FOOTLIGHT FLASHES

Evening Star, Issue 12626, 4 October 1905, Page 8

FOOTLIGHT FLASHES

[By Call Bot.J BOOKINGS. PBIXCKS TItKAMtH. Westiiiinstcr Gto« Company.—October 5 to 11. John FoQer and Sons. —October 21 to November 4 (M3o season.). AX 1 "" Hamilton lota). — November 18 to December 2. AThtn Hamilton (John V. Sheridan toar). —December 26 to January 20, I£C6. —1906. Duncdin Operatic Society.—February 23 to 28. "W. Anderson. —April 14 (four weeks). Ounedm Operatic Society.—June. W. Anderson. —Christmas If our weeks). —1907. George Stephenson.—March 9 to 25. His Majesty's Theatre. —1905. Industrial StJtool Knicrtaicnvart—-Octo-ber 6. Competitions Society.—October 9 to 25. Jessie MacLacbiuo. —October 30 to November 1. Philharmonic Society.—-November 3. Choral Socictv Concert.—November 7. Meynafl and Gunn.—November 9 to 18. Bowling Clnb Carnival.—November 20 to 29. West's Rehires and Brescian Family.— November 30 to December 9. Knight-Jeffries Company.—December H to 22. Georgo Stephenson.—December 26 to January 16, 1906 -^9o6^ E. Geach (Thurston, the Magician).— April 14 to 21. 3. C. Williamson. —June 50 to July VL H. Kickards. —November (two weeks). Roman Catholic Carnival.—November 17 to oX Mr Edward Branseombe, bead of the Westminster Glee Party, forwards mo the folltrwing note, which explains itself:— "May I be allowed, to state—in refutation of various rumors which have reached me—that my Westminster Glee and Concert Party are composed of entirely English :-jiu<*ers, as was the case when I visited New Zealand two years ago. Of the adult manbets ii is hardly necessary to speak, Madame Mario Hooton, Mr Percy Coward, and Mr Dudley Causton being so well known in this country. A<; to the hoya, it may be as wt-H to mention that Master Gordon Travis is soloist at Gray's Inn Chapel, Master William Edgley at St. Michael's, CornhlU; Master Albert Lccfiow, at St. Alban's, Teddington ; and Master Manricam at St. Thcjaus's, Portman square. To those of vour readers who may be in touch with musical matters in the Old Country the nomt-s of these church choirs will convey in as emphatic a manner as s possible the fact tiat my present party aa» thoroughly wedl equipped to rn.aiTit.tm the standard whioh I am led to believe was established during my previous tour of New Zealand." \j.iT "a phenomenal contortionist, left Melbourne to-day to tour Fuller's vaudeville circuit. He b said to eclipse anything ever seen in his line that has visited Australasia. He will appiair at the Alhamhra Theatre on Saturday week, 14th inst. Quite a contingent oi Fuller's artists leave Dunedin far Melbourne by the Monowoi on Sunday, including the Stewart trio, James Opie, Stewart and Sterling, Harry ■\f r?r .-hall l and Trevor and Cora. Their -places wfll be tilled by the DnscoH Boys (iKho have just returned after an extensive tour oi the East), Miss Nellie Power (a f B p~^.rin g socio vocalist), Frank King (the favorite descriptive singer), Will Lnchrane (sailor comedian), and others. Chrisfcehareh is to have, a new theatre at last. It wfll be erected «n tho opposite sido of the mad to the present Theatre Boyah by the proprietary of that institution, at a cost of about £20,000- The building, fjidch will bo trashed by Krtiihftjon tuna, •ill be on the same lines as Her Majesty's, Jbdrjey, and will consequently be conMructed: on the moat up-to-date lines. Quo of the iuo3t startling illusions presented by he Boy, Talma, and Boaco at the Melbourne Opera-house is called "The Man from Nowhere." A pedestal is placed on the stage. An assistant takes his place close to the footlights with a pdstoL and Le Boy takes his place on the pedestal and w covered with a cloth. The attendant instantly fires, the doth drops, and an the pedestal is a public man or national hero, the attendant changing into Le Boy. Signor Giuseppe Nicolao, who taught Adehna Patti and a host of other singers, died in New York early in August. He was born eighty years ago in Palermo, was graduated from a college of nrasio in that city, and for several years wais instructor

