Dramatic and Musical

Free Lance, Volume III, Issue 113, 30 August 1902, Page 7

Dramatic and Musical

DIX'S Gaiety, at the Theatre Royal, and the talent that the managedoes not lag for -want of pushing, inent crams into two happy hours sends pations away with a brighter outlook on life. Arthur Nelstone and Elsie Forrest, the former a dancing comedian of restless proclivities, and the latter a sweet, piquant girl belonging to the same oategory, get in their bright business without loss of time. A feature of the Arthur-Elsie ten minutes' turn is that the breezy "gags" thrown as samples among the audience change week by week and night by night. This is refreshing, for jokes have a habit of getting stale if dished up too often. Mr. Nelstone dances his own dances, and exhausts all the possibilities of posture. He is as grotesque as Miss Forrest is pretty. * * + Mr. James Harvey and Miss Madge Morris do their clever "Society Sketch," which sketch is really a pack of very pleasant foolery of laugh-making reality. Mr. Harvey can imitate people closely enough to deceive the imitated ones, and when he juggles he combines much dexterity with some very quaint burlesque juggling. Fred Rivenhall, of th© pained expression and the comic song, requests the person mentioned in the music to "stick to 'im tight," and the request is considered humorous enough to cause convulsive chuckles to circulate from circle to pit * • * Miss Molhe Bentley, with her contralto voice and patriotic songs, is always sure of a double encore, and Miss Stella Ranger's selected ballads suit her voice and style. "A Love Story" is given with very nice effect Miss Florrie Ranger, of seno-comic fame, dispenses vocal "situations," and brings the la.ughter to the side-aching point. * * * Mr George Dean, Tim Howard, and other white and black gentlemen half on various serious and comic strings, and bring grist to the Dix mill. Not without its virtues is the American Vitagraph, which shows a fine selection of animated pictures clearly and distinctly. Wootwell and Co. who come with big reputations, are now showing More of them anon •*■ * * Pollards were in their very best form on Monday night, and "The Messenger Boy" filled the Opera House to the doors. Perhaps, the distinguished company put the artistes on their mettle, for they easily outshone their previous form. The dress circle and stalls were gay with many coloured uniforms, brilliant mess jackets and sad khaki contrasting with the smart gowns worn by Wellington's "nicest." With the object in view for which the musicaJ comedy was given — the Ranfurly Veterans' Home — every Pollardian did his or her best work. * • • Miss Alice Edgar may he deemed to have captured first honours. The de-

lighttul comedy of 'Mrs. Bang" could be in no bettei hands, and Miss Edgar liad to sing aJI the spare verses of her quaint washes oman's song, and aJJ the applause from Governor to gods that heart could desire. ' Maasie," one of the most tuneful and fascinating morceaux in "The Messenger Boy," gave Miss Alice Pollard a chance to show the finish of her style. Her native grace and faultless enunciation will help hei along her operatic path. Miss Connie Buttel, too, if anything, made her part more charming, and her sweet voice won her much applause and many encores T- -V * Mr. Dan O'Connor had his right hand slung, as a result of a recent ' Maritana" duel, but the wound in his hand has not hurt his Voice. Of course the inimitable Percy got the best attention of the crow ded house from the start. The messenger boy got in some of his "lightning sketch" work, and the audience signified its recognition of prominent features of prominent men by ejaculating "Dick 1 " "Joe'" "Why, that's our George l " while the several striking portions of the physiognomy of those celebrities were> in course of construction. «• * ♦ Even the bull-dog, who has a battle royal with an Arab carpet-seller, seemed to know that "the Governor" was looking at him, and caused a furore of applause. His Excellency, in the interval, visited Mr. Pollard in his office, and congratulated him on ' The Messenger Boy." There is a nice little sum standing: to the credit of the Veterans' Home Fund a& a result of that packed house — £110 no less

Miss Carrie Davie and hei dramatic company open at the Opera House on Saturday September (>th, in. 'The Lights of a Great City," a sensational drama, one of the featuies of which is a tank containing bO,OOO gallons of water. Miss Davie is an Amencan, who has previously tooiied the colonies with Dion Boucicault, and was so pleased with this side of the world that she is here again.

"Peerless" Carrie, who must not be confounded with Miss Davie, is with the company, and is a "quick change" artiste of some ability Mr. O'Connor, a young American actor, is said to be a specially good artist, and Mr. Harold Hubert, 8.A., who has played Danny Mann. Harry Duff, and Michael Feeney, is 1 spoken of as a clever character actor Prices are 3s. 2s, Is, and 6d.

