RECORD PLAYS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLII, Issue 12991, 7 October 1905, Page 5 (Supplement)

RECORD PLAYS.

The long run is an interesting topic. A few particulars, also, about record short runs, and the following list of some famous successes, with the number of their consecutive performances in London, will be read with interest:"Charley's Aunt," 1466; Our boys," 1362; "The Private Secretary," oven- 1000; " The Chinese Honeymoon," over 1000; Dorothy," 931; " San Toy," over 800; "La Poupee," 778; " The Geisha," 760; A Country Girl," over 700 ; " Sweet Lavender," about 700 ; *' Patience," 700; "Tho Toreador," 675; "The Mikado," 672; " Our Flat," 645; " A Runaway Girl," 598 ; " The Gondoliers," 554; " Niobe," 550; "The Shop Girl," 546 "The Girl from Kay's," over 500; "The Circus Girl," 498; "Quality Street," 459; "The Yeoman of the Guard," 423; " lolanthe," 398; and " The Pirates of Penzance," 363. / ' The full significance of the long-run system, however, is not appreciated until on© begins to consider the number of the provincial, in addition to the metropolