FOOTLIGHT FLASHES.

Evening Star, Issue 18690, 19 July 1924, Page 10

FOOTLIGHT FLASHES.

[By Loitbesr.] On Monday evening vaudeville will bo restored at the Princess Theatre, with an imposing array of nine acts, the now ones being the famous London comedian, Bert Cooto, Reno’s Wariinbaphone Band, Aland Courtney and Mr “ C.,” and Mr Chas. Lawrence. Bert Goote is a really celebrated English comedian, and should spread laughter through the coming week. In pure Australeso Cooto is what is called a “ dinkum coot,” who gives a cleverly humorous sketch under tho title of ‘ A Lamb on Wall Street.’ Cooto is a fine comedian, with a restrained manner that nevertheless gets the full modicum of fan. He will bo supported by Peggy Fishwick and Oswald Waller, who aid and abet him in making his points. He is an artist to tho finger tips, and makes the more or less orefinary dialogue of his sketch seem a thing of genuine wit. On Monday at the Princess Mr ” C.”

will feature his own song ‘ At Our Exliibi- > tion. Next Year,' which deals with local I topics, and gives a humorous idea of what ' wc may expect to see in a few months’ 1 time. Reno’s Marimbaphono Band, coming to tho Princess on Monday, is the latest . American musical innovation, introducing selections from grand opera to jazz. It has been a tremendous success on the Ful- ; ler circuit. Mr C. M. Berkeley has arrived in Auck- ' land in advance of the Vanbrugh-Bouoi-cault Company. Allan Wilkie and his Shakespearean Company will commence another tour *. f New Zealand in August. Ethel Irving, whose dramatic season out here is still kindly recalled, is on tour in England with ‘ Mrs Dane’s Defence’ and similar plays. Opportunity has not been slow in coming to Mary Macgregor, the Queensland girl who was Jill in Oscar Asdic’s production, ‘Tho Skin Game.’ Miss Macgregor will appear in a leading part with John D. O’Hara in ‘Kempy/ beginning in Sydney to-night. Bert Coote, the English comedian who is to appear as “A Lamb on Wall Street” at the Princess Theatre on Monday, is a clever comedian of the quiet and restrained type, and he depicts the type very popular with British story-writers just now of a cheerful imbecile whose apparent foolishness really hides mental acuteness. He i lias good support in Oswald Waller as his i intriguing partner and Pcggv Fishwick as ’ bis fiancee. Both these latter artists have been with Bert Coote for some considerable time, not only appeajjng with him in his present hilarious vehicle, ‘A Lamb on Wall Street,’ but also in his Christmas fantasy, ‘The Windmill Man,’ which ho produced at Christmas time in London. Miss Fishwick has a long line of dramatic ' successes to her credit which stands her ; in good stead in her present role. I Tue latest vaudeville bill at Fullers’ Sydney, includes many splendid acts, particularly those of Little Lorna and Lance, juvenile wonders, who have been creating a furore of enthusiasm during the week

, (says an Australian exchange); Togo, the 5 amazing Japanese juggler; Howard and l j Wyndham, eccentric dancers; and Jess : and Tony, a new English comedy duo. l Mr Cyril Ritchards, whose dancing has ; been a special feature in various J. C. ■ Williamson productions, passed through I Auckland by the Niagara a week ago for a year’s trip abroad. Mr Ritchards goes ■ armed with sheaves of letters from Australian notabilities, whose recommendations L should ensure for this popular artist the ! glad baud everywhere.—‘New Zealand 1 Sporting and Dramatic Review.’ ! Miss Marjorie Day, late of Auckland 1 (says the ‘ Herald’s ’ London correspon- ■ dent, writing on May 29), is temporarily playing Madge Titheradge’s part in the * production at Wyndham’s Theatre, ‘To | Have the Honor.’ Miss Titheradge has • had, through illness, temporarily to retire J from the cast. Miss Marjorie Day, who ’ is a successful substitute, is well reraem- | bered for her good work in ‘ The Devil’s ( Disciple,’ ‘ Within the Law,’ and many other plays. In private life she is tho ' j wife of Air George Desmond. 1 I The Two Vagabonds, those clever musi--1 cians and humorists who were here under the Musgrovo Celebrity Vaudeville, are : back ,in Sydney appearing at the Tivoli Theatre. Towards the end of the year the violinist, David Burt, will marry a Dun--1 edin lady, and tho act will afterwards proceed to America, where it is already ; booked. j _ When ‘_The Fatal Wedding’ was revived | I in New York recently tho orchestra played I a medley of such old-time song hits rs ! ‘After tho Ball,’ ‘Break the News to I Mother,’ ‘Always in tho Way,’ “’Mid the Green Fields of Virginia,’ and ‘ I’ve a Longing in My Heart for You, Louise.’ ! Claude Dampier (well known in New Zealand) has opened in Sydney at Fullers’ with a now revue company in ‘All Trumps,’ which is said to have nothing but aces in the pack with the exception of the leader, who is, of course, tho Joker. It is described as full of the best kind of fun, jokes, jests, and jingles, there are dozens of amusing scenes, and the ballets are beautifully Locked. With the joyous Claude are Hilda Attenboro, J. Taylor, Lola Hunt, Sheila Brady, Ronald'Knight, Dorothy Summers, Ernest Lashbrooke, Kyrle Sylvaney, and Rene Albert. Muriel Starr has received requests (says ‘Table Talk’) for the revival in Melbourne ol several of the plays in which she formerly displayed her histrionic talent.