at bis Alma Mater. Stories of success be heard fnun America induced him to viait that country. He was tbe first director of the Philharmonic at Detroit He left in a few years to became director <rf grand opera in Castle Garden. looter he filled a similar position in the old Academy of Music. He w»s identified with several unsuccessful | grand opera ventures, and later devoted I himself to teaching. Several of his com- j positions are famous, but he realised little money from them. He died blind, poor, and embittered. i The news that a daughter has been born ' to Mdnie De Navarro, once known all over the rlnglish-spenking world as Miss Mary Anderson, will bring many hundreds of congratulatory messages from old admirers of perhaps) tbe most popular actress of her day (writes the ' Australasian "). Mdme De Navarro, who has just passed her forty- i sixth birthday, was married in 1889, and ; her only other child, a boy named Jose j Marie, was horn in 1896. She has been ' living ever since her marriage at the Court Farm, Rrondwav. in Worw^terehire. Like ' many of her profession, Miss Mary Andor- I son had a wide pormlirity altogether unconnected with her artistic powers, which, to say truth, were not very great. From the dny when she left her American school, at the age of sixteen, and took Louisville ! by storm as Juliet, till her marriajje and j retirement fourteen years later, she w«t acclaimed everywhere as the most beautiful i aotiuss on the staeo; and in all her favorito ro'es, mostly Shakespearian, the most ] ;ij.'Uressivx> critics were kind to a young | actrer*. t'T'.o. krowimr her own limitations, \c" mostly to lootc pretty, j When Mt Julras Knight arrived in Mel- 1 bemmo from West Au*»tralia last week the first person l>e called upon was Miss Rose Mtisgrove, to whom he ' was naturally drawn by the fact that they lvadl both, art the rarac tim-, been fellow-sufferers from typhoid in Sydney. Itieir greeting of each other was characteristic. As soon as tbey i.'-t Mr Knight, wiQi a quizzical bow, removed the wig that covered a head upon which the hair was jnst beginning to show a good growth after its forcible removal in the- d.ivs of his illness. Miss Musgrove naturally did likewise, and the two mutually compared not*-s on their progress in hair restoring. Forthwith each phmged into the. narration of their various symptoms, discussing pleasantly sach all-absorbing topics at! jxat loss and present gain in weight, respective appetite:), and all the hnndred-and-one-detai'iß that are associated with a long bout of illness. It was a long time before the enchanting subject was exhausted and Mr Knight felt froe to torn his attention to the more prosaic matters of his every-day life. The Gilbert ami Sullivan Company lu*d over them a shadow of gloom daring their recent trip across the Bight to Fremontle. A full day out from Adelaide the dreadful discovery was made that bv nome mischance the musie box with ail »x>re&, band p;irts, etc., of the repertoire had been left behind on the wharf. It can easily lie imagined what a t-tir such a contretemps occasioned, for an opera company without its inusio—more especially when there is a local orchestra to be rehearsed —is rather more helpless than a steamship with a breakdown in the enghie room. Naturally there were disturbances far more- serious than meteorological ones, and the unfortunate author of the mistake was made to realise the enormity of his error by the black look* and the unstinted atwifce of half the company. Luckily JVIr Bracy is a man of resource, and before r'Tt-mantie was reached had contrived to get together the score of ' The Goodoliere' in sufficient completeness to tido e>v«r things until the box arrived in time tor tbe next production of the season. The short Australian tour of Miss Nance O'NeU and her company came to an end at Her Majesty's Theatre, Sydney, on Friday night last, and the young American tragedienne left next day for New Zealand, where she is booked for a fortnight's season in Wellington. Chrktchnrch, and Auckland, leaving the latter town for San Francisco towards the end of next month. In Sydney the plays that pleased the public n:ost were, according to box office returns, ' Marie Antoinette' and ' Trilby,' .and in the former especially Mbs ONeil added much to her reputation. The Royal Comic Opera Company have by this time passed the first stage in their rehearsals of * Yeronique,' and may be said to be word and note perfect, requiring now only to put the finishing