MIMES AND MUSIC

Evening Post, Volume LXXXIX, Issue 150, 26 June 1915, Page 15

MIMES AND MUSIC

(By "Orpheue,") THE "SHOWS. GRANT) OPERA HOUSE. Allen Doooe, 26th July to 10th August. HIS MAJESTY'S. Brennan-FuJler Vaudeville. THE KING'S THEATRE. Pictures-nightly. STAR THEATRE. Pictures nightly. NEW THEATRE. Continuous Pictures. EMPRESS THEATRE, Continuous Pictures. SHORTT'S THEATRE. Continuous Pictures. PEOPLE'S PICTURE PALACE. Continuous Pictures. BRITANNIA THEATRE. Continuous Pictures. OPERA HOUSE. Continuous Pictures. New Zealand will probably see the spy play, "The Man Who Stayed at Home," in September. Towards the end of the year Jnlius Knight will begin his New Zealand "small town" tour. E. J. Carroll, who brought " Bonty Pulls the Strings" to Australia, and also " The Rosary," has gone to America to see if there is any new attraction to bo picked up for Australia. Mr. Victor Beck ha-3 been engaged to pilot Branscombe's Violet Dandies on ite tour of the South. It is worth recording, on the personal word of Eugene Walter, the American playwright", that the idea of the drama " Paid in Full " was given to him by Miss Katherine Grey, the actress who played the principal role in this city. Mr. Harcourt Beatty, who will be remembered in Wellington for a number of fine exhibitions of histrionic ability, and particularly for -a splendid piece of character work as John Shand in "What Every Woman Knows," has gone to the front. For some time before enlisting he was acting as a special constable in London. The following h the repertoire of the Irish-American comedian Allen Doone for his New Zealand tour (which has begun at Auckland) :—": — " Barry of Ballymore," "The Eebel," "The Burglar and the Lady," " In Old Donegal," and "The Parish Priest." The company play Wellington from 26th July to 10th August. The Gaiety Theatre in London, which was the scene of the great George Edwardes successes, has been reopened by George Grossmith and Edwards LauriHard, in partnership. They are producing "This is the Night," in which Grossmith did well in New York, and the pair propose putting on musical productions of the type which became as Gaiety pieces some years ago. Victor Gouriet, who was here in "The Merry Widow," is in the company. • Mrs. Mabel Manson (Miss Mabel Braithwaite), of Dunedin, who has been in London for a number of years singing at various concerts and festivals, has received an offer from the J. 0. Williamson firm to come out to Aus^ tralia and take part in comic opera productions. • Mrs. Manson has declined the offer. She is probably doing much better at Home. This is not the first offer the Dunedin vocalist has received from the firm and declined. Fred Niblo had some farewell in Sydney. When the curtain fell on the last act the packed audience broke loose, ■and people from everywhere began to hand up present* for Niblo and his wife and the members of the company. Streamers were thrown to and from the stage, and among Niblo's gifts was a large Union Jack sent by the members of the West Australian members of the Expeditionary Forces. In answer to the manager's invitation to send wires of good-bye Niblo got 428, one complimenting him as an auctioneer — that was not read out. On the following day Melbourne trooped down to the Spencer-street railway station and told him another good-bye. Niblo has been •he most successful engagement the Williamson firm has made. That "A Scrape o' the Pen" has hit >übhc taste in Sydney is evident (says Sydney Telegraph), and it is almost safe to say that many who have enjoyed the delightful humour and clever characterisation of the Scottish play will repeat -heir vieitto the Palace Theatre. A big faotor in its success is the introduction of interesting touches of pathos as well as comedy, which serve to show that life in a little Scotch town is not so very dissimilar at bedrock to that in an AustraEan hamlet. One affecting scene is ihat in which the lullaby is sung by the leroine in putting a little motherless bairn to sleep, and the round of applause that follows it every night is the outburst of the pent-up feelings of the audience. The scene brings back memories of childhood. The stage is the better for productions such as Graham Moffat has given in "Bunty Pulls the Strings" and "A Scrape o1o 1 the Pen." "The hardest job I ever faced in my life was that of having no work to do, said Mr. George Marlow, who, a little short of two years ago, sold, at a large figure, his interest in the Adelphi Theatre (Sydney) and circuit to George Willoughby, Ltd. "To live without work is an impossibility for me, and for that reason I am glad to be back at the Adelphi, even though I know, that I am going to have a very strenuous time for a while. I am very pleased, also, to be able to do something towards keeping stage hands and professional people busy while the war depression lasts." Mr. Marlow (says the Sun) declined to discuss the terms On which he has again become director of the destinies of the Adelphi, and the other theatres of the circuit. It was, however, gathered that the George Marlow Co., Ltd., was treating for the purchase of the George Willoughby, Ltd., concern, Mr. Marlow to buy the controlling interest, and to be governing director of the enterprise. Mr. George L. Goodman, that genial and popular institution of the profession whom an ever-widening circle of friends know only as " Goody," last week created a unique record in connection with local theatrical enterprise. Thirty-five years ago — on 18th June, 1880, to bs precise (6ays Sydney Telegraph) — he first took permanent charge of the Theatre Royal as business manager and treasurer, and to-day ho is still at his post at the Criterion Theatre. Now in his 70th year, he ha* thus epent half the allotted span "in front of the house." He made his entry into the theatrical business when the London Comedy Co. was playing "Friends" at the Theatre Royal. " Goody " has had. many and varied experiences, and has been connected in one way or another with the following places of amusement in this city ;— Theatre Royal, Her Majesty's Theatre, Garriok Theatre (now Tivoli), Gaiety Theatre, Victoria Theatre (in Pitt-street, but long since demolished), Queen's Theatre (York-street, demolished long since), the Opera Houso (York-street, row W. and A. M'Arthur, Lkl.), the Standard Theatre (now Little Theatre), and the School of Arts, when only two theatres were being run in Sydney. He was also the manager of the first moving picture show in Australia — "The Lumiere" — which exhibited in a- large shop in Pitt-street, almost opposite the Lyceum. Mr. Goodman is an ardent and consistent disciple of Jzaak Walton. People call it a strange hobby ; but Mr. Goodman haa inado And still makca it aucli a dtdllhtfuJ pastime that dozens ot .

the world's greatest stars in the musical and dramatic profession recall with pleasure happy days spent in an open boat with "my friend Goody." " And; when I get boo old to fish," he said to the Daily Telegraph reporter, " I will 1 write a book, for I have tons of material -concerning the early days of the stage in this country, which. would be of interest to theatre-goers." Encouraged by tho success of the Paul Stanhope Revue Company, the Fuller Proprietary has gone further into this class of entertainment, for it has now engaged the Bletsoe Burlesque Company, which is at present producing a new revue, entitled " Palmistry Up to Date," at the Bijou Theatre, Melbourne. Another company on similar lines, in which the principals will be Bert La Blanc and Carrie Moore, is being organised and rehearsed at the National Amphitheatre, Sydney, and will be Bent on tour over the firm's circuit almost immediately. The woman producer at last! "Ma Mie Rosette," one of the most bewitching and musically fascinating of the lighter class of comic operas, is staged under tho direction of Miss Minnie Everett at Her Majesty's Theatre (says the Sydney Daily Telegraph). This is probably the first occasion upon, which such an experiment has been tried in any of the principal theatres of the Commonwealth ; but it is no new experience for Miss , Everett, who successfully produced " Puss in Boots '' for the firm in South Africa. For a number of years Miss Everett has arranged the ballets and marches and groupings for the big Wil liamson spectacular pieces. Miss Everett was one of the original cast of " Ma Mie Rosette " in Sydney.