ENTERTAINMENTS, ETC.

Evening Post, Volume LXIV, Issue 121, 18 November 1902, Page 4

ENTERTAINMENTS, ETC.

"SAN TOY." "San Toy," the musical comedy which! a London audience hooted on its initial production at Duly's Thentie in October, 1899, but which has since had a surprisingly long run at the hand:, of a dozen or more different companies, was submitted to the judgment of a Wellington audience at the Opeia House last night. The fault found with the original was that it copied too closely other Oriental pieces -which had just preceded it, and that it, in effect, "lell to .pieces" aftep the first act. London critics recommended the remodelling of the second half of the story, and this has been done. Aa piescnted .last evening by Mr. J. C. Williamson's Comedy Company "San Toy" was exceedingly gay and giddy, if a somewhat fragile piece of Oriental bric-a-brac. There was mirth and there was laughter, these was melody and music, the allurement of fantastic pictures, grace and beauty in dress and quaint women. The old "San Toy" chopped off the story just like the serial which is "to be continued in our next." The new "San Toy" allows the.masquerading daughter of Yen How to play tht part of "principal boy" during the whole of the first part, thus avoiding the Imperial edict which compelled every daughter of a mandarin to serve in the Emperor's amazonian guard, and in the second to figure in. style at the Emperor's court, sport with his vanity, and ultimately win her English lover, Captain Bobby Preston, for a husband. The piece is full of gilt and glittery and good things in the way of music, song, and picture. Its chief failing, id its want of genuine humour. Its fuu ia forced. Any kind of peg*"is put up to} hang a joke upon, but the trouble is that the pegs aae brittle and snap, for tha humour is not light enough to enable them to bear the strain. The chief" funmaker is one Li, a wandering Celestial of' a sort made familiar in other comedies of late date, and Mr. Fred Graham does his best with the material given him to make him acceptably amusing, but if we mistake not the license of the "gag" is freely used, and affords the merriest moments. There is nothing of the knockabout comedian about Mr. Graliam ; he piefers to make his laughs by quieter methods and just as effective. His coadjutor on the present occasion is merry little Miss Digges, who has exchanged places with Miss Musgrove and become a lady's maid, while her versatile colleague plays the heroine. The vivacious little lady quite confirmed the good impression she had made as the "RunawayGirl," and infused a wealth of frolicsome action into the part of Dudley. Miss Musgrove had to play a dual part as principal "boy" and principal girl, and she was quite in the drawing in both, loies— a pretty, graceful, light-hearted boy, a bewitching and dainty little Chinee maid, full of life and melody. A character which was made to stand out prominently in a very long list was that of the jolly old mandarin, Yen How, played with unctuous humour and conspicuous ability by Mr. Bantock, whost amusing song concerning his six littla wives, who were liable to be whittled away by a possible chapter of accidents^ was one di the best things of the evening. The audience insisted upon hearing .it over and over again. These sq,ucy little wives, too, deserve a word of praise, for everybody fell in love with them stiaightway, with their dainty ways and lovely silken costumes. Others who materially helped in. the evening's amusement were Mr. Crane (who played Captain Bobby and sang very musically in solos and duets), Mr. Dudley (as Sir Bingo Preston, British Consul at Pynka-Pong), Mr. Troode (aa the susceptible Emperor), Mr. Lyding (an English lieutenant), Mr. Hughes (a, Chinese student witfi melodramatic tendencies), Miss Elsie Moore (daughter of Sir Bingo, who looked and sang well), Miss Blanche Wallace (the handsome leader of the Emperor's amazonian, guard), and Miss Nellie Borthwick (who danced a pas seul very gracefully). Favoured numbers in the piece in addition to the song of the mandarin's wives were those concerning "Rhoda who ran a Pagoda," "A Posy from the Sea," "A Coy little Chinese Way,' 5 the droll quartet "Pynka-Pong," and some oddities by Mr. Graham introducing local verses. The piece will please most people, and should have a merry run till the end o( the season.