STAGE FOLK

Evening Star, Issue 22805, 13 November 1937, Page 5

STAGE FOLK

It is claimed by J. C. Williamson! Ltd. that ‘ Balalaika ’ is the most, elaborate musical play the firm has ye# presented, and that more people appeal in it than have been associated withl any other musical play it has eve* staged. The cast comprises 42 pals, there is a chorus of 50. ballet of 16, orchestra of 30, a balalaika -staged band, amongst which are Russian per* formers, and the company totals mors! than 160. In addition, there are augf merited mechanical, property, and eleoJ trical staffs.

There were some interesting feature* of the performance of ‘ Victoria Re 4 gina,’ in which Miss Pay Compton mad* her first appearance in Australia un4 der the J. C. Williamson Ltd. managed ment at the King’s Theatre, Melbourne* First of all, this was the first appear* ance in the rolo of Queen Victoria of Miss Compton. _ Also, Melbourne wa* the fourth capital city of the world! where ‘ Victoria Regina’ was being staged, the others being London* Paris, and New .York. In Paris, it i* being presented by a complete French) company, in New York by an Ameri-* can company headed by Helen Hayes d in London, Queen Victoria is portrayed! by Pamela Stanley, daughter Of a for* mer Governor of Victoria. Another) interesting fact is that the J. C, Wii* liamson production includes several characters which were not allowed b;f the censor in London,_ also certain! portions of dialogue which were , pro* hibited.

Mr Harry Stringer, New Zealand re* presentative for Messrs J. C. William* son (N.Z.) Ltd., announces a number} of attractions for New Zealand, within! the next few months. The lively musi* cal comedy * Over She Goes,’ which ha* been a record-breaker in Australia, wil| be the Christmas engagement at , Auck-: land. In this the principal is an old favourite in George Gee, on* of the funniest artists on the stage to-; day, who will be supported by Donald Burr, Percy le Fre, Billie Worth* Valerie Hay, Lois Green, Ken Tucker* field, Charles Zoli, William O’Neal* Enid Hollins, and Dorothy Dunpkley* aided and abetted'by a beauteous ballet* One of the highlights of the show is al chorus of girls in barrister wigs and cloaks. Then there is the Frank Nei| Revue, which will be the Christmas at-* traction in staffing aj petite little lady from Harlem, New; York, Nina Mae M‘Kinney, who was Paul Robeson’s wife in the picture ‘ Sanders of the River.’ Miss M'Kinney has a lovely singing voice am? dances sensationally; her act _i* accompanied by two coloured pianist* at two pianos. Then, in January* comes Fay Compton, London’t favours ite actress, in a repertoire of plays tha# she has made famous, notably Laurenc* Housman’s much discussed play * Vietoria Regina.’ Miss Compton is nowi in Australia playing to capacity bust* ness ; never has a rarer treat been, presented than this polished exponent o£ all that is best in dmamatic art. London’s loveliest actress, with her talented company of British stars, including Bruno Barnabe, will commence her New Zealand tour at Auckland on January. 27*

Fay Compton, England’s foremost actress, who is making her first appearance in Australia in ‘ Victoria Regma ’ at the King’s Theatre, Melbourne, began. her career actually at the Royal Albert Hall, London, when she appeared in ‘ Love’s Victory ’ —a Christmas fantasy; but it was when she appeared with H. G. Pelissier’s famous “Follies” that she really embarked seriously upon her stage career. It is, therefore, a tribute to her versatility that she emerged from a potential musical comedy star—as Dame Marie Tempest did—into the realms of the legitimate theatre. Since then she has played many roles, in such a wide variety of plays as ‘ Mary Rose.’ ‘ Peter' Pan,’ ‘ Quality' Street,’ ‘Tea for Three,’ ‘ Autumn Crocus,’ ‘ The Little Minister ' (revival), ‘ Call It a Day,’ ‘Romeo, and Juliet,’ ‘The Circle,’ ‘Hamlet,’ ‘The Man With a Load of Mischief,’ * Liliom,’ ‘ The Wandering Jew,’ ‘The Constant Wife,’ ‘ Other Men's-Wives,’ ‘ Secrets,’ and many others’. Films in which she has been featured include ‘ Mary Queen of Scots,’ ‘ A Bill of Divorcement,’ ‘ Tell England,’ ‘ Flirting Wives.’ ‘ Okay for Sound,’ the great revue production, which J’. C. Williamson Ltd. will stage for the first time in Melbourne as a Christmas attraction at His Majesty’s Theatre, played-to capacity for over a year at the London Palladium. It will be emphatically the greatest spectacle ever seen on the Australian stage, according to the J. C. Williamson Ltd. management. Three of the scenes which Ernst Stern (of ‘ White Horse Inn’ fame) has devised are devoted to “epics «{ the

sea.” While the orchestra plays music by Harry Weston, the audience will see Nelson and Lady Hamilton aboard the Victory in 1805; Plymouth Hoe in 1588; and a Navy Week Demonstration in 1936. Other episodes will represent Noah’s Ark in chromium plating, with all the chorus girls dressed as animals; ‘ Way Down South,’ in which negro melodies are richly voiced; ‘An Episode of Don Juan a classical ballet; and a butterfly dance, in which the dancer wears wings measuring 20ft across. ‘ Okay for Sound’ will be produced by : S. Albert Locke, who staged ‘ White Horse Inn,’ ‘ Over She Goes,’ and other musical productions for J. 0. Williamson Ltd. • Preparations have already been commenced at Melbourne His Majesty’s Theatre on the preliminary work, for this big production. Much interest centres around the Repertory Society’s coming production of ‘ The Shining Hour,’ to be presented in His Majesty’s Theatre for a season of four nights, commencing on November 24. This intriguing modern drama has created a’ profound impression wherever it- has been played, and the theatre-going public can confidently rely upon a performance equal, if notsuperior, to that of; recent repertory successes.. _ The dominant character in the play is Mariella, a beautiful and fascinating woman who, temporarily domiciled in a, peaceful country farmhouse. casts a spell over the inhabitants to the tragic undoing of some of its members. This part, played by _ Elaine Hamill in the professional production, , is to be undertaken by Miss Dorothy Clark,, from whom the society, anticipates a very powerful • portrayal of the port. Misses Elsie M'Peak, Mercia Hardman, and Messrs Frank Lauyon, Roland Watson, and' Leslie Pithie, all well and favourably known in amateur dramatic circles, complete a cast which can bo relied upon to do full justice to a most unusual play. i