MIMES AND MUSIC.

Evening Post, Volume LXXIV, Issue 150, 21 December 1907, Page 15

MIMES AND MUSIC.

opera nousE. w£>,™oa! msolll 26th December *» IMb THBATKE KOTAZ,., Fuller"- Vaudeville Company. Tho "Blue Moon" Musical Comedy Cumpany commences its season at the Opera Houee on Boxing night. West's Pictures, affer a long absence, are to be shown again in this city, Iba season commencing at the Town Hall on Christmas .night, when an appropriate programme will be submitted. An added attraction- to the company is Da Groen's Vjce-Kegal Band from Sydney, an organisation which has been laudably praised by tho Auckland critics. Mr. A. H. Gee ia managing for Mr. West. "Dr. Bill," in which the Wellington Dramatic Society scored a distinct sucress recently at the Wellington Opera House, will be played by the same society at the Town Hall, Maslerton, on Boxing night. Mr. Alfred Woods, the Australian nctor, who has been touring America, England ,and South Africa, writes to say that he has deferred his departure to Australia, to play a re-engagement in South Africa, extending over three months. Mr. Woods and his company open in Johannesburg at Christmas in a new play, written by Miss Muad WilJiamson, "Tha Woman Pays." The MacCallums, musicians and entertainers, who arrived recently from, Australia, opened their New Zealand tour this month at Blenheim. members of the company are sifid to posses talents_ versatile and well-cul-vfrtiired. Tha family is supplemented by •Slifcs Queenie Burrows, a society enter- i T,aiher, and the Quealy's. Tho MaeCal- ! Inms will appear in Wellington after a tour of the West Coast. Sir Squire Bancroft's address to the Church Congress 'at Yarmouth, recently, was received with warm enthusiasm, particularly his delivery of the statement "there is au examiner of plays; and, indeed, there ought to be an examiner of sermons." 1 The president of She .congress was evidently much interested in and amused by" Sir Squire's clever essay, says London Era. On frhe return of, Mr. John Fnller to Dunedin, v Mr. Gil P. Hoskins, who has been acting-manager of the Princess Theatre, looking after tho interests of the Fuller firm, will take a well-earned 'six weeks' trip to the Australian side. Tho holiday has been granted the popular manager by a firm which is ap'preci- « ative of past cervices. During his lour I Mr. Hoskins will visit the principal cities of Australia, and while there will look out for anything of special interest i>o New Zealand vaudeville lovers. The censorship of plays is being hotly discussed in London, and tho Prime Minister has consented to receive a deputation upon the- subject this month. Over 70 signatures of eminent dramatic authors and iiterary men are attached to a protest which has been .published. Amongst them are the names -f W. S. Gilbert, J. M. Barrie, A. W. Pinero, George Bernard Shaw, Had-

