MIMES AND MUSIC,

Evening Post, Volume LXXX, Issue 62, 10 September 1910, Page 11

MIMES AND MUSIC,

IBr Okphbtjs.l comincTevents. OPERA HOUSE. J. C. Williamson, in season to llth Septcmbei. Wellington Boxing Association, 15th September. Madame Cnlve, 17th to 20th September. Mac-Million's Pictures (Kotchell and Johnson), 24th September to Ist October. • Allan Hamilton, 7th October to sth November. Fred H. Graham, 12th to 24th November. J. C. AVilliamson. 24tli December. THEATRE ROYAL, fuller's New Vaudeville Company. HIS MAJESTY'S THEATEB. His Majesty's Pictures,. THE KING'S THEATRE. Royal and AVest's Pictures. ST. THOMAS'S HALL. Star Picture Company. The magnificent success of Madame Calves concert in tho Town Hall last Saturday evening quite justifies the return visit of the great singer. Arrangements have been made for two more appearances of the world-famed artist, and the recitals will be given in the Opera House next Saturday evening and on the following Tuesday. Madame Calve and Signor Gasparri will appear in scenes from "Carmen" and "Cavalleria Rusticana." The scenes will be properly staged and the artists will wear costumes of the opera. The Opera House should be all too small to hold the number who will no doubt avail themselves of this unique opportunity of seeing and hearing Madame Calve in some of her greatest vocal and acting successes. MacMahon's Pictures will shortly commence yet another season at the Opera House. The attraction for this occasion will be a moving picture of Lhe boxing contest between Jack Johnson, champion of the world, and Stanley Ketchell, a prominent American boxer. MacMahon's have secured the New Zealand rights of the picture. What a sharp and decisive "go" it was can only be realised Dy a personal view of the pictures, which are said to be exceptionally clear and distinct. They show the coloured champion in all his artifices. No less than 10,000 peoplewitnessed the bout. Ketcfteil, be it remembered, at one stage actually felled Johnson with a mighty blow, and the coloured man remained prostrate for eight seconds, but he regained his position, returned to the onslaught, and retained nis laurels. Already in Auckland and Dunedin the film has beer shown with remarkable success. The Nellie Stewart Company is due in Auckland to-morrow from Sydney, and commences a season there on Tuesday night. The repertoire for the New Zealand tour comprises "When Knighthood was in Flower," "What Every Woman Knows," "Trilby," and the ever-welcome "Sweet Nell of Old Drury.' 1 The part which Miss NellieStewart takes in "When Knighthood was in Flower," that of the Princess Mary, youngest sister to King Henry VIII., is considered to oe on© of the longest and most sustained ever written for a woman. It entails a big tax on the memory, and calls for strenuous acting all the time. Mr. Hugh J. Ward and his company travelled overland from the West Coast to Chnstchurch, and came on to Wellington on Wednesday. They commenced an overland tour to Auckland on Thursday at Masterton. Mr. Ward had an exceptionally fine season on the West Coast, and the prospects for the northern tour are also of the brightest. Mr. Walter Monk writes to say that in every town to be visited piles of applications lor seats are awaiting the opening of the box plan for "The Girl from Rector's " The firm of Rupert Clarke and Clyde JMeynell have secured the Australian rights of the successful musical play "Little Miss Nobody," which Mr. Tom B. Davis staged at the Lyric Theatre, London, -where it ran for about ten months. "The Talk of the Town" is another new musical play to be staged ir Australia by the film's Comic Opera Company. Mr. Leslie Holland, who will appear here shortly as Horace Ventimore in the "Brass Bottle," is an artist who has won considerable distinction in light comedy parts in gaiety pieces in London and America. He is said to be one of George Edwardes's most valued men. Besides being a firbt-class light comedian, Mr Holland is also a first-rate cricketer, having played for several seasons in the principal county matches tvith most of the English cracks. In South Africa he played with Abe Bailey's famous team, "The Wanderers," and was also selected for the Transvaal in representative cricket. Mr. George Willoughby and his English company are, it is announced, enjoying a big success in their West Australian tourvin the farce "The Night of the Party." Mr. \v illoughby, who intends forming a dramatic company early next year, has just bought the Australasian rights of "A Fool There Was," a play by Emerson Brown, founded on Kipling's "Vampire." This he will in due course present in Australia, as well as Clyde Fitch's "The Woman in the Case." The Sheffield Choir movements for next year are fast developing from the Empire tour, projected by Dr. Charles Harriss, into h, world's tour. An invitation to be present at the great Cincinnati Musical Festival in the early part of 1911 has now been accepted, and Sir Edward Elgar will go over io conduct especially in honour of this famous choir. New York, Chicago, Jioston, St. Louis, and 12 other great cities have now followed suit, and Drs. Harriss and Coward will in this way enter tipon a cour of the United States. Mr. Charles Tait, of Cincinnati, brother of the President, has exerted his influence, and already a guarantee to the extent of £12,500 has been given. These new arrangementfo will not in any way interfere with the Sheffield Choir's tour of Australasia later in the year. When the J. C. VVilliamson Grand Opera Company pays its return v'sit to Sydney, which wm begin on 24th September, both '"Cavalleria Rusticana" and "Papliacci" wifl be produced. Another feature of interest will be the appearance of Mr. Reginald Roberts in grand opera, after a long experience oi musical comedy The change, however, will merely mark his return bo a field ot work in which he has already won siiceef-s, foi before he camo to Austvaha he was one of the principals of the Castle-square Opera Company in America, and acquired a repertory of 65 parts. It was in 1900 that he made a hit at Chicago us Rudolph ;n; n- Puccini's opera, "La lioheme," and amongst his other roles are Turiddu, Canio. En?.o ("La Giaconda' ), ancl Joso ("Carmen"). The Fred H. Graham English Corned} Company will arrive at the Bluff or Monday, and after showing two nights at Invercargill, will commence a s»*vcn nights' season 111 His Majesty's Theatrf, Dunedin, on Saturday next.* The com pan)' includes, in addition to the wellknown comedian himself, Miss Nellie Dent, Mrs. George Lauri (widow of the late Williamson comedian), Miss Sophie Bm-t (Inte of Bland Holt's Company), MUs Florence Gretto'i (with Oscar Asche in Australia). Gerald Kay Souper (late of Oscar Aschr's Company, said t.n be one of the bent English nctore that h&B visited Australia), Alfred Scarlett,

and Alfred Harford (of Bland Holt's Company), John de Lacey (who came to New Zealand with the Josephine Stanton Opera Company), Miss Hilda Boobier. and Mr. J. H. Brennan (of Dunedin). The repertoire includes "The Brixton Burglary," which ran for two years at Terry's Theatre, London ; "The New Divorce," an American success ; "The Commercial Traveller," '•The First-Nighters," and the wellKnown farcical success, "Jane," which Has been revised and brought up to date. "Arms and the Man" in opera form is one of the attractions to be introduced 6o Australian playgoers in the near fu ture by the Clarke-Meynell firm. Th» new piece, the rights of which they have just secured, is called "The Chocolate Soldier" ; the music is by Oscar Strauss, composer of "The \Valtz Dream," and the libretto, by Stanislaus Strange, is based upon tho Shaw play. A letter received by Mr. Charles A. Wenman speaks highly of the success of "The Chocolate Soldier" in America (where it was recently produced in New York at the Lyric Theatre, under Mr. F C. Whitney's direction), and predicts for it a prosperous career in England. Another new light opera secured by the firm is "Baron Trenk," said to be reraarkly successful on the Continent. The task of Ibrming the new comic opera company, upon which Mr. Meynell is engaged, is proceeding satisfactorily in England. Amongsb the principals, in addition to those whose names have been already announced, will be Mr. Frank Danby (brother of tho late Mr. Charles Danby), Miss Nellie Cozens, and Mr. Fred Wynne. In an informal discussion of the drama, Clyde Fitoh once said that novelty and strangeness had little vxlue in climaxes — real human interest was the thing. He instanced an extraordinary, a. quite unique climax that would yet be bound to fail : "In this climax the hero, a chap with wooden legs, stumps breathlessly across the stage as fast as his two wooden legs will carry him. A woman brandishing a butcher's cleaver is in pursuit. The woman overtakes the man. She upsets him. Kneeling, she brandishes the cleaver about his artificial limbs. 