DRA MATIC AND MUSICAL

Free Lance, Volume XV, Issue 817, 25 February 1916, Page 25

DRA MATIC AND MUSICAL

By Footlight.

The Pantomime Season. STANLEY Mackaj's Company has been giving a series of demonstrations at the Grand Opera House of how pantomime can be played to popular prices. Their exhibitions have been attended with success that must have been almost overwhelming to the management, judging by the healthy state, of the house on the opening night. The big theatre was packed from floor to ceiling, and the reception accorded the performance is evidence that the audience were satisfied they were getting their money's worth. Fair weather houses have also favoured the run throughout the week" and promise to continue into next week for the change of programme to be given. * * * * "Boy Blue," for that is the name by which the pantomime distinguishes itself, is of that class of entertainment which showmen of to-day pass on to a wondering public under the name of pantomime. Modern pantomime is more or less a musical extravaganza, furnished with three principal characters in a principal boy and girl and a dame, whose destiny or right to be in the place is lost in a maze of ballets, various introduced vaudeville items, and sundry laughable nonsense. "Boy Blue" comes into this class, and, therefore, is no better or no worse than most of its predecessors. It agords a good laugh, pleases the eye, and haunts the ear with sundry musical refrains of the popular order. So why worry about plot or coherency? * * * * This panto, would be more appropriately called "Mother Goose," which is the name under which Dame Gerald masquerades, for this flirty old widow is more in evidence than Boy Blue, even though, she does wear more clothes than her stalwart offspring. She is a very acrobatic old girl is Mother Goose, and what with her double--somersaults and her frisky and sometimes rather unladylike behaviour she will rank in the front row of pantomime dames that Wellington has seen. * * * * Miss Essie Jennings (Boy Blue) is of very generous proportions, and fills her fleshlings without any sign of artificial padding. Certainly she is a fairly substantial "widow's mite." As King Cole, with whom the widow-dame seeks matrimonial solace as the final curtain descends, Mr. "Will Rayner is satisfactory enough. Better still, he is possessed of a clear, ringing tenor of a quality rare!} heard in pantomime, and

James Gerald as the Dame in the "Boy Blue " pantomime at the Grand Opera House.

in his two vocal items, "Long Live the King" and "Mother Machree" he scores the encore of the evening. The representation of Matilda, the Goose of the pantomime, is first-class, and is particularly amusing to the youngsters. * » * * One of the features of the performance is the introduced item by the two Fredo Bros., who contrive to fiddle what time they give a clever display of acrobatics. Their turn at once catches the fancy of the audience, and is loudly applauded. Will Speed as a tramp cyclist is also well received. The scenic effects, without being pretentious, are quite adequate. * * * * A change of programme will be given bv the pantomime company to-morrow (Saturday) evening, when "Boy Blue" will pack away his trumpet and retire m favour of "Old Mother Hubbard," not forgetting her dog. A matinee performance will also be given to-morrow afternoon, when a specially-reduced tariff will prevail. As a panto. "Mother Hubbard" is said to be screamingly funny. The season extends into next week. * * * » Vaudeville. The Bletsoe Revue Company are in their final week at His Majesty's. Before saying good-by, they are giving His Majesty's audiences a few wrinkles in "Palmistry TJp-to-Date," which, in other words, is the title of their latest revue. It is as bright and frivolous and as tastefully staged as its predecessors. Daisy Jerome does her usual career round the stage, while she gives voice to such classical numbers as "Pull for the Shox - e," etc. * * * * Her competitions nightly since Monday for local juveniles, the competitor to sins; one of Daisy's songs,, is creating much interest. Each night some half-dozen aspiring youngsters face the footlights, and lift up a niping treble in one or other of the Jerome items. It is noticeable that the big majority of the competitors are girls. The boys were ever the shy sex. Most of the youngsters have displayed the usual juvenile aptitude of readily picking up a song, and generally give a very fair rendering of the particular ditty they select. The finals will be sunp: this (Friday) evening. * * * * There are three very welcome additions to this week's bill. One of them is Paris Green, who acts up to his name by dressing in all-green from head to foot. The only patch about him which is not green is the top of his pate, which is bald. He is a very amusing American entertainer, and the audience thought so much of him the other night that it rose in a body and angrily threatened to throw a drunken interrupter outside. Laveen and Cross give an amusing burlesque of early Roman sports and pastimes, incidentally displaying wonderful strength _ and skill. Les Legarte are another pair of modern Hercules to marvel av * * * * An entire change of programme will be given next week. It should also Jbe a refreshing change, for an English contingent of artists will supplant the American order. * * * * The well-known theatrical firm of J. and N. Tait is being stretched in order to make room for a third brother, Mr. E. J. Tait, who has been a J. C. Williamson manager in Sydney for some time rjast. * * * * While Maud Fane is playing principal girl in pantomime over the other side, her hubby (Edgar Warwick) is "resting," pro tern. Stated that Maud is to play in musical comedy later on, and Edgar will also get a show then. * * # * The popular belief with many pictureshow managers is that the fair sex prefer the weepful class of film. A propos of this, a couple of sweet young things were partaking of their sixpenn'orth in a certain picture theatre recently. Said Maisie: "Do you see anything in this play to cry over?" "No," replied Maudie, "I'm not enjoying it a bit." Many a mummer who is praised to the skies is not really a star.