When the allotted run of the very successful production of ‘The Garden of Allah’ has been finished, it is intended to present for the first time in Australia Somerset Maugham's remarkable play ‘East of Suez.’ After Mario Lloyd had led the way eight of her sisters took up stage work. Marie and_ Rosie Lloyd are remembered by Australian followers of vaudeville. Another sister is Alice Lloyd, who will appear in Williamson vaudeville at the Royal, Melbourne. With a quieter style and quieter songs than her best-known sister, she has had much success, especially in New York. _ Miss Yera Bedford, the young Australian singer, has had high praise bestowed on her for her interpretation of character parts in the Melba-Williamson grand opera. She is one of the few Australians who has got a chance, and her work as Martha* in ‘Faust,’ Nicklaus in ‘The Tales of Hoffman,’ and Emilia in ‘ Otello ’ is said to assure her a prominent position in grand opera of the future. . Says a northern paper of the Nellie Rraraley season: • “On Saturday night there will he a change of bill. The company will produce for the first time in New Zealand Eugene, Walters’s comedy, ‘ Paid in Full,’ in which Miss Bramley will' play Emma Brooks and Mr Georje Bryant Captain Williams.” This, of course, is not accurate. ‘ Paid in Full ’ was playccl here by Katherine Grey. An important attraction to ho presented this year by J. C. Williamson,, Ltd., -will he Thurston Hall and his complete company. He will present several of his most notable successes, including ‘ So This Is London ’ —a play that is at once a satire, a parable, and a Comedy of types, English and American, and in -which ho appears as Hiram Draper, a rich American visiting England for the first time. Another of his productions will he ‘The Broken Wing,’ in which he enacts the role of Captain Innocencio dos Santos, a swashbuskling Mexican.

Frank Harvey’s long appeal in ‘ The Garden of Allah ’ takes nine and a-half minutes to deliver (says a writer in the ‘Argus’). It is the longest stage speech heard in Australia in recent years. Among earlier ones were that in ‘ L’Aiglon ’ and the “ dream.” speech in ‘ Tho Silver King.’ Frank Thornton had a long description of the running of a race in one of his character comedies. There is something similar, as far as I remember, in Pinero’s ‘ Dandy Dick;’ where tho sporting widow describes a race; and both were probably suggested by Lady Gay Spanker's description of a hunt in the elder Boucicault’s ‘London Assurance.’ Tho

long speech in drama or comedy was a favorite device of the nineteenth* century dramatists when writing for star actors. It was called a stunt long before that term came into wide uso and obtained a more general meaning. Allan Wilkio’s remarkable achievement

in the continuous production of Shakespeare was commemorated by an interesting souvenir issued at Brisbane on June 13, when lie gave his thousandth performance of the kind ip less than four years. Mr Wilkie hits not missed one performance. Twenty plays have been staged since ho began at the Princess Theatre, Melbourne, on September 11, 1920, with ‘Macbeth.’ Of the members of the cast on that occasion, only two remain in the company besides himself and Miss HunterWatts. These arc Augustus Neville and P. V. Scully. Mr Wilkie hopes to carry out his original intention of producing tho thirty-seven plays, but lie thinks'that 'in view of touring difficulties and his own hard wotk as actor, managin', and producer, it will take at least ten years to complete the list. His productions, especially of the little-known plays, have been highly appreciated by lovers of Shakespeare.

