STAGELAND.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LI, Issue 117, 18 April 1931, Page 7

STAGELAND.

(By “Jack Point.”)

Gladys Moncrieff lias been singing again at the Capitol Theatre in Sydney. Noel Dainton, who was here in “Wildflower” and “lvatja,” is in “The Rebel Princess,” a new musical play in England. “Lilac Time” has been revived in New York. Nellie Bramley is playing in Perth these days. Isobel Wilford, the New Zealand actress, has a small part in “Etienne,” a comedy adapied from the French, recently produced in London. The play lias not impressed the critics.

“Sons o’ Guns” will go to Brisbane, shortly, and to this company will fall the new musical comedy, “The Love Race.” Josie Melville may be the leading lady chosen for this, and her old producer, Geo. Highland, is to have the handling of it. “The Broken Doll,” a song which she featured some years ago—in “The Pink Lady”—was revived by Minnie Love at the State Theatre, Sydney, recently. Miss Love’s appearance in conjunction with the talkies is proving very popular in Australia. The forthcoming musical version of “The Good Companions,” that widelyread book, is going to be produced in London on a very lavish scale. There are no fewer than forty speaking parts and special features will be made of the market place scene, and of the lire in the theatre. The theme song is “Slippin’ Round the Corner.” It is on the cards that “The Duchess of Dantzig” will follow “Dearest Enemy,” at Sydney. The part o* Madame Sans Gene should suit Dorothy Brunton’s personality admirably. A skeleton cast has been suggested with Frank Bradley as Napoleon. It is not a singing part. Cecil Kelleway would be an inimitable Papillon, the pedlar. Sergeant Lefevrc, who married the volatile Madame Sans Gene, would fall to Sidney Burchall, and Herbert lJ.owne would be the Count Bethune. Robert Chisholm, who was here as Bcppo in “The Maid of the Mountains” some years ago, is appearing hi London in the musical comedy “Nina Rose.” Virginia Perry, who went to Australia as lead for the “Desert Song” and was replaced by. Marie Bremner because she was not suitable for the role, is the leading lady. A London paper says that the two big singing parts are in the able hands of Harry Welchman and Robert Chisholm. Their voices leave nothing to be desired. Michael Cole, the juvenile lead of “Love Lies” and “So this is Love,” is appearing with Naneie Lovat at the London music-halls. Mr Cole is “at the piano” for most of the turn, and Miss Lovat sings well “Nobody Kisses Like You” and other numbers.

Tliurza Rogers, the New Zealand dancer, who was here as principal ballerina of the Pavlova Ballet, and Edward Lascelles, who was also a member of Pavlova’s company, are dancing at the English music halls. When the mail left they were at the London Coliseum.

Mischa Levitzki, the famous Russian pianist, who created much interest in musical circles here ten years ago, was due in Sydney on April 9. Mr Levitzki will commence his tour in Melbourne, and will give a series of recitals in the Town Hall, Sydney, in May.

The Independent Theatre Company, Sydney, recently produced “And So To Bed,” by J. B. Fagin, which amusing trifle won much praise for its author on the London stage. . It is built up round the personality and the love affairs of Samuel Pepys, and one act is more than half devoted to a good character sketch of his rival for the favour of Mistress Knight—the singing woman —His Majesty, King Charles 11. Pepys, discovered in tire lady’s boudoir, is hidden in a chest while Charles discourses on what a dull dog the old fellow is. To the apartment comes Mistress Peirys, aflame with rage and jealousy. She finds the king where she expected to find her husband. Soon afterwards the king finds Pepys. Then comes the best comedy of the piece for, sitting on the chest with the pretty half French Mistress Pepys, he makes violent love to her before the eyes of the singing woman and over the head of the hidden husband, thumping the chest to punctuate his points with a gay and kingly sense of humour. The dialogue is crisp and sometimes almost explosively funny, writes a Sydney correspondent. Given an experienced company .and expert production it would be a most brilliant piece. Amateurs—even the best of them — could never hope to do it anything like justice. It needs the sparkle of pace, and amateurs never can be made to understand pace.

“Good Losers,” a new play by Messrs Michael Arlen and Walter Hackett, was produced in London recently. A critic say that “Good Losers” bears traces of perspicacity rather than inspiration. The authors have shown themselves in the past, in their respective spheres, good judges of average public taste, and in "Good Losers” ihey do their best to cater for it again by presenting a play erf smart London lire with a dasli of crime in it. In a prologue, which is perhaps the most impressive part of the play, we see three British prisoners of war escaping into Holland. The rest of the play concerns their post-war adventures. After holding commissions one is reduced to becoming a cloakroom keeper at a smart London night club, another becomes a professional dancer at the same club, and the third becomes a burglar. The story has more than a touch of “The Threq Musketeers” about it, except that the burglar is murdered by someone, and it becomes the task of tire other two to discover his murderer. On the whole, this attempt to give the public what it is presumed to want is successful, thanks largely to the cut and thrust of the dialogue and an abundance of dramatic situations. But those who prepare to enjoy the play must also leave behind their sense of credulity. Things are done by a Scotland Yard official which would drive Lord Byng to despair, while other characters also behave in a wildly improbable manner.