FOOTLIGHT FLASHES.

Evening Star, Issue 14003, 9 March 1909, Page 5

FOOTLIGHT FLASHES.

[Br Caix Boy.]

The Bland Holt Dramatic Company (now at Auckland) open at Brisbane on April 3 for a five weeks' season. Then follows Sydney for a four months' season, during which time Mr Holt will stage the two new Drury Lane plays—'The Sins of Societv' and 'Tho Marriages of Mayfair.' •The Rod Mill,' the 'delightful Dutch lrusical comedy to be presented iiy J. 0. Williamson's Company at His Mamsty's Theatre to-morrow night, has recently been the success of the year in Australia, and has been described as the best since 'The Belle of New York.' and is universally acknowledged as being head and shoulders above any musical comedy that has, with tho oxcoption of 'The Prince of Pilsen,' been produced for many years. Nothing funnier and cleverer has been witnessed, it is said, than the (lancing and humorous fooling of Mr John Ford—a comedian of high reputation in America, specially imported by J. C. Williamson for tho part of Con Kidder—whoso rendering of the part is said to open up an entirely new vista in tho way of high-class comic art, etc. Fred Leslie, the Kid Conner of the play, is strongly associated with Mr Ford. Mr Charles Loder, ono of America's most prominent dialect comedians, will appear as Willem—a Dutch character part that he is said to have made, his own. Mr Pony Denton will appear in an important role, assisted by such acknowledged artiste as Mr Kdward Sherros and Mr Pat Bf.th.urst. Among tho ladies there aro such popular artists as Miss Olive Ciodwin, Miss Ivy Scott, and Miss Marie Iviton, a.-sisted by a small army of choristers, ballet, and auxiliaries. The visit of the Humphrey-Kolktr Dramatic Company to Dunedin has been abandoned, and th" dates at His Majesty's tin.- month cancelled. Mr Titheradge's unfortunate indisposition and the success of the pantoininio "Jack and Jill' in Melbourne, rendering an extension of the scasna there necessary and the tilling up of dates in other towns in Australia, are tho contributing factors. Miss Anglin's pieces without that lady ami Mr Tithe-radge would have led to dissatisfaction among Dunedin theatregoers, and I can quite believe that Mr Williamson did not wish to face a repetition of the storm accasioned by the list visit of the Royal Comics minus the late George 1-auri, Miss Florence Young, and Mr Reg. Roberts.

The celebrated Besses o" the Hani Band purpose returning to Australia next year, after a tour of Africa and India. Mr Albert Xorman. for years with Wand Holt, has joined William Anderson ; while Mr Gaston Mervale and Miss Louise Carbasse, a clever Sydney girl, will support Miss Xollie Stewart.

'The Prince, of Pilsen,' tho second prodiction of the forthcoming J. C. Williamson musical comedy season, is the joint work of two of America's foremost light opera, composers an! librettists, the music boing the work of Henry Pixlcy, and the ho- ■!•: by Gustav laiden. The one is said to be remarkably tuneful, and the other replete ivith cievjr dialogue and unique wittici.-ms.

It looks as though something like a record production was to he established by 'The Kngli<hmnn's Home,' that drama which has created such a profound impre. -