don' Chambers, J. Conrad, Thomas Hardy, Anthony Hope, Maartcn Maartens, Gilbert Parker, George Meredith, and a scovo of others almost equally well known. Tho letter protests that tho censorship has not been exercised , iv the interests of morality, but has tended to lower the dramatic tone by appearing to relieve the public of the duty of morali judgment. The personnel of Messrs. M<?3 r nell and Gunn's musical company is now practically complete, and the eighteen members of it will sail the end of February. 1 The company is made up as follows : — i Misses Ruth Lincoln, Alice Russon, Emmelino Orford, and five other ladies : Arthur Appleby, Vincent Davidson, ' Edwin Brett, 'Willie Cromwell, Fred > Payne, Victor Chompion, and Charles I Wenmen. "Missi Hook of Holland," . which will be played by the company, reached its 300 th performance at the Prince of Wales Theatre, London, on '' 23rd November, and shows no diminu- • tion in its powers of attracting, i The following anecdote concerning tho late Joseph Joachim is now being cir- '_ culaled: — The great dolinist was once ■ invited to a dinner party at the residence of 0r.3 of the most powerful scions i of the dynasty of Bleichroeder. The prince of tho dynasty said to- himself that it would be' well to have an artist ' of such eminence at dinner, as it would [ "'enable him to provide his guests with a fine concert in an economical manner. The great violinist, not divining his ulterior motive, accepted the invitation, and the financier remarked, carelessly: "You will b^g your violin 1 along, won't you?" "I thank you in his name," replied Joachim, " but my violin never dines out." Just before, leaving London, on 19th October, Mr. Thornton was accorded a ! send-off at the Savage Club, at which he sat with Mr. James Welch, on his right hand, and Mr. Lewis Waller, on his left. Mr. King Headley, Mr. Courtice Pounds, and others known on both sides of the world, recited and sang, and the menu, designed by Penrhyn Stanlaw, -depicted Mr. Thornton in armour, with his visor up (a wonderful likeness), and crackers exploding so as to ensure "a good go off." Messrs. Tom Brown and Lanco Thackcry upheld their reputation in "When Knights were Cold," a comic sketch, in which a Court lady was carrying gruel to the armoured one, whose feet were in. a- tub of mustard and water ! Mr. George Edwards has been giving his opinion recently on the craze for picture postcards of theatrical celebrities, which has had the effect of enhancing their popularity and increasing their salaries. Ho says that for the actress to succeed nowadays, it is not necessary for her to study acting or to learn how to sing, or even to improve her general" education. The principal qualification is a pretty photographic card, the likeness on which more or less j resembles the lady in question. Theso ' cards must b 3 exhibited in the prominent thoroughfares, and tho public must be informed ,in a discreet fashion that shs will autograph them. Especially in the provinces, Mr. Edwardes has noticed that a picture postcard beauty will draw £500 a week more to the theatre than a first-class company with a fine play. He considers this a deplorable stats of affairs, and entirely due to the postcard craze. He finds it most difficult to find a woman who combines beauty and talent. This apf>arently is of no consequence to the pubic, who Hock to tho theatres to see the

beautiful "actresses" who can neither | aiug, dance, nor act. He declares, spsaking r.s an old theatrical manager, who has endeavoured to servo the public with good entertainments for many years, that, he often feels tempted, o\v- j ing to tho present state of things, to I threw up the artistic side of stage business and start, a. sort, of Barnnrn's show. This straight speaking from a man like Mr. Kdwardes (writes a London correspondent) only confirms the general opinion echoed by all Australians after a round of tho principal theatres iv London devotee 1 to so-called "musical comedy," whcie ths leading "stars" are solely dependent on their pretty faces, without even a voice — speaking or singing — physique, or any slight amount Vf talent to recommend them for the position they occupy. ALulame Clara Butt has been giving aspiring vocalists some most valuable hints as to the best methods of preserving and perfecting the voice. Her system may be summed up as '"the golden mean." "Simply 't-ika care not to overwork the voic-3," is her advice, "and never tire it, out by too much singing at a. time. It is perfoclly easy, for instance, to, get through a. large amount of study by simply having the music in front of one and thinking the musical phrase well over in connection with tho words. By doing this ono is practically able to accomplish half the initial work before even opening the mouth at all. Not only should tha Student refrain from singing too much, bufc aLso from talking too much. Talking is as great a strain as singing, and if people would only bear thi3 m min,d wo should hear less of voice troubles'. To pbtain the best results one should, moreover, never practice more than a quarter of an hour at a time. Personally i practice* uiy scales for ten minutes each day. With regard to lessons, no general rule can, I think, prissibly bo laid clown as to tho i age for starting. One could, without harm, however, begin practising whilo still quite young ; but, of course, no attempt at a public appearance should then bs mndf. Mere lung power haft little to do with singing, excepting that it is geed for breathing purposes. Singing is, on the other hand, extremely beneficial to the lungs, and would certainly prolong life in a caso of consumption." j All English playgoers have seen Sir John ' Hare in "A Pair of Spectacles," and havo enjoyed his beautiful performanco. The history of this charming adaptation by Mr. Sydney Grundy has, curiously enough, never been written. Mr. Hare wanted something as a stopgap at the Garrick until Mr. Pinero had finished a play for him. An appeal was' made to Mr. Grundy, who brought forward "A Pair of Spectacles. , The genial actor at tho outset did riot liko the piece-, thought the idea, was ridiculous 1 , and that the public would laugh' at it. ' What, however, was intended lor a stop-gap became a popular — and a permanent — addition to Mr. Hare's repertoire, and it is a fact that ho made. it fortune by its production at the Garrick. After it had run a fortnight Mr. Grundy wrote a short letter to tho manager enquiring as to what his fees would be ! In the preliminary negotiations nothing had been said about tho remuneration to bo pui/1 to Hie authoradapter, as Mr. Uare was so confident that the piece would be a failure! Miss May Beatty writes from Engand to a Sydney paper : "Touring and so busy. Last week we were at Coventry — such a quaint town ; picturesque old buildings everywhere, and not one bathroom.