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Little Alina Grey, the sweet child who used to sing and dance for Percy Dix, is to go to Edinburgh, where she has a Chustinas engagement in pantomime to fulfil. Miss Heba Bailow, who is something special in the song and dance line, is dufting this way If she is as good as her reputation, she is wanted in New Zealand pretty quickly. 1 Pa&qum Junior" facetiously lemarks, m the Otago Witness," that an epidemic has set in, and ' it's sketchm'." This in connection with Mr. W. S. Percy's drawings published in a recent Lance Mi Gus Neville, whose name is anpeanng on local bills as one of a companv now playing m tho Fedeial Theatre, is not really one of the company. He leauests me to sav lie is bound foi the North * * •» Frank Thornton is to put m some time "Facing the Music" in Melbourne and us to run the "Private Secietary'' and ' A Little Ray of Sunshine." Afteiwards, he is going to see what he can do with the tno of spaiklets in NewZealand * * * Drought, and the price of meat, are sadly affecting the attendance at many Australian theatres. I notice no diminution in attendances in New Zealand consequent on the price of butter. Also I notice that about as much "butter" is used in theatrical matteis as of yore ■*■*+■ Madame Melba dotes on bush picnics. She is looking forward with rapture to the tune when she can drink smoky tea out of a billy, gather sticksi, and discover drowned ants in the pannikin Tt is to be hoped no one asks Madame to sing at that picnic, unless the party is composed of millionaires. • * * Before George Rignold departed for Home, he sold up his theatrical gear. Sixty-two wigs fetched 25s the lot, about four sacksfull of stage jewellery bi ought 30s, and money rolled in wholesale. Bland Holt bought "The Lights of London" complete for £260, which appeal's to be the finest bargain of the lot. But Bland knows' * * * If }, on \\ ant to command a big salary in the colonies, it is as well for you if you are not a colonial. If you are nall-marked from a London theatre, you wi'l get perhaps £40 a week for doing as little as you can. Being colonial, you will get about half that, but you will not work an3' the less even if \ our talents are greater. Therefore, get hall-marked' Fanc;\ meeting you ! That is probably wha't Miss Alice May ejaculated when by accident, she sat down opposite Heibert Ridsdale the other day in a London restaurant. Herbert was once Mr. Alice May. Mr. R. was so wedded to the paper, "The Kalgoorhe Sun, ' that he deserted her, you remember. PieMously, he had edited Sydney "Sunday Times" in the days when that smart journal had to own up to one or two little inaccuracies. It has not done anything m the libel way since Rulsdale's day.

Johnny Sheridan has not knocked the "early dooi" iniquity on the head, but he turns on the oiohestra pietty early, to keep the people sweet until the curtain goes up. I expect the oichestra shares the ' early door" pi ohts of the Sydney Criterion or, perhaps, me musicians do not belong to the union? It is more than doubtful it the Broughs will be able to finally tear themselves away from the Pacific. Never a word of anything but praise is written of them. At one of their recent shows, a party of theatrical people rose in the interval, and sang, 'Will ve no come back a^ain ? " The\ cannot go after that, can they? It is rumoured that, when Signoi Dam was farewelling at Sydney Town Hall recently, a gentleman, who had lmgeied o'er long at the shrine of Bacchus, insisted on making a duet of 'Let Me Like a Soldier Fall," with the gifted one. So fine a voice did the soakei possess that no one said him na>v, and a local entrepreneur, looking for talent, angled him then and there with a good offei . He had nevei previously sang in public. * • • The "Critic" pessimist, who tells unpleasant truths, says "Vanity drives ten women on to the stage for every one w-ho is drawn to the footlights b^ a natural taste for dramatic work. It is the craving for admiration that makes the woman who has been told she is good to look at run for a situation in the fierce w hite limelight, w here she mav pose before thousands, and feed her egregious conceit, even though she have less sense of the dramatic piopneties than a lamp-post. * * * "Note the pretty girls that flock about the small companies that occasionally make hole and cornei appearances in the capitals. Theie are usually quite a drove of them — tall, shapely, good-looking, and shabby-genteel ready to play anything, and, evidently' to play for nothing, or next to nothing since it often happens that these cut-and-come-again managements do not earn money enough to pa,v for °-ieasepaint, even when rents aie owed foi and advertisement accounts left in an unsettled state."