THEATRE ROYAL.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XXII, Issue 7912, 29 November 1887, Page 3

THEATRE ROYAL.

1 ' " HARBOR LIGHTS." 3 There can be no question as to the t instantaneous and wonderful success of _ "Harbor Lights.' The fame of this joint t product of the pens and brains of G. K. , Sims and Henry Pettitt yvas sufficiently . great even in Napier to attract a very large attendance to tlie Theatre, but no one could have predicted that the production of the play yvould rouse to such a \ pitch of enthusiasm an audience which crowded to suffocation tlie floor of the bouse and comfortably filled the circle. [ " Harbor Lights "is an excellent specimen I of the latest development of the melodrama, in yvhich the arts of the stage ; manager, the scenic artist, and the | mechanist play so prominent a part. As might havo been expected from such a master of terse and forcible English as the author of "The Dagonet Ballads," ? the dialogue is crisp, bright, and nowhere out of keeping with tlie situations. There are no impossibilities in the plot, which, though sufficiently exciting to satisfy the most exacting admirer of rapid action, is developed through a quick succession of stirring incidents in yvhich nothing but the attention of the audience is strained.' " Harbor Lights" is, as yve have already said, a fine example of the modern school of which Sims is tho sciibe, and " Augustus Surnamed Drury o' Lanus the chief prophet," and it therefore follows that to meet the exigencies of the representation tbe demand upon the mechanist and his confreres must be great. Mr Leitch can certainly congratulate himself on his success in this direction. From the rise of the curtain upon a beautiful set representing Redcliffe in the full glow of sunshine, to its fall amidst the dashing of waves and the hissing of spray beneath the glare of the "Harbor Lights," nearly every one of the numerous changes of scene was warmly applauded. Tlie landing of the Britannic s men from their boat in act 1., the beautiful interior of Moreland Hall in act 11., the deck of the Britannic in act 111., and the rescue scenes of the last act (in yvhich one could almost " sniff the briny ") yvere all very well managed, and taken together the best effects of their kind yet produced in Napier. If the drama was well staged it was also well acted. Mr H. 0. Sidney shared as Lieutenant Kingsley the honors of tho evening with Mr Leitch's Tom Dossiter. Mr Sidney was a manly —a "seamanly"— officer, who played a difficult r6lo without once passing the limits of natural emotion or slipping into the depths of rant and bombast. Mr Leitch made a'delightfully breezy sailor, whose mother wit and honest happy nature was brought out with a fidelity which captivated the audience. Miss Alice Norton as the impulsive and loving Dora Vane was very naive and charming, and as her erring sister, Lina Nelson, Miss Bevan was very effective. Miss Flora Anstead, in the character of Mrs Chudleigh, the "worrited" proprietress of a seaside "pub," provided endless amusement by her really excellent comedy, Bridget Maloney, too, was an excruciatingly funny effort, and Miss Rosa Brandon made a lively Peggy, Tom Dossiter's cute and bothersome syveetheart. As Nicholas Moreland, Mr Stanmanr was a most finished villain, and brought out in relief the salient points of a repulsive character, sharing with tlie Frank Moreland of Mr W, J. Montgomery —a fine piece cf acting — the hearty and unstinted hisses of the audience. The smaller part of Captain Nelson was well taken by Mr Clitherow, and this may also be said of tlie Captain Hardy of Mr Melville, who shared yvith Messrs Sidney, Leitch, Montgomery, Miss Norton, and Miss Brandon, one of the numerous recalls. To-night " Harbor Lights" will "glimmer through the mists of Redcliffe," and as the drama lias iinmistakeably "caught on" to the popular taste, there will probably be little standing room in tlie Theatre.