STAGE – MUSIC – FILMS

Hutt News, Volume XXI, Issue 50, 9 June 1948, Page 3

STAGE - MUSIC - FILMS

WHY NOT LOWER HUTT? ENGLISH SINGERS’ TOUR Anne Ziegler and Webster Booth, the English singers fvho delighted music-lovers in Wellington last week, are to visit nineteen towns in New Zealand, including New Plymouth, Palmerston North, Wanganui, Hastings, Napier, Gisborne, Rotorua, Hamilton, Whangarei, Auckland, Timaru, Dunedin, Invercargill, Gore, Oamaru, Christchurch and Blenheim. Why not Lower Hutt, which has a population far in excess of that of most of the towns mentioned? Despite all we hear locally regarding Lower Hutt’s status as a city and its great jump in population it appears that arrangers of concert and theatrical tours have not yet made the great discovery.

“CARMEN” IN DUNEDIN

HIGH PRAISE FOR SINGERS In its report of the first performance of the grand opera “Carmen” at Dunedin, the Otago Daily Times said of the two English principals: “Janet Howe as Carmen was superb. She has great charm, vivacity, grace of movement, and a voice of great range, flexibility and dramatic power. As a singer she is outstanding, and she i§ equally great as an actress. “Arthur Servent as Don Jose was completely convincing. There was a fine restraint and great sincerity in all his work.” CONCERT CANCELLED MUSIC-LOVERS DISAPPOINTED Many Hutt Valley music-lovers, including myself, were among the capacity audience in the Wellington Town Hall on. Wednesday night, when, about a quarter of an hour before the concert to have been given by the English singers Anne and Webster Booth was due to commence, it was cancelled owing to Miss Ziegler’s illness. The disappointed concert-goers accepted the position philosophically, and most of them rushed oif to a picture theatre or to see the hypnotist Ceccarelli.

' ‘‘CHURCHILL’S VOICE”

IN A NEW FILM One of the main parts in the new produition “'Against the Wind,” is played by Peter Illing, the man who, during the war, translated and rebroadcast all of Mr. Churchill’s speeches to the German people. Austrian-born iiling, whose part in “Against the Wind” is that of the sabotage leader whose capture by the Germans provides the motive for the picture, came to Britain soon after the advent of the Na2i regime and worked for years as an announcer and producer in the 8.8. C. European Service. He made many films in Germany before homing to Britain. During the war Peter Illing became known to the Germans as “Churchill’s Voice.” Robert Beatty, Jack Warner, and Simone Signoret star ih this latest production.

PERSONALITY PARS NEWS FROM THE STUDIOS Frank Sundstrom, the Swedish star -vVho portrays Tchaikovsky in “Song of My Heart,” and Ingrid Bergihan 'were cast together in his native 1 Sweden. He starred in the picture and she was an “extra.” Anil Sothern has decided to adopt a baby boy to augment bet family, now consisting of two-year-old Patricia and husband Robert Sterling. Alexis Smith was appointed Miss World Trade for 1948 by the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce who, With the United States Chamber of Commerce, is sponsoring the 22nd annual observance of “World Trade Week” to encourage exchange of trade between nations. The star, who recently completed “The Woman in White,” will be official hostess at the numerous meetings, luncheons, radio programmes and public events scheduled by the committee in charge during the celebration in Los Angeles. Ronald Reagan and Virginia Mayo will co-star in “The Girl From Jones Beach,’ ’a romantic cornbdy soon to go before the cameras. Reagan has just completed starring assignments in “Voice of the Turtle” and “John Loves Mary.” Five-year-old Duncan Richardson, the world’s youngest high diver, has been signed to portray Doris Day’s son in . the Technicolor picture “My Dream is Yours.” The boy was chosen out of 38 tested for the role because of his striking resemblance to the blonde singer-actress. Young Richardson has played in “Sea of Grass” and “This Time for Keeps.”

The clothing of Errol Flynn and his 18 leading women for the Technicolour romantic epic, “The Adventures of Don Juan,” is rapidly assuming the proportions of a major project. So far—and the work is not ended—the studio wardrobe department has ordered 5060 yards of velvets and brocades and 200 oneyard strands of synthetic pearls as large as peas.

