MUSICAL AND DRAMATIC.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXVII, Issue 8354, 6 September 1890, Page 4 (Supplement)

MUSICAL AND DRAMATIC.

jpss Opera House is still occupied by tho Cowan dramatic companyMr. Christie Murray's now comedy-drama, •♦Gratitude," was produced at the Princess Theatre, Dunedin, by the St. Maur Company on Friday week. According to the • local papers this piece is in many ways considorably in Advance of " Chums," the dialogue* being smartly written, and the general construction showing a greater knowledge of stage technique 1 hero is nothincr strikingly original in the play, but old materials have boon used and blended in a very acceptable fashion. Mr. Murray took the part of an impecunious artist, and mado a success of the study. The St. Maur Company are now in Invorcargill. ■ The strike epidemic has extended to the theatrical profession. I» I "^ rC g^' l \ l la " u . Monday fivo members of the bt Alain Company, after the audience _ assembled, demanded £2 each as the ot their appearance for tho night. Mr. St. Maur declined to accede to the demand and returned tho money to the audience. lie explained that this was to bo the last performance of the members, and vhab their places would be filled by others to-morrow night. They thought fit to attempt to exact their own terms for to-night. All the company's salaries and expenses had been paid to date. The company did very good business in Invercargdl, playing a longer season than usual in that tow If all the rumours (says the Ota-o \\ ltness) that have been current in Dunedin for the past week or two were correct, the tot. •Maur Company should bo considerably extended by tho addition of amateurs to its ranks before it leaves our shores. lho names of no less than three \vell-kno>\ n young ladies, who would probably be indignant if they were said to belong to anything bub the " upper ten," have been mentioned pretty freely as being about to become members of the company. If the company are actually about to bo translated to the home country, as hinted in this column last week, the substitution of some more strong professional talent for some of the present members would appear to be a mora likely move than the weakening of it by the addition of a few untried amateurs, no matter w hat their social standing might be. Dr. Neild, on August IS, was_ presented with an address and purse of £761, on the occasion of his retirement from the position of dramatic critic of the " Australasian. The purse was raised by private subscription and two benefit performances. It is rumoured that Mr. l>esb would accept the position of organist in Sydney if he received sufficient inducement to no so, and surely when the services of so able an artist are procurable, a few pounds a year should not stand in the way. In speaking of Miss Mary Andersons marriage, the New York Spirit of the Times states She says she will not return to the stage unless Manager Abbey wins his suit for breach of contract. Of course Manager Abbey will win his suit, and of course she will play here next season, and of course everybody will see how much better she plays her love scenes, and of course she will make another fortune. They all do it. The Brooklyn Theatre, for many years one of the best-known houses in America, is being pulled down in order that a waie house may be erected on it* site. Amongst those who have appeared on its popular stage are Mr. Irvine, Miss Ellen Terry, and Jlme, Bernhardt. Its closing night was marked by a crowded audience, a special programme, and the singing of " The Star-spangled Banner." Madame Gerster is charming crowded houses at the opera in London, and her admirers assert that her voice has returned to her in all its old power and beauty. _ Jennie Leo was the original Moya in "The , Shaughraun," first produced in America. A somewhat humorous episode (says the Era) occurred at the Marlowe benefit performance at the Shaftesbury on the afternoon of July 4. Mr. Justin Huntly M'Carthy, M.P., had undertaken, on behalf of the committee, to receive Madame Sarah Bernhardt on her arrival at the theatre. Some considerable _ time had elapsed when a carriage, containing a lady closely muffled, drove up to the stage door. Mr. McCarthy politely escorted her from her carriage, and, offering his arm, conducted her across the stage, addressing her all the time in the most Parisian of French, without, however, receiving anyvery coherent reply. The mystery was loon explained when the fail" artist unveiled, and revealed not the features of the divine Sarah, but those ot Miss Letty Lind, all ready attired for one of her captivating dances 1 An American actress says, apropos of "tights":—"Wearing the costume is another matter from trying it on. It is hard to get the tights up tight enough. The foot of tho under pair has been cut off, leaving only only a strip to go over the heel. The wearer can't tell which is the front and which is back. The cut-off edge rolls up at the ankle when the over tights go on, and the strap slips from the heel, and poor Miss Novice wishes herself in any ti<*ht place but the one she must get into. \Vhen they have been on a while, she feels cold and prickly all over, and realises that her circulation has stopped, and the belt cuts. She feels stiff at walking, instinctively adopting a swing from the hips and a spring at the foot to ?ave bending the knee ; also, she is constantly inclined to cry. Not exactly that she is ashamed, bub she feels out of doors, and lonely. If she becomes conscious of observation, her knees promptly come in toward each other, and one foot •crouches miserably behind the other. She Feels like turning her back, and the impulse is attended by a panic-struck consciousness that it won't do any good. Directly she begins to scrouch, she feels she can't stand it. Her only hope is to keep her feet wide apart and pretend valiantly to herself that she is a man. On the stage she dare not think at all. Of course, wearing tights is nob to the regular burlesquer the mental strain that it is to a novice. But it is more of a physical strain. Next time you look at the Amazons, remember how jolly hard it is to get into those red and yellow things. How cold they are ! How they drag" and pull, how the straps cut, and how one has to stand up as long as one wears them, and then make up your mind you are having more fun than the girls are." Ib is stated that Mr. John Hollingshead drew £120,000 from his eighteen years' management of the London Gaiety, and paid away a million in salaries. Christine Nilsson has a collection of rare fans valued at £10,000 ; among them, most highly treasured, i 3 one which once wafted almost the latest breath of hapless Marie Antoinette, for she took this particular fan to the scaffold with her. Miss Helen Barry, the English actress, occasionally displays on the stage a beautiful fan which was carried off during the sacking of the Emperor's palace in Paris by tho Communists, and which Miss Barry secured in London at a cost of £35 sterling. A new play by Dion Boucicaulb, which was recently announced for production in San Francisco, is said to have been originally written for Joseph Jefferson 'Jo years ago. but never brought out. M us ico - Dram ati c cs.

*»* All communications intended for this column should be addressed " Musico-Uramaticus," II krai.ij Office, Auckland, and should be forwarded as early as possible. ___________