-:oii in London, ft was not staged there i.ntil Fehruaiy. Immediately the Press cables came to hand about it Mr J. C. Williamson wired about it. and before it was three days old in London the Australian rights had been secured by him. Further, he cabled for full particulars about it, the number of people in the cast, the types of characters wanted, the class of scenery—in fact, all the details necessary for production—and on the information coming to hand a tentative cast was selected and preliminary arrangements put in hand. Meanwhila Mr J. A. F. Malono, in London, had got all the material together, and scrip, photographs, plots, etc., were posted from London the same week. They will arrive in Australia about the 17t'h in-t., and rehearsals will be com mo iced with a view to the staging of the piece as an Faster attraction—that is to tay, a bare two months after the premiere of the piece in London. It is safe to s.,rrcise that nothing quite so speedy has t:cn attempted hitherto in Australia. In ' Sweet Kitty Bellairs.' with which Miss Nellie Stewart makes her eagerlyanticipated re-entry on the Australian stage, the atmosphere of the e'ghtsenth century, always so attractive in a lo.nantic comedy drama, has been very successfully worked upon by David Belasco to provide an environment for hi.; altogether piquant, high-spirited, and witty heioine, who descends upon Bath, turns tho heads of all the men, sets tho women hy the ears, and generally upsets the wh.>le community. In that enjoyable occupation she deliberately courts scandal for the sake of a friend, and thereafter brilliantly iv.uts her detractors at the big regimental b:.ll preceding the sudden call to arms wnich provides one of the most stirring ;. enes of the play. The New York 'Tribune' states that an amateur dramatic performance at Marydel, Maryland, was marred by a remarkable tragedy. In the course of the plav one of the chief actors, Mr C. L. Pippin", had to drink a glass of wine, and immediately after performing this piece of business Mr Pippin was observed to stagger and fall. Ho died a few minutes later, and it was discovered that the wine had been poisoned. Jt is alleged that the poisoning of tho wino was the work of a fellow-actor, whose jealousy was said to have been aroused on account of the ardor displayed by Mr Pippin in the love bits;, liess of the play. The 'Tale of tho Cities,' a spectacular feature wedded to poetry and music, is one of the big things in ' Tho Prince of Pilsen.' In this arc represented the prin- • ipal cities of Australia and the Dominion. A number of handsome young ladies im-per.-onate the citi-s with much graceful action and poetic diction. Miss Dunedin, in the perso.u of Miss Nellie Leslie, is heralded with a Maori haka and chorus of we koine.

In the Melbourne Divorce Court the other I day Ernest John Taylor, a fireman on the \ ictorian railways, petitioned for a dissolution oi his marriage with Ada .Rebecca! Mabel Gardner Taylor, twenty-seven years of age, principal boy in pantomime, on the grounds of desertion. The parties were married in January, 1901, and there was one child. There was no appearance of the respondent, who is known as "Mabelle Morgan," and is now in England. She visited Dur.edin as principal buy with the 'Mother Goose' and ' Hunipty Dumpty ' pantomimes. In granting a decree nisi trie Chief Justice remarked that the wom.m apparently had more repaid for her ambition to be an actress and for the pleasures of life/than for home life and her husband and child. The husband had apparently treated his wife well, and had done his best to try to get her to give up her stage career. He had appealed k> her en his own and the child's behalf, but she a,p}>eared not to have any affection for either her husband or her child. 'The Duchess of Dantzie' finished her highly-honorable career at Her Majesty's Theatre, Sydney, on February 27, and 'The Dairymaids' has gone up'for a fortright':-: revial preliminary to the first production of 'Havana,' which will be staged for three weeks only from the loth inst. The story turns upon the love, adventures of Consuelo, a handsome Cuban girl, and the points at which her tempestuous petticoat crosses the tracks of two voung Englishmen and their yachting friencls.°Thero are half a dozen love affairs, a band of conspirators (inevitable, of course, in Cuba), a bovy of beautiful English girls, and a (juartet or so of real comedy characters that keep the drollery at laughi'n" level throughout. ° It is always interesting to note the influence that the theatre may and often dees exert upon the thoughts and the sentiments of the community, crystailisinaas it were, by some vivid presentment the half-formed desires or ideals of the audiences. The cables have recently told us of the immense impression made upon London by the production there of 'The Englishman's Home,' and the fever .-f military enthusiasm it has awakened, while on this side of the world we have a similar instanro of stimulating patriotism in the reception accorded by 'Jack and Jill' audiences nt Mcv Majesty's .Jlei-

bourne, of Mr Bert Gilbert's song, "This bit of the wqrjd belongs to us.' To anyone listening to the crash of applause that fol lows his vigorous rendering of that line —the last of a chorus that invariably sets the foot tapping and the lips humming—there can be no doubt as to the real depth of the national feeling which it stirs up or the enthusiasm that the idea of a "made in Australia" navy calls iip. It is interesting, too, to record that Senator Pearce, to whom as, Minister of Defence the beginning of a naval destiny for Australia is due, was an appreciative member of the audience the other evening, an appreciation he has since shown in most cordial letters to Mr Williamson and Mr Gilbert. To Mr Williamson he said: "Recognising as I do the power of national sentiment and the wonderful influence of poetry and song in that direction, I consider you are doing patriotic service in thus stimulating enthusiasm on this question. Feeling strongly as I do on this question, I can assure you my visit to the performance was a real pleasure."