(By E.G.A.) 5

STAGE IN MELBOURNE

NEW AUSTRIAN OPERETTA

Writing me from Melbourne this week a friend says:

“Last Friday night was the premiere of Kalman,’s ‘Marinka.’ I have been looking forward to this operetta for a long time. First of all I must tell you that I have been corresponding with the composer, Emmerich Kalman, for many years. The war ended our correspondence. 1 know that Kalman left for the United States before Hitler marched in to Austria. Kalman is Hungarian of Jewish descent. How r ever, he has written a long list of Viennese successes, but not many reached the London or New York stages. Maybe you have heard recordings of Kalman operetta selections, such as *OOIIOI6BB Maritza,’ ‘Gipsy Princess,’ ‘Sari,’ etc. [have autographed scores (pre-war) of ‘Empress Josephine’ and ‘The Devil’s Rider.’ Lovely scores, so I was curious to hear what Kalman had done in the United States. Frankly, lam disappointed. Maybe the Americaii environment haS robbed Kalman of his melodic inspiration.

“The sudden change from variety at the Tivoli to operetta came as a great surprise here. Personally, I am glad, as we need a bit of goed competition in the legitimate theatre. But ‘Marinka’ is very charming in a ‘phoney’ Viennese style. The ballets are the hits of the show. At the end of the first act there is a very exhilarating Hungarian scene. The Emperor Franz Josef is welcomed by Hungarian peasants. The ballet performs the national Palotosch and Czardas. It is here that Kalman displays his best music—the plaintive, then wild Hungarian melodies. 1 am disappointed with the vocal numbers and the weak ‘book.’ I don’t know why they imported the leading man to play Prince Rudolf. There are men here with better voices and just as good acting ability. It seemed absurd to listen to a typical Yankee drawl from a Hapsburg Prince! However, I hope ‘Marinka’ is a success so as to encourage other operettas. We need more. “Kathy Barr has the title role and Norman Lawrence is Prince Rudolph, while Sonya Yarr is a vital Countess. Leslie Victor, Alec Kelleway, Molly Fisher, Kathleen ‘ Crawford, Fred Conyngham, Max Blake (the New Zealander), Ormonde Douglas and Victor Moore are also in the cast. Laurel Martyn and Martin Rubinstein are the solo dancers.” Season Booked Ont “The Oliviers are a big success here. It is impossible to get tickets. They are sold out for the ' entire Melbourne season. People even waited all night in Collins „ Street for thb plans to open for the gallery. 1 They waited from 9 p.m. until 6 a.m. next morning. The queues were such a nuisance to shopkeepers that the police had to break them up. Personally, I think they should have been all carted off to a mental home! Fancy enduring the cold and windy streets all night for a ticket.”

“ ‘Annie Get Your Gun’ finished a long run here. The company went to Adelaide, then they open soon in Sydney, where they expect a long run. It is a bright and peppy show of the American type. Evie Hayes is superb as ‘Annie.’ She is the reason; the show is a big- success. “ ‘Under the Counter’ opened at His Majesty’s Theatre. Cicely Courtneidge is a fine comedienne, and lives up to her film reputation'. The show itself bored me—feeble comedy and so-so cast. “HOLLYWOOD MY HOME” * SAYS IRISH STAR FLYNN ‘‘Hollywood is my home, and nothing can ever take me away from it—except the sea.” That is the way Errol Flynn feels about the film city he once likened tA “just another kind of gold mine” only perhaps a little richer than the one he discovered in New Guinea a few years ago. The sea has won temporarily. The last bit of film from his new picture “Cry Wolf” wasn’t dry when he sailed out of Santa Monica Harbour, on his way down the California coast to Central America aboard his 118foot, two-masted schooner the Zaca. But he'll be back. “Not that I’m ungrateful for all that Hollywood has given me,” he used to explain when he talked about the future. “But it’s too good to last indefinitely. “No, sir, when I feel that I’m through,. I’ll be on my Way without regrets. I’m npt sure what I’ll do, but I’ll have a boat and 1 11 guarantee you I won’t be on the verge of bankruptcy. Maybe I’ll just sail around for the rest of my life, stopping whenever and wherever the mood strikes me. It’s a big world arid there’s lots of it I haven’t seen yet.” The Irish actor has put down roots since he talked like this. His home on Mulholland Drive has an air of permanence. And the Zaca, he says, was “bought for work,” and not vagabonding pleasure cruises. Recently Errol took background footage for his projected feature film, “Treasure in Yucatan.”