“A RUNAWAY GIRL.”

Hawera Star, Volume XLVI, 21 September 1926, Page 4

“A RUNAWAY GIRL.”

FIRST NIGHT OF THE SEASON. A MARK FID SUCCESS. <* 1 heiv was last night, in ilie first presentation ol me pretty and am using musical comeuy, “A Kuuaway Girl, by tlie .tiawera. Amateur Operatic Society, in tlie Opera House, iai remarkable absence of the uncertainty and aesitaney which generally mailt an opening performance by amateurs. Sate: ior one or two* false entrances and an occasional want, of unanimity between the chorus and conductor, the whole presentation went- with a most satisfactory swing and everyone acted and sang with.** verve that assures a.successful season. The producer, Mrs HuLme, the ballet director, Mri>. \Yilsoii, .aIJ concerned in the .staging and organisation of the performance .are entitled to great credit for the .success following their work of the past weeks. Iheie were some lapses* and a. -better balance of orchestra for chorus - and soloists would be an improvement. Rut the general effect was to. leave in the minds of the large audience a recollection of an evening which combined smart comedy, amusing .situations, excellent dressing, .staging and lighting effects, brilliant and attractive ballets and very good and effective singing, m solo and concerted numbers. It .serves to well maintain the high standard of production made by the society in the past and to* assure patrons of a. capital show for the remainder of the five nights’ ..season*. The story, no doubt, is so wellknown that one need do no more than recall the facts on which the play is* built —the running away front school of lain attractive girl on learning that a marriage wiiicir is not pleasing to her has been arranged by her guardians, her joining a band of itinerant .players and thus meeting, unknown the chosen young man, who* also joins the band, the search for her with the aid* of Alice and her.young man. Flipper, the “courier,” the escape to. Venice of Guy and V innie front the* gipsies and* the subsequent reconciliations and smoothing out of all troubles so that everything ends ■ happily with the marriage, bell. As the heroine, Winifred Grey, Miss El. Williamson, had a part, that demantis »a* great cfe&l, both, in singing ia.nd acting, and she carried through the part very well indeed. She acted with a commendable naturalness and sang her solos with nice expression. Her best numbers were perhaps “The Sly Cigarette,” and “The Singing Girl,” but, “Beautiful Venice” and “The Boy Guessed Right” were also good. The duet with Guy “There’s no One in the World like You,” was also very good and effective. Mr. F. .Lowe -sang well in the character of Guy Stanley and tqpk the paid well, but his acting was .somewhat stiff and would be better for a little abandon. His solo “Not the sort of Girl,” with a pretty chorus of ladies, was very successful. H!e had a difficult role to fill and .acquitted himself with credit. Much of the .success of the whole play revolved round the engaging maid Alice and her young man Flipper. And the society is. extremely fortunate in having for these parts two such artists as Mrs. .Toll and Mr. Vivian. They invest the characters with .such naturalness, and spontaneity, made their points so well that their work went far to make the .success of the whole play. The tfvo duets “The Courier” and “The Piccaninnies” were very clever and well sung. • Their series of dances in costume, continental, coster and the Highland Fling with the giant-soldier. Poison, were remarkably well] done arid provided intense amusement.

Miss M. Morrissey made an attractive Dorothy who sang nicely and acted with spirit. Her solo “Listen to the Band/’ with full chorus, was a most popular number. The introduction on the stage of part of the Municipal Band was much, appreciated. As Oarmenita, Miss A. Wilson had a part which allowed her a lot of scope for effective acting, and of this she took full opportunity in her scenes with Tamarind (Mr A. Gray), first as the lay brother and then. ,as fellow member of the troupe. Both acted and-sang well contributing net a, little to. the comedy by their clever by-play. Their duet “Barcelona” was very good and the voices blended well. Oarmenita’s song “Oh! I .Love Society,” was also capitally sung. , As leader of the troupe of musicians, Mr. J. D. McQuinn bad a part that suited him well. He invested it . with a very appropriate .swagger and -air of mystery and made a; great success in his singing. His fine solos “Sea girt land of My Home” and “Comrades All,” were capital numbers and with his comrades the conceited: singing was very good. 1 Other interesting and amusing characterisations were those of Mr and Mrs Creel bv Mr Herbert Taylor and' Miss. M. Cook; Sir William 1 Hake, in his plus fours, by Mr A. E. Morris. The latter sang well, and scored l a distinct success in his l song “You Know,”, with chorus. The dignified Lord andi Lady Coodle were well impersonated by Mr W. S. Gibson and Miss M. Ekdlahl. They acted the parts to the life. All the other parts were very well filled, musicians, English ladies, gendarmes, flower girls, and many other characters of the land of Corsica, and Italy. Chorus work, especially by the ladies, was excellent, and showed capable rehearsal and 1 training by conductor and producer. From the outset the chorus was a feature of the play. ‘‘Breathe soft, Wind of the South,” “The Convent Bell” by the ladies, and “Bright and Blue our Sunny Skies,” “In Venice,” and the grand finale by the full chorus were marked l by a. fine volume of tone;, which. formed a fine background to the work of the principals. Special mention must be made of the very pretty ballets arranged by Mrs Wilson, in which solo dances were taken by Miss B. Jacomib. The gipsy and carnival effects were really good', and entitle them all to much commendation. The dancers were prettily dressed, and their work was full of attraction, grace and charm. The military ballet, arranged by Mrs Hulme, was very gay andl gorgeous), and showed the performers to great advantage. The assistance of excellent lighting effects helped very .materially in the success achieved.