On Saturday last Mr Julius Knight and his company appeared for the first time in Australia at the Theatro Royal, Sydney, in ' The Duke's Motto,' a new drama of the romantic period of French history that gave us 'The Three Musketeers,' "Under the Red Robe,' and so on. Mr Knight's part is that of Henri de Lagardere, a young cavalier and a master of fence, who, discovering a dastardly riot to kill tho Duke of Neveras, resolves to lend him his aid. That aid, however, fails in its purpose, and Lagardere finds himself the guardian of a baby daughter orphaned by the treachery of an uncle. Ho defends her for years until, indeed, the baby is a beautiful young girl and Lagardere a man in the prime of life. Always ho has had to use his wits to snield her against the wiles of a man between whom and the- duke's estates' she stands, and tho play deals mostly with the way he triumphs over all the plots. In ono great scene he holds the sta-'e at bay. °

Oddments.—Mr Harold Thorlev, the operatic baritone, who visited Australia in 1900 as a member of Williamson's Opera Company, has returned under engagement to Mcynell and Gunn—Miss Clara Clifton, of the Royal Comics, was recently married m Melbourne to Mr Cartwright—Miss Beatrice Day, the leading lady of the Julius Knight Company, confesses that it is one of her ambitions to play Shakespearian heroines in Australia.—Harold Whittle, who was accompanist to Ada Crossley, will fill the same- position for Mclba.— MLss Marie Hall, the violiniste, starts on a tour of South Africa and India next year, and it i:; said there is a possibility of Australia, her native land, being again visited ljeforc she returns to England."

—Melha and tho Charities.—

Xellic Melha writes to th« Melbourne

'Arjrus' l;sst week: —■" Numerous requests, for donations to different charities have alTcady reached me. [ am sure to receive many more. The exigencies of ronstanb travel, my necessarily incomplete knowledge of local conditions, and the bewildering impasse- created liy an overwhelming correspondence, make it impossible for mo to consider duly these several applications. The numlier of concerts already arranged for my tour make it a, physical impossibility Tor me to undertake any additional appearances on any pretest whatever. Tn any case, I wish to mark my affection for the Australasian people by some direct personal sift, however inadequate, rather tha.n by a charity performance, which, after all, is but a form of tax on the generosity of one's friends. I have therefore decided to meet the situation to the best of my ability by donating I.OOOgs among tho charities of the chief cities of Australasia, in the following proportion:—Sydney. £250: Melbourne. £250; Adelaide, £110: Brisbane, £110: Auckland, £SO; Cristchurch, £SO; Wellington, £SO: Dunedin. £SO: Perth, £SO; 'Hobart. £4O; Launcesion. £4O. Counting confidently on the kind assistance of the mayors of these cities, I shall forward to them in due course cheques for the amounts indicated." The cable last week made it appear that the diva had given £SOO to each of the four centres of the Dominion. —Julius Knight Guillotined.— Says tho 'Australian Star' of February 24:—"A. remarkable theft was committed at the Theatre Royal last night. A large pictorial poster, showing the head of Mr Julius Knight, in colors, was displayed on the gate of the vestibule, and this, at the time the theatre was closed after last night's performance of 'The Scarlet Pimpernel,' wa.s left in its frame in front of the J. C. Williamson House. This morning, at mx o'clock, the night watchman discovered that the portrait of the popular actor had been neatly cut out. A pair of scissors was evidently used in the operation. The picture was an artist's proof, valued at £5 ss. A spire of romance attaches to the theft, seeing that an initialled handkerchief was found on the pavement by the night watchman. Who it was that ran the risk cf discovery in the act of appropriating the portrait after the manner of the historic theft of Gainsborough's painting of the Duchess of Devonshire it would be interesting to unearth. The case, however, is surrounded in mystery, and is likely to remain so unless the owner of the handkerchief should make application at the theatre for her property. It is strange that at the time Mr Knight is appearing in a play where he rescues 'Aristos' from the guillotine that he should bo so vicariouslv gnillontined himself."