The placo is full of motor-cars — motorcars, but no baths! We return to London this month (October), and play there till pantumimo time. Igo to Newcastle to play Diolc Whittington." According lo the Kevr York Herald, Mr. Charles Frohmdii, the well-known theatrical manager, has conceived Ihe idea of producing plays on the larger Atlantic liners, and is in negotiation with the Cunard Company to add to the equipment of the Lusitania and the Mainetania, stage facilities for giving complete dramatic performances. The introduction of ocean theatres would, according to Mr. Frohman, result in the more'frequent exchange of dramatic comjMuies between the ' London and New York theatres. "Who that has crossed tho ocean," saj's Mr. Frohman, "bus not felt that, an opportunity to enjoy a, fine theatrical performance on board would be hailed joylully by almost everybody on the passenger list? What manager or actor does not feel what monetary loj,s ia entailed by the sacrifice of time on the voyage to or from New York? When 1 interrupted Miss Marie Tempest's successful London lun in "The Mairiagc of Kitty' to send her and the company to New York for a brief engagement, it not only coct me a heavy transportation bill, but I sacrificed the profits of three -weeks' performances. It cost mo £3500, but I was satisfied that the flying tour of Miss Tempest paved the way for other quick trips, such as that of tho 'Strongneart 1 company to London last season, and demonshated that nothing but expense stands in the way of making London and New York interchange attractions more frequently. I think the expense part of the difficulty has been solved. The arrival of the LusiUnia last week with 2000 pa&sengers aboard gave me an idea Why cannot I send an American company to London every fortnight, playing them right across the Atlantic, with a loss of perhaps only a few performances on the way?" Theatrical Clips:— Mr. Kickards has as the result ot his lour engaged "45 new turns, which will carry him well into next year, when, he takes another tour in search of novelties. . . Mr. Victor Loydall, of "Parted on the Shore 1 ' fame, is appearing at Sydney Amphitheatro. . . Tho musical play secured by Messrs. Mcynell and Gunn, "Tho Girl Behind the Counter," has just achieved a notable success in New York. . . Miss ]\ r ay Beatty and Edward Lauri were- at the London Tivoli when tho mail left, Miss Nina Osborne was also on the Hails in London. . . Dallas Cairns, late of the Williamson Dramatic Companies, after a season in London with. Miss Maxino Elliot and her pla} r ers, has gone to America for a threo-inonths' tour with that lAdy, after which he returns to London for an engagement. . . Miss ' Itoso Musgrovo'e engagement in "Barry Doyle's llest Cure," at tho London Theatre, only lasted three- wteks, the picco being a failure. . . Messrs. Meyncll and Gunn aro organising another dramatic company which v will probably start on tour about February. TII3 plays will be. "Two Little Sailor Boys" and "The Little Breadwinner." . . Harry Rickards, whilst in Englnnd, Required a house near Margate, and intends spending most of next summer there.

"What," quoried (he very young man, "is tho secret of happiness?" "Tho eetret of happiiie°B," answered the saj;o of Sagcvillo, "is not (o lot your troubles bother you any more than they bothor. your friends.