'Herbert Mannering,' she cries, 'pay me the six weeks' board you owe, or I will cut both your wooden legs off !' " Mr. Harry Plimmer, who, making his first venture in management is joining Messrs Allan Hamilton and Reynolds Denniston, in the new company which is to play "Lovers' Lane," is a well-known Australasian actor. Born in this city, after leaving school he went to sea for three years before he adopted a stage career, on going to Sydney just twenty years ago, where his first engagement was in supporting Miss A.da Ward in "East Lynne" at the old Opera House in King-street, and in a piece called "Bright Hopes" at the old Melbourne Opera House. Then at the .Royal Standard Theatre in Sydney he supported H. C. Sydney and Miss Alice Norton in "The Mystenf of a Hansom Cap" and "Henry Dunbar." Next he became a member of the Tayior-Carrington Company, and then joined Mr. Bland Holt for twelve months. At the end of this engagement he was secured for the company supporting Miss Myra Kemble and Mr. Edward Sass m the New Zealand tour. Nearly three years' experience was gained with Mr. George Eignold at Her Majesty's Theatre, Sydney, and Mr. Plimmer was then engaged by the late Mr. Robert Brough to play the G-. S. Titheradge parts in "'lndia and the East." On his return to Australia he enlisted under the J. C. Williamson management, and has remained ever since, except during his visit to America, where he received an engagement on the day he landed to play Cavaradossi in the Sardou play, "La Tosca." Mr. Reynolds Denniston is also a New Zealander, who hails from Dunedin, and has had considerable experience in dramatic work in playing prominent roles with the Julius Knight Company. He is nephew of Mr. Justice Denniston of the Supreme Court Bench. Mr. Allan Hamilton has been well known in theatrical management throughout Australia and New Zealand for years. American press agents have placed some wonderful publicity triumphs to their credit. That was a clever ruse, for example (says the Argonaut), which called for tan-bark to be spread deeply over the street in front of a New York theatre- owing to the alleged nervousness of the actress who was playing in that building. Equally ingenious was the story which credited a buffoon comedian with a passionate longing to play "Hamlet," and gave a circura stantial account of how and when and where he would gratify it. The newspapers "fall" for such eccentricities with alacrity, exploit them with startling headlines and in unlimited columns. Whereat the press agent chuckles, measures up the free advertising space he has commanded, and forwards his cuttings to headquarters with a hint that a larger salary would be acceptable. But, after all, his methods are clumsy compared with those of his French colleague. In this, as in so many other ways, the Parisian is an artist. His latest effort is an admirable example. A certain soprano being in need of advertising is depicted as, after rehearsal, retiring to her dressing-room and inviting thither her costumiere and several of the juvenile supers to take afternoon tea. But the elder members of the party need something more stimulating than tea ; they are to be entertained with crackers and a glass of port wine. So the bottle, opened but yesterday, is produced, but the wine as it is poured out is noticed to be almost black. Ah, ha ! some jealous enemy, "the cat !" has poisoned the liquid! And then the persecuted soprano recalls that she has had several thieatening letters of late, and that a few days ago she received a parcel containing butter which had been contaminated with oxide of zinc. How picturesque, how Gallic it all is! No one is any the worse for the port or butter, but the soprano gets her publicity in a refined manner, and the newspaper reader is thrilled with a "near" tragedy. , Theatrical Clips.— Mrs. Robert Brough has been engaged to appear in "Lovers' Lane," which will be played here by the Plimmer-Denniston / Co. . . William Anderson has arranged a tour of New Zealand for one of his companies. The tour will open at Greymouth on Boxing Night. . . Frank Reis, for many years stage manager for William Anderson, has been engaged by George Mai - lou\ . . Miss Blanche Brown has arrived in Sydney from England to play the title role in Williamson's production of "Our Miss Gibbs," which will be staged there next Saturday. . . Miss Stella Gastelle at latest was appearing in a scene from "La Poupee" at Rockdale Hippodrome, England. . . Stanley Grant has booked a New Zealand tour for George Marlow, commencing next March. "The Bad Girl of the Family," and "The Mother of His Child" will be the attractions. . . Mr. Paul Latham was presented with a gold watch on leaving the Julius Knight Co. to join Plimmer and Deunistou's "Lovers' Lano" Company. . . "The Arcadians" commences its eighth week in Sydney to-night. Not a seat -■ has been vacant since the first night. The phenomenal Asche-Brayton season has been eclipsed. . . Andrew Mack was the Nanki Poo of a recent revival of "The Mikado" in New York. . . Mr. Robert Hichens has dramatised his novel, "The Gardon of Allah," which should make a powerful, if sombre, play. . . M. Charles Dalmores, the French tenor, has signed a contract to undertake a four years' engagement in New York, Chicago, and Philadelphia ' for £40,000*