touches to their respective parts before the opera is ready to supplant ' Tbe Cingalee'—and to all ap. p&aranoes that event is still some weeks distant. The Biograph, which, is one of tbe less inportant entertainments attached to Mr J. C. Williamson's business, will shortly be on tie road again. A new set of films has arrived from London, including some genuine views taken during tbe siege of Port Arthur, and some very fine colored work. Sydney will see them firet, and the entertainment then proceeds to Melbourne. A crowded audience welcomed theKjaghtJefiries Company back to Melbourne, when tbey opened their brief -farewell season there at the Princess Theatre on Saturday evening (23rd September!. The piece in which they appeared—' His Majesty ' Servant' — was up to tbe expectations formed of it. and Mr Julius Knight paitieulariy achieved a decided success. He is perhaps in better form than he had been for some time, showing absolutely no trace of his illness, and playing the part with a viper that woo war mplaudits, while Miss Maud Jeffries, Miss Florence Hamer, and the pest of the company all performed their parts to everyone's complete satisfaction. In May last during her London seaeor Madame "Sarah Bernhardt staged ner own version of ' Adrieune Leoouvreur,' the brilliant play by Scribe and Legouve, which ha* always been one of her most famous successes. Tbe Australasian rights in the original piece are the property of Mr JC. Williamson, who is cont'itlering the possibility of Miss Brune playing it. If sihe does it will not be the first tune of coursethat she has followied in the footsteiw of the great French actress, and in ' L'Aiglon,' particularly, she achieved the distinction of interpreting worthily a character that had onlv been attempted by Miss Maud Adams and" its creator—Madame Bernhardt. Mr Williamson postponed the production of ' La Toeca,' which was to have been played m Brisbane until tbe Sydney season. Another theatrical actioa at law wiieh will cause much comment is now in the course of preparation; once again plagiarism is suggested. The piece—a musical one —was among the most successful given in London in recent times; it was withdrawn pome little while ago. The plaintiffs win be the authors of a French play, who claim that the plot of the English piece was "conveyed" from ticks, without authority and without payment. They will sue for damages for fees, and the sum they will demand is a largo one. Perhaps the matter may be <»mpromised, bat at present the French authors aver that nothing shall stay their avenging hands. They are suing, not the icngKah author who wrote flie piece, but the manager who produced it. Mischa T*Nrr""i, the boy violinist, who played at the Court conceit given at Buckingham Palace in honor of the visit of the King of Spain on Juno 6 last, has received the following letter, dated from Buckingham Palace;—' Dear Master 'M™»-h«i. Elman,—The King has been so much occupied lately, and so much oat of town for functions, that His Majesty begs me to express his regret that the ring which I, now forward with these few lines has not reached you before. Their Majesties were porfectlydefighted with their concert for the King of Spain, and return you their sincere Hvmfcn for having so much contributed to its success.—Yours jdncerely, Fabqtthail. Mm Sheok, the fasting lady, who has jnst been exhibitmg herself in a glass cage in Vienna, has lived for twenty-three day on sixty bottles of mineral water. Crowds went to Bee her sitting in her glass bar at the Prater. She occupied her time m studying the part of Marie Stuart in SchilLers play, for she is by profession an actress, and oraly fasts as a holiday recreation. When she left the cage her voice was stronger and her step more elastic. She made a be***! «npper of veal, trout, and beer. She will repeat her fasting feat in another month. Ten t*"°««*»"* people stormed the stage of the »»»«*«■"* Roman ampilheati<e at Nanea durHEy an rotcsraption in tbs- TMirwiiiiisiiiH'.e, and rn*J* a banfb* of the scenery. The, yrfaonerntracfc after s*>•&&■ art Jwm

the 'Exjn*tsVcocre»poadea«ontto£R»aad that the management had not paid theii salaries. Their irritation was smoothed over, but the money not being forthcominf! at the end of the second act, they struck again. The audience waited patiently until after midnight, ihen they rushed the stage, tore up the scenery, and made a bonfire, which they fed with tbe chairs and tbe furniture, and all the " properties " on which thev could lav hands. Property figure* crackled and fizzled in the flames, and the bonfire grew to an alarming size. Then the fire brigade was sent for, while a detachment of troops' was caßed -up to disperse the angry audience. This was_ no easy matter in such an enormous building. It was not until nearrv four o'clock in the morning that the fire had been extinguished and tbe audience dispersed. The expenses of the last two performances a* the amphitheatre reached £1.600, while the receipts only amounted to about half this sum. The management are to be summoned before the Court. It is scarcely surprising that a fluttering in the dovecotes of tbe actors has followed the news published in the ' Standard' that the authors are, by one leading manager at least, to be regarded as the "stars" henceforth. Doubt has been thrown upon the assertion that actors' salaries could commercially cripple a play, or even seriously handicap a manager. Well, "money talks," as the Americans say, and I have been permitted to inspect the books of a certain production made tfci» season at a fashionable West End theatre. The play was by a well-known author, and it was represented by well-known actors. Tbe cast was not a long one; shorter, indeed, than is usual. But the salary was some five hundred pounds. This, with the rent, the rates, the stage expenses, the ■* front of tbe house," advertising, the orchestra, fighting, and author's fees—tie latter amounting to about one hundred pounds a week the total to a sum of almost £l,lOO a week. And this fox an entertainment involving no spectacular display or heavy cost in actual presentation. Given a cost of production, say, £1,500 — a modest estimate —the manager has actually to draw £1,200 a week for fifteen weeks before he sees a penny piece for the managerial pocket. Happy the days when ' Diplomacy' witij the Kendals and Clayton and Cecil and the Bancrofts drew the town for a year to the old Prince of Wales's for, as Mr Tree has told us, tie entire expenses could not have exceeded five hundred pounds a week ! Oddments. —The Adelaide Royal has been elosed for alterations, ordered by • the Fire Brigade Board. New exits, an asbestos curtain, and new dressing rooms will be found amongst the improvements. Charles Holloway's company reopen the house on November 11. Miss Beatrice Day <Mrs Wall hi private), of the Brongh-Flemming Company, has two married sisters living in Sydney.—lt is understood that Mr and Mrs Fred H. Graham ((Miss Nellie Dent), now with the Fuller circuit, return to Australia at Christmas, under engagement to Harry Rickards.—Chefalo, the daring looper of the loop and gap jumper, here with Wirth'c circus a few months ago, was thrown off his bike while going round in the cylinder at Forbes (New South Wales) and slightly hurt. —The plot of ' The Blue Moon,' a new musical comedy at the Lyric, turns mainly on the adventures of a singing girl in Upper Burmah. The heroine is played by Miss Carrie Moore.—Sandow told the Singapore people that if they adopted his system they would be proof against tropical diseases. Then he caught the dengue fever, and had to terminate his season.—Mr Robert Brough now charges a small sum for his autograph, proceeds to go to the theatrical fund. Julras Knight has charced one shilling for some time.—J. B. Atholwood, the wellknown character actor, whose Professor Moriarty was a feature of ' Sherlock Holmes,' is a tmannth by trade. Miss Maud Jeffries considers Katusha in ' Resurrection ' and Marianne m ' Herod' two »f the finest acting parts she has ever bad.— The Modern Milo and Crurekshanks are the attractions at Auckland just now, where Mr Ben Fuller (who marries there next month) is temporarily located as manager.—The latest child performer to achieve fame on the variety stage is Marjory Bray, of West Australia, now showing at Adelaide TSvoli. —Girl in a Lion's Cage.