AMUSEMENTS.

Evening Star, Issue 12366, 2 December 1904, Page 7

AMUSEMENTS.

RIOKARDS’S VAUDEVILLE COMPANY, The new programme of the’ above strong combination proved as attractive as their first, and there was a large audience td witness it. A good point about the entert.liiltnent is that it starts sharp to announced time, and, once started, never lags; the usual half-time interval is the only wait. t Several of the performers have now estab- ’ lished themselves firmly in favor here, ahd may be always certain of ,a hearty welcome. Miss Mtagie Fraser’s singing and dancing; Messtis Ford and Bentley’s humorous diiologue act; Miss Maud Fanning’s artistic qoon impersonations * the Smith dancing; Mr Arthur Elliott’s eccenttid comedy; and Mr Jim Bell’s original patter and clever bone solo—all these are good and well Worth their pLice. Will Van Allen again captured his audience by means of his extraordinary musical work, while his chatter between whiles is most- diverting. Miss Maud Beatty was loudly recalled, aniS Miss May Dtiprez, in her Dutch sketch, (|uitfe took the fancy of her audience. Mr Winton, besides being a clever ventriloquist, introduces telling effects with his up-to-date mechanical figures. We have already enlarged upon Madame Marzella’s wonder-fully-trained birds. Last night they were brought- on in a new act, which showed them off to better advantage than before, and with the aid ol some clever electrical effects by Mr Mai Rose and stage settings the result was of the best-. The shipwreck scene was complete in every way, and certainly new to Dunedin. Nobody should miss the Rickards’ season. Last night’s programme is to be given this evening, and a matinee will be held to-morrow, to which the children of the Industrial School have been kindly invited by Mr Allan Hamilton, Mr Rickards’s representative. BAZAAR. AND GIPSY FAIR. St. Martin’s bazaar and gipsy faif was continued last evening. There was a good attendance. . The musical programme was well rendered, the opening chorus, ‘ Gipsies’ life,’ with gipsies in chart acter and stage effects, being exceptionally good. Air C. Clarkson effectively sang ‘Dearer than life,’ and the duet ‘Excelsior’ with Mr H. Drake. Praise mtist be given to the children for the excellent way m which they performed the maypole dance in the action song ‘The gipsies, and credit given to Misses Drake and A.'Millward and Mr R. Steele for their training (maypole), and Mkscs Umbers and Walker, (action song) respectively. Miss Hazel Uni hen’s gipsy dance, hgain received wellmerited applause. The “fun of the fair” was kept up by.Misses H. Russell (clown), H. Dudfield (darkie), and G. Dudfield (gipsy tinker). Madame Incognita was kept busily employed fortune-tolling, and her fame increased with each visitorAo her tent, “Oh, isn’t she good?” being the common verdict on returning. Durum th‘ evening the Rev. G. W. Harding announced the continuation of the fair for another night, probably early during the succeeding week. The business done at the stalls Was considered satisfactory, the efu „ i l, • s^ootin g gallery, and “Aunt hally also cahie in for a largo share of attention. The Drake family orchestra supplied the music in their usual efficient manner. MR SIDNEY WOLFS CONCERT, \Ve have seen the programme issued by Mr Sidney Wolf’s third choral and orchestral concert, to be held in His Majesty’s Theatre next Wednesday, The chief work to bo produced is ‘ Hiawatha’s Departure,’ the third and last of Coleridge-Taylor’s most remarkable series, dealing with the song of Hiawatha, and in the opinion of many musicians the greatest of the three. It is a difficult work, especially for the sopranos, but Mr Wolf knows this, and has his choir well prepared. The solos of this work are allotted to Airs Hudson, Mr C. Holloway, and Mr H. Wright. The other items bn the programme are songs by Air W. T. Goodman, Mrs Hudson, and Miss' q! Meenan, an unaccompanied evening hymn by Sir Arthur Sullivan, a part song by 3)r Elgar, and a highly-spoken-of orchestral suite by W. H. Reed. As usual, the concert is to open with Sir Alichael Costa’s arrangement of ‘God save the King.’ It is to be hoped that Air Wolf will stick to this as the regular opening item until the public get to know it perfectly, and become accustomed to joining in at the last chorus.