ENTERTAINMENTS.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVI, 29 June 1926, Page 2

ENTERTAINMENTS.

OPERA HOUSE

“THE DARK SWAN.”

When Venus rose from the sea she must have gazed) upon a world filled with women; women plain, women attractive, women ugly, andi women—a few of them —beautiful. Among these must have been some dark swans, and we can imagine the goddess turning from them in distaste, for somehow love has a way of slipping by when a woman is not lovely to. look upon. One of these dark swans is drawn—and drawn life-like—in “The Dark Swan,” which will be finally screened at the Opera House to-night. There are two things to .commend this, picture. Eirst, it is a Master Picture, a guarantee of good screen entertainment; second, it is the. adaptation of a novel by the clever Ernest Pascal, . the novel that lost no time in shooting into the class of best sellers when published- The cast is the typical. Master Picture kind; it is composed* of Helene Chadwick, Monte Blue, Marie Prevost, John Patrick, Dilyan Tashman, Vera Lewis and Carl Miller. To-morrow’s change will be the Paramount picture, “Not So Long Ago.” “LILAC TIME.” ' HAUNTING MUSIC. J. C. Williamson, Ltd., present for one night only at the Opera House, on Friday next, their Royal Comic Opera Company in the sweet and tuneful musical romance, “Lilac Time.” The key situation centres in the song “Thine* is My Heart” (Ungeduld), supposed to have been written by the diffident Lilac Time Schubert to bring his love home to Lili. It is sung to her by Schubert’s friend, Baron Franz von Schober, and turns out to be another case of “Why don’t you speak for yourself, John?” Lili embraces the singer and. forgets the composer. Schober is overjoyed to find: that she loves him, but expresses concern for Schubert. The gentle composer overhears him, and with characteristic sweetness and generosity reassures Schober. “You need not say anything, Franz. It is my fortune; it is not your fault.” The end of Schubert’s love story, which is not going to be -j-evealed here, is equally characteristic and touching. Outside this interest, the play is much concerned with the fun which is caused in all directions by the too catholic and ardent flirtations of the fair Flametta Marini, a fascinating danseuse, who is a whirling spoke in the wheel of the love interest. She even spares an arrowy splinter to rankle in the heart of old Father Veit, whose amorous predicaments stimulated abundant. laughter. Other notable things are the scenes in the environs of that dream city, Vienna; a mysterious escapade in a “one-horse cab,” and the vicissitudes that sometimes clouded, but more often brightened, the lives of the composer and his friend. The quaint and colourful frocking; and the peculiar grace of the manners of the period, ruffled by much that was whimsical and comic, are finely framed in three charming and picturesque set scenes. The first shows a courtyard beneath Schubert’s balcony room, where the lilac is in bloom ; the second a wedding scene at Veit’s home—pink and pale brown, relieved by rich tinting® in the costumes; and the third, a sunny vista in n park near Vienna. v A brilliant company includes Claude Flemming, John" Ralston, Arthur Stignant, - Adele Crane, Herbert Browne, Molly Tyrell. Sydney Stirling, Byrl Walkeley, William Perryman, Herbert Walton, and others. The box plans are now open at Mrs. Cook’s.