Mr Frank Hudson, tho London correspondent of the ‘ New Zealand Free Lance,’ writes: “Miss Blanche Tomlin, the actress, entered from the wings the other day to take up her role in a new piece called ‘ The Bankruptcy Court,’ and lier appearance was not greeted with applause. It was a. very sordid play, and while over £19,000 was due, it seemed there was only £2OO to pay tho company with. Really if is hard to kSnv whore money goes. But the £IO,OOO a year from her late husband somehow dwindled to less than a quarter, and a nasty old bill of £6,000 odd turned up for interest due to money-lender l :. Miss Tomlin is wolf worth £l5O a week in Ameriea arid £BO here; but what is this, nr arvthkg, when living seems so expensive ? ” A pleasing little ceremony took place in Miss Ada Reeve’s dressing room during the interval of ‘Aladdin ’ at His Majesty's Theatre, Auckland, last week, when Mr John Farrell, the, manager of the company, presented the famous artist with an elaborate suede writing case, bearing tho signatures of the members of the company. Mr Farrell asked Miss Reeve's acceptance of tho present as a token of the loving regard felt for her by all. He referred to the happy comradeship that had existed aJI through the tour, and which was inspired by the magnetic personality of Miss Reeve herself. Miss Reeve, in reply, said the association would remain one of tho most pleasurable of her long stage career. This being the close of tho tour, Miss Reeve was the recipient of numerous other presentations from different branches of the organisation. At the final curtain there was a scene of unparallclled enthusiasm when Miss Reeve was specially singled out for a shower of beautiful floral and other tributes, while every other member, from principal girl and dame, down to every performer l in the chorus and ballet, received some token of the public’s appreciation, of a brilliantly successful production. Insistent calls for Miss Reeve brought the talented little lady down to the footlights, when she expressed her sincere gratitude and delight at the wonderful response to the efforts of herself and her company. Among tokens of appreciation received by Mr John Farrell during his managerial association with tho 1 Aladdin. ’ pantomime was a solid silver cigarette casket, suitably inscribed, from Miss Ada Reeve.

The cast of ‘ Kempy,' now playing in Sydney, includes John D. O’Hara as Dad Bence, a retired barn essmakcr; Maggie Moore as his wife; Mary MacGregor, Jessie Page, and Eileen Sparkes as his daughters : George Blunt as his son-in-law, and Gus Bluett as “ Kempy ” James, a callow youth that everyone scores off until the final round. John D. O’Hara met Emilie Polini in Chicago. She fold him that she expected to return to Australia shortly with some new plays.

There was an unrehearsed incident, at one of the performances of ‘ The Garden (f Allah,’ at Melbourne Theatre Royal the other night. The animals that figured in the third act, in which is the wonderful desert scene, became scared by the beating of rain on the roof of the theatre and holted. The goats scampered across the stage, ascended a staircase, and made their way into the scenic artists’ paint room. Two donkeys dashed into the scene dock, and were not dislodged until they had succeeded in doing substantial damage to several scenes, which they kicked and entangled in their frantic endeavors to escape. A powerful mule bolted into Little Bonrke street, to the amazement of the Chinese in the vicinity, who ran for their lives. Ultimately the animals were captured, but not before the raising of the curtain on this sc.ene had been considerably delayed. An amusing feature of ‘ Peg o’ My Heart,’ at the Opera-house (says a Wellington paper), it the demeanor of the two dogs who make their appearance on the stage during the performance. The stiff aristocratic bearing of “ Snowy," who is, by the way, when not engaged in professional lifo, the property of Mr Bert Hoyle, J. C. Williamson’s representative throughout New Zealand, was in admirable contrast to tho more democratic yet lovable bearing of the other dog, “ Micky.” The latter belongs to Miss Nellie Bramley, who is exceedingly fond of her pet, and has taught him many clever canine tricks.

On July 5 the following letter appeared in the Sydney ‘ Morning Herald ’ anent tho production of ‘ Old Bill ’ by the Puller-Ward management: —Sir, —On Saturday evening I attended the performance at the Grand Opera-house of Seymour Hicks in ‘Old Bill, M.P.’ I was so impressed with the story of the play, that I want everybody to witness it who Ims any Communistic leanings. It is the finest anti-revolutionist, anti-Bolshevist, and anti-Communist lesson that I have over heard, and I advise all working men, who to-day are at “ the parting of tho ways” regarding Communism and constitutional government, to see this wonderful production. It strikes such a national note that is surely wanting in our children to-day that I would like to see as many as possible of our public school children also attend. So sincere am I that a great Empire lesson is to be learnt, I suggest that a public fund should bo inaugurated to provide means for all working men and women ivho are unable to afford to pay to witness this play, and that special matinees be given to the public school children. I am sure that those who stand for constitutional government will heartily support my suggestion. — I am, etc., E. E. Salmon.