THE OCTOROON.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume XXVII, Issue 2757, 27 June 1894, Page 3

THE OCTOROON.

— •+ — The universal opinion of those vvhc . attended at tbe Town Hall last evening was that tbe production by the Hawera Dramatio , Olnb pt the lato Dion Bouci cault'a five-act drama " The Octoroon " was a complete snooess ; and many were Surprised at the manner in which go heavy a drama was Btaged and played. Tbe pieoe went along with great emootbnesß throughout, eaoh performer being evidently ' "' aw fait with his or her cbaraoter. The 1 Btfenery, too, added greatly to the effect, and) considering the disadvantages caused by tbe smallnees of the stage, and the ] ■. abeenoo of appliances for fixing ecenety, the scenes were in many instances very realistic; ; The auotion sale and the flax , swamp scene, in wbiob MoOlosky met his 'destiny in the person of tbe Indian ohief Wah.no*tee, are instances. Of the performers, tbe central figure was, of coarse, Wata-no-tee (Mr Chas. Field), who gave a masterly representation of ibis extremely difficult tobaraoter. He looked the part to the life, and aoted in a manner that evoked loud applause. His love for the ' little yellow boy, Paul, waa very well portrayed,, and . tbe change from the playful Indian to (he blood - thirsty savage whei£ he found.. that, Paul (whom he' at first ' thought Bleeping) had i been murdered was very effeotive. His pantomimic account of the murder of Paul was a fine piece of aoiing, as als j the final aofc, where he traoks down tbe murderer and kills him. The whole representation of this oharaoter was admirable, and quite npbeld tbe reputation of Mr Field as an astor. Tbe part of tbe crafty, designing villain, Jacob Mo* Closky, was entrusted to Mr Horaoe .Baker, who was greeted with applause on his first entranoe. He aoted the part to tbe letter, his faoial expressions being admirable, whilst his " get-up " was excellent. Wben tbe principals were called befoie tbe curtain' he was the> recipient- of groans and hisses from the •udience— a derided compliment to tbe portrayer of a villaiooas cbaraoter. In tbe scene in which he kills Pan), Mr < 'Biker wa^ very good; and in tbe final aot, where he is hunted down by Wah-no-lee, be acted splendidly tbe part of tbe villain at bay. ! George Peyton, a, part whiot), though leading juvenile, giyes very little soope for acting, was made tbe post of by 'Mr J. 0. Hntobison, whose dialogue, as usuaij was a feature. In tbe pathetic ; loenes with Zoe and Mrs Peyton he was eminently successful, and he acted all ft through in an easy manner, which "^ found favor with the ,", audience. Mr C. H. Warden was very sucoesßful in bis xepreeeotation of tbe part of Salem Spuddetr, an extremely difficult one,' and 1 be was warmly applauded. His defence of Wan- no-tee and denunciation of Mo- . Clpeky (wboßo orime was found ' out through Scadder's photographic camera, *an '! apparatus " w^ioh "oRD't Ho "# ' were excellent ; and tß'ronghodtthe entire pieoe he aoted in admirable style. Mr L. Wj. Mait made an excellent Squire Sonny, side, acting in a. very natural manner; and Mr Jl. Southey was evidently very popular in tbe part of Captain Raits, of the Magnolia. Mr F. F. Godfrey took the ! " v pnr£ oi ColonelPointdexter,auotioneor and ■„BUve salesman, and wielded tbe hammer in quite ; the orthodox style. Messrs B. Boyd and A., and L. Campbell,; in \ the 'cbaraoterß of cotton planters, were all that '.' oould , b'e /desired'r^.The part 1 of Pete! (an ''i'ue'd' negro) was entrusted to Mr D. MoNicoll, and a better allotment of tbe <>'JcD«raqter could not have been tnade. He was extremely fanny tbrooghont, and did not in the least over-do hiß part.' < Weenie Paul was taken by little Dolly Wortley, who aoted in a surprisingly olever v manner "(J for bo young a obild, and spoke her lines with great olearness. As Zoe, tbe Octoroon, Mies Carrie Knight was especially good in tbe pathetio scenes - , with Mrs Peyton and George Peyton. — She exhibited muob dramatic talent, and her changes from light to gay as tbe ,' .drama : advanced were indicative' of a thorough appreciation, of the part. Miss Lena Espagne, as, Dora Sunny side, aoted tbe part of the Hob. beiress and petted daughter 'capitally; ''She was extremely gopd in tHe auction' soene, wben she made , the bid to B&veitb.e estate; and " l ib her "interview with George Peyton, /"MrsiHor'aoe^Baker aoted extremely well as Mrs Pevton, her manner being refined and Signified, as the part demanded. In the emotional -scenes with Zoe, she was . admirable. Miss T. TJait imade a capital ' Minnie ; and, all tbe other characters were well' filled. At the conclusion of tbe •eoond act, the whole of tbe principals were called before tbe ourtain. Tbe orthestra ' played splendidly, under tbe conductorship of Mr Joseph Higbam, and bad much to do with the suocess of tho 'performance. The selections performed were : "La Diadem" (Herman), •* Brilliante " (Desblinß), " Zoe " (Higham), " Helena " (Pettee), an 3 '• Vioa;\ Verdi !1 .(Bivieri), all 6f which were played with marked precision. Tbe orchestra . also played' incidental mniio throughout tbe drama. Tbe names of the orchestra are :— Violins, Mißseß Harrison (2), and Ecclesfield ; Vi'eell6/ Mrs Fftirbfell ; double-baBB, Miss FlynOij, piarioj Miss Donne; viola, Mr ■ Highsm ; qornetß, Messrs E. Tait and E. ' Morrißßey ; flute, Mr Kemp ; euphonium, Mr 0. Oaaijyj drume, Mr B. Bobinson. A noteworthy feature was the lighting ofthe body of the hall, which formerly was too bright for tbe stage. Last evening the lamps, including two new ones wbioh have been obtained, were drawn op higher, and in consequence tbe light on the Btage was capital. ! a a The drama will bo repeated this eveninn, when those who did not patronise, it H*tmgbbßbon)cl iiob mm tbe remaining opportunity** '/ ■> T.V' ! ThS SUN BAKING TOWDETI flclipßea allottere. .^ <*