, • when left in their rooms to dress for-dinner, that they had no .clothes..-.. It-was a droll mix-up, an entanglement .from which the parties extricated themselves only to enter another more lasting one. "Trilby" and the other pictures will be shown again to-day.

■EMPRESS THEATRE. Tho new programme-at the Empress Ineatre, yesterday was headed by .the Regent Company's drama "Facing the Enemy.""''The story deals with the careers,, of three children of a poor widowj-?vho leaves each a locket—containing the plates of herself and her late husband. On account of being adopted by different people, the children become separated. After a considerable number of years one of the brothers 'becomes a spy, the other a journalist/ The jourriaKst-discovers the whereabouts of.the Bpy's;;headquarters, and pute the on the track. , The ringleader escapes';-'; War is declared, ; and the journalist'is."sent to the front. While there he saves a woman from insult at the-hands pi >-an officer in the ranks of the'enemyt "The officer turns out to bo his brother, and the woman his sister. other films are: "The Japanese Fire Brigade". (sports gathering.'at .TOW 6),. "Universal Weekly" .(bowlers 'at, Grey Lynn, Auckland),' 'Trip to the Kidnappers" (showing a gannete' rookery), "Mack at it Again" (Keystone comedy), and "Those Little Favours" (Pathe comedy).

SCOTTISH CONCERT,

~Thq Scottish.Society of .Wellington gave a most enjoyable concert last evening in the Concert Chamber of .'the Town Hall. ' The programme was a lengthy one, nevertheless, it was received -with considerable enthusiasm by the audience, which was a fairly large'one. The society's pipers opened with a selection, and tho first naif of the programme was interspersed with song and dance. The Highland reel was given in-a'finished'style by Misses Campbell and'M'K'e'nzie'and Masters• M'Leanand M'Lellan. Madame Stark sang "John Anderson My Joe," "Gala Water," and with Mr. Stark gave the duet "A |Crookit, Bawbee." Miss Betty Purdom's two recitations were excellent. The Rev. J. Gibson Smith gave "A Crack Aboot Burns," which pleased the audience immensely. Mr. Jas. Jago was heard to advantage in "A Man's a Man," also in "There Was a Lad Born in Kyle." Mr. J. B. Fergusson figured in the programme for two songs, both of-which were given with great taste.. Mr. C: J. Houston, supplied the. humour by singing "To-ta, My. Bonnie Maggie DavJin/' and."Weddui' of Sandy M'Nab.". The dancing was exceptionally good; Miss Campbell gave a sword dance, and Miss Daisy: M'Lellan an Irish jig. A violin solo by Mr. O'Brien was most enjoyable. M'Glashan's orchestra opened the second half of the programme with a well-executed selection. Miss Ethel M. Bartley was the accompanist, Mr. W. Fraser piper, and Mr. M'Lellan stage, manager.