One of the most amusing scenes of the whole evening was the well-known “Follow the man from Cook’s,” led by Flipper. He led them all, staid and dignified characters, alike, ai pretty danefe, and the way they turned handsprings and somersaults was wonderful to see. They also joined in air excursion through the audience, much to the amusement of all present. The stage settings were most appropriate and picturesque l , and reflect great credit on the stage manager, his mechanics and 1 staff. Each setting suited' the scene presented l very well indeed. The dresses of'the ladies, soloists and chorus, and the picturesque costumes of the men, were a, feature of the performance. The 'lighting effects arranged by Mr E. A. Burge were ex-

cellent, aud effectively set off the scenes on the stage. The scope of the work that had to be done was evidenced by the great number of performers taking part ini the production. When it was realised 1 that there were no less than 15 taking important parts, nearly 30 in the ballets, a cborus and- orchestra numbering over 70, and many others assisting, the work of the organisers, producer and committee could be estimated. That they all did so well spoke volumes for the way all co-operated to secure success.

To the producer, Mrs J. Hulme; the energetic bon. secretary, Mr W. J. Wooilett; ladies’ committee in charge of the dressing, Mesdames Mcßeth, H. L. Spratt, McGlashall and Henry and others helping; to the conductor, Mr F. Ollerenshaw; and l the pianist, Mrs R. A. Graham, is due a large part in the success achieved. Good work was done by the prompter (Mr Joll), call steward! (Mr G. Meyrick), and property manager (Air D. Straohan). Besides leading the orchestra, Mr J. Hi glia,m specially wrote the orchestration for the music, and for this the society owes him a great deal. Altogether tlie performance* was one with which the society must be pleased. It well* maintained the standard set in the past, and showed that Hawera has a society of which all should 1 be .proud.

TO-NIGHT. SECOND PERFORMANCE. “The Runaway Girl” will be repeated' to-niglit at the Opera. House, and with the experience and the assistance gained by a first staging promises. to be even better than last night. The booking i 9 good, and pati'ons should lose no time in securing .seats. The committee are confident of seeing a large and enthusiastic audience tonight and following nights. An audience which shows unmistakable appreciation is a wonderful help, especially to amateur performers, and .spurs Them to do their very best. The members of the cast, chorus and orchestra, are all Hawera people, and their success' is. a distinct tribute to the artistic and musical life of tlie town. A CHILLED AUDIENCE. (To the Editor.) Sir,—We have all had reason to appreciate the benefits of the refrigerator —chilled beef, chilled eggs, chilled fish, etc. —but the latest product is not a success—tlie chilled audience! “A many years ago, when I was young and charming,” like the lady in “The Pirates of Penzance,” we had an amateur Operatic Society in Hawera, and I remember with joy the enthusiasm of the audience and their appreciation of the efforts of the performers. Why have people changed so? The performance given by our local people last night was excellent, but how they kept their gaiety going to the end in the presence of rows and rows of icebergs must remain a mystery. It must -have been a terrifying ordeal, particularly for the exquisite little lady who played “Winifred Gray.” Mind you, Mr Editor, I will concede that years ago in Haiwera we had no “naice” people, 'but “Oh, George! ’ ’ we were young and happy. Perhaps it would be advisable for. the society in future to cut out the. first night and start right off with the second.—l am, etc., . RUTH. . Hawera, September 21.