— An intrepid giri of eighteen, the daughter erf a well-kDown Liverpool man, is creating some excitement at Blackpool by her inordinate desire to become a hon-taroer-Accompanied by her sweetheart, she visited a menagerie, and after watching a French vion-tamer go through a performance with a hon, she remarked casually that she would not mind entering the cage herself. " I will buy you a pair of gloves if vou do," said her companion, laughingly. Immediately the giri sought out the manager, and gained permission to enter the cageShe followed the tamer into the den, which contained a Bon, two bears, and a puma. She sipped some champagne, and while doing so hhe lion became restive, showed ha fangs, and growled at her. The giri lost her nerve, trembled vioientiy, and made a dash for the door. The tamer helped her through, and she reached her friends in a fainting condition. Despite thin, the girl expressed a desire to enter the cage alone, but the manager at the show refused permission. —Dses of the Picture Poster.— People who go to the theatre would probably be surprised to hear that the picture poster is largely responsible for getting them there. A good picture on the walls in a provincial town is a greater draw than

the leading lady or tie actor who " stars," and one very well-known. touring manager, who has his headquarters in Lancashire, and makes.a lot of money with bis companies, -ays that his success is obtained because his printing -bill amounts to double as much as his salary ]£s£,- A Wftis oompfipy "on the road* in draJini will spend sbror , seven pounds a week 6b its poster printing, and seven-eighths of this will be pictures. Some -'companies spend £2O a week on, poster-printing, ana even £SO a week m i 'aid out in this class of advertisement. J Pictorials for the walls are year by -year displacing all other kinds of poster adverv, tisements for theatres, but in towns like' Cheltenham, Harrogate, Leamington, Folkestone, and Torquay the letter-press poster* is quite as effective as the pictures. In' such towns sensational efforts are not required by the manager, but in manufacture . ing and big market towns a good picture display makes the play. The picture poster is a favorable criticism in advance, and although it must be sensational enough tov attract the young man with a shfiling toj' spend, it must contain no suggestion calculated to keep out the man who takes bis family. In London the picture advertisement, although not so much resorted to as in the country, is on tbe increase, but». West End managers will not spend as much* money in that way on their own theatres its they wfll do in the provinces when they make a tour. Some touring managers pay their printers three, four, and five thousand pounds & year, or more, {or posters, and the contracts they sign with each of the theatres that their companies visit contain a stringent dense stating exactly how much printing they must provide, and what proportion is to be pictorial, how much i letter-pres-s, and the number of lithos for window display, etc. —The; Conjurer and tbe Cabman.— Mr David Devant, tbe well-known conjurer, tells a funny story of his first introduction to conjuring and second sight. "The only lesson,'* says Mr Deyant, "that I ever received was obtained in a rather curious way. I came across a man who was giving conjuring and Beoond sight performances in a small shop in Islington. The price of admission was a penny, and even then business was not always good. In order to stimulate the cariosity of those that hung about outside tbe shop door, the conjurer would occasionally emerge from the shop and give a free show on the pavement. His usual plan was to produce money from the whiskers of benevolent old gentlemen, from a baby's bottle—in fact, from any place where money is not usually to be found. The conjurer once mode the fatal mistake of producing half a crown from the pocket of a cabman, who bad got down from his box to go to the public-house next door. The cabman immediately said that the half-crown found m his pocket by tbe conjurer was his half-crown. He said that be knew that ft was bis because be had only taken one half-crown that day, and so he should stick to it. At this time five people were clamoring to pay their five pennies to go into the show, and therefore the conjurer did not rtop to argue the matter with the cabman. That cabman was subsequently charged with attempting to pass a bad halfcrown."