Miss Lena Ashwell, the noted English actress, has organised a scheme for giving concerts for British soldiers at the various fronts. In the following letter to the Free Lance she appeals to New Zealand and Australia for assistance. Miss Ashwell is "chairman" of the committee conducting these entertainments for soldiers, and Major-General Sir Alfred Turner, K.C.8., is honorary treasurer. The object is a worthy one. Australians and New Zealanders, who spend freely on their own entertainment, can surely afford a little for the gallant men who are fighting for and defending them at the front, more especially as Miss Ashwell and her committee have arranged for a concert party to brighten up the lives of our own men in Egypt. Miss Ashwell's letter is as follows: — Dear Free Lance : —May I appeal to music-lovers in Australia and New Zealand to' help us in sending concert parties to the base camps and hospitals at the front? The concerts are the men's one pleasure in their lives of dulness and danger and suffering, and we are anxious to keep the concerts in full swing until the end of the war, including those now arranged for Egypt. The men would be most bitterly disappointed if these entertainments had to be stopped for lack of funds. It was just this difficulty that prevented us from sending earlier a concert party to Egynt to cheer the Australian and New 'Zealand tr-oops of whom we are all so proud. Friends in Canada are helping us in the difficult task of raising money, and there are, I think, many music-lovers in Australia and New Zealand who would choose this way of sending comfort and happiness to their gallant troops if they only knew how deeply tEese efforts are appreciated, and how grateful the men are for the gift of the music they love so intensely. In order to facilitate the transmission of contributions to the fund, the Bank of Australasia has kindly consented to receive any amounts, small or large, at the principal branches of the bank throughout Australia and New Zealand. —Yours faithfully, Lena ASHWELL. * ■» •» * Paul Dufault, the splendid Canadian tenor, has just concluded a highly successful concert tour of the United States, and is now preparing for his return visit to New Zealand and Australia. He opens at this side of the world on the 24th of April at Dunedin. His concert partv will consist of Miss Pauline Bindley, the charming soprano, who assisted in Dufault's last concert tour under the Cross; Mr. Harold Whittle, solo pianist and accompanist, and Miss Sardini. a clever girl violinist from Christchurch. Mr. John Griffiths is business manager, and the entire tour is under the experienced direction of Mr. Fredric Shipman. Prominent items in Mr. Dufault's new programme will be the "Marseillaise" and the Canadian National Anthem. "The Maple Leaf for Ever." * * * # The Hoyal Wellington Choral Society approaches its annual meeting on the 29th with a good recoi'd for a stressful year. It entered 1915 with a deficiency of about £120, and in spite of war and the misfortune of having to swap conductors half-way across the stream, it has come through with that deficit lowered to £30, which the outstanding subs, more than cover. In fact,

the deficit is now non-existent, and Secretary W. E. Caldow is looking quite happy. "Faust" is the first work to be tackled in the coining year; 43 men of the choir and one lady "(Miss Rogers) have either gone or are on their way to the war front. During the recent season of grand opera at Chicago, John McCormack sang in "La Bolieme." It was a special gala performance, and the tariff was raised for the occasion, the seats for the Most Expensive being twenty-eight shillings each. Porkopolis, despite this box office toll, packed the theatre to the doors. The Irish tenor was received enthusiastically after an absence from the operatic platform of over five years, and the New York "Musical Courier" states that in his portrayal of Rodolfo, he appeared absolutely at ease in the Continental costume of Murger's poet and that vocally he was excellent. The latter goes without saying. The season ran to a season of ten performances, the operas staged being: "Tosca," "La Boheme," "Jewels of the Madonna," ''Rigoletto," "Faust," "Aida." "Pag[iacci," "Romeo and Juliet," "Mignon," and "Madame Butterfly." What a feast of operatic music I * * * * Bandmaster Sousa has been achieving further fame through the rather embarrassing habit of various operaticdonnas of embracing and kissing him in full view of the audience. Remembering the imitative characteristics of the Japanese, it is not surprising to bear that Tamayi Miura, a diminutive Jap. soprano, who has lately been creating a

name for herself in New York for her singing, should follow suit. Miss Tamayi had just finished singing "The Last Rose of Summer" at a big concert at New York Hippodrome last month, when she suddenly pounced upon the March King and imprinted a kiss on his famous whiskers. Sousa should take out an injunction restraining these songbirds making oscillatory demonstrations —at least, in public. ■*■»*.* Sydney Liedertafel with great joy and gust has changed its name to the "Apollo Club." And now the public are demanding that the School of Music shall boot out its made-in-Germany title of "Conservatorium." By the way, what is our National Government doing about the Free Lance's suggestion of some weeks ago to free this patriotic Dominion from the incubus of such Teuton appellations for our show places as "Hochstetter Drive," Franz Josef Glacier," etc., etc.?