FOOTLIGHT FLASHES

Evening Star, Issue 16197, 19 August 1916, Page 5

FOOTLIGHT FLASHES

£By Loitkimb.]

- The principal of several new acts'due at the Princess ■•Theatre on Monday night will be that of King and. Thornton. Tills duo, according to repute, take the vaudeville sketch distinctly "out of the rut"* into which is has declined. Their work runs to the emotional, with, a leawning of comedy, and the playlets they bring with them have astonished and delighted northern audiences. Other newcomers will be Orphea, the protean musician, and ■several of the latest acts imported' from America.

Amongst the productions which J. C. Williamson, Ltd., will stag© in Australia and New Zealand in tho next 12 months are 'The House That Jack Built' (Christmas pantomime, now in course-of preparation), 'Tins'Cinema Star,' ' Katinka,' 'ThoPearl Girl,' 'Town Topics,' 'A Little Bit ot Fluff.' 'Tito Bing Boys Are Here,' 'MiManhattan,' 'The Only Girl,' 'Tho Red Widow,' 'Betty,' 'Forty-five. Minutes from Broadway' (musical comedies),' 'Big Jim Gamty,' ' Common Clay,' ' Tho Houro of Glass,' ' The Blindness of Virtue.,' ' Outcast,' 'The Traffic ' 'Damaged ' Goods,' 'Tho Heart of Wetona,' -The Easiest W ay,' ' Shore Acres,' '' The Great Lover' (dramas), ' Phe Dnramv,' ' Daddy Long Legs,' 'Tho Land of Promise,' 'Th© Cinderella Man' (comedies), 'A Full House,' Marrying Money.' 'Too Many Cooke,; 'Our Wives,' 'He Comes Uw Smiling,' 'Young Wisdom,* 'Fair and Warmer,' 'lnt-tbe-Traii Holiday,' and 'Baby Mine' (farces).

lie Allan Wilfcie Company, with bhakcspoaieon revivals, are doimr'excellent business in Auckland. Miss Kiwyn Harvey (who was leading 'lady with "the last •xeorgo Marlow Company to visit tho Dominion) is a member of tho company. ! famish MacCunu, tho well-known con-<ii:c'-!--i- -Hid composer, who died on August £, ".;., Uio ujuiWr oi 3lr Andrew MacUnm, the Syduw musical -director of the <). L. Williamson musical coinedv companies.

i Every marl brings farther news of the phenomenal success achieved bv the English comedienne Wish Wtoik, "who comes hero under the Fuller banner in a few weeks. ]Jea Fuller pia-ced her first with a revue company at the Adelphi, .Sydney, and the Sydney 'Daily Telegraph"' thus entnused.over her debut :—■'Wish. Wynne, one of those 'occasional' artists who can best be summed up in George H. Wood's pnrase, of "somewhat different,' had a rousing reception from a great audience at the Adelphi Theatre on -Saturday evening, and m return gave a 20 minutes' exhilarating performance, which was punctuated at rapid intervals by - singularly sincere and sustained enthusiasm.. Tire pertormanee, was midway through before the. newcomer stepped unostentatiously to the footlights and began her first number •A Little Thing Like That.' The house', metaphorically, took her to its heart and made her feel at home at once. A hurricane of applause was an evidence that they liked her originality, her buovanev, and her breezincas. and the deftness with winch she glossed over snggestiveness, if it were to be found in words for which she was not responsible; and as the turn progressed her popularity became the more pronounced."

Australia very often sees American productions before London, but it is not usual for an _ Australian management to be the actual introducers of a play to Londoners. •J. C. Williamson, Ltd., however, produce 'High Jinks' at the Adelphi Theatre this month, and in the cast will be W. H. Rawlins and Gwen Hughes, both of whom were, in the Australian production. Hugh J. Ward, the governing director of J. C. Williamson, Ltd., left for America some ten days ago to secure, fresh attractions for Australia and New Zealand. Dunedin theatregoers saw in the movie.-; this week two actors who appeared here earlier on the "legitimate" stage. William Desmond (here with Katherino Grey) was screened at The Octagon: Tyrone Power (who came here with his 'wife, Edith. Crane, some 16 years ago) was lead in Everybody's feature drama. A big act just landed by the Fuller? is that of the six Cycling" Proveanies. They were trained bv a very well-known trick cyclist. Smith (three of the six are his sons), whose exhibitions on the hiah bicycle attracted huge crowds to Melbourne Exhibition 32 years ago. All the money he' has made on the stage he has made out of Shakespeare, Sir Herbert Tree told an American 'interviewer the other daV, adding that 'Julius Crcsar' netted "him £ILOCO in England, while 'Henry Y1II." has been a "tremendous drawing card" in Xew I York.

l'atrnns of the grand opera seison by the Clorisalez Company at the I rim ess i'hcatro, .Melbourne, have noted with interest that when flowers are handed up to the principals they 'are often for the male artists. It s:?ems that this is a common practice on the Continent, but wiMi Australasian playgoers it is more the custom to present these fragrant tokens of appreciation to tho ladies of tho company. Harry Cohen (now treasurer to the Darnel Mayer Theatre Enterprise?, London) writes that Dorothy Dix (who was hero with William Desmond) has a principal part in the London production of tho American comedv-drama 'Daddy • Long Legs/ Mr Cohen describes the Dnir\ p Lane revue ' Razzle Dazzle' as something exceeding- the wildest dreams—a chorus of 450 and a real ice-skating scene on a sohd block frozen in to the stare. Horace Goldin, the magician, "who commences his season in New Zealand at Wellington on the 30th. is an American, who way born in Russia, where he spent tho iirst 15 years of his life. Having a penchant for sleight-of-hand tricks as a bov, he used to entertain his friends bv deceiving them, and so successful was he at this fascinating pastime that he pursued his studies further by purchasing tricks ready made when he could get them, bub always found that his own goods were superior to the shop-made fakes, which gavo him a turn for invention, which has ever remained with him. Joining the professional stage,, and arriving at Washington, ho found that ho did not have sufficient money to build a big act for himself, so. with indomitable nluck, he worked in a drapery store until lit !>.-,d saved enough money to build tho nig ideas he had in his mind, and tlieii he started out on the road. To-day he employs more men than any other"magician before tho public, and 'carries infinitely more baggage. Ho works with lightning speed, without any talk, performing from 90 to .100 tricks in the space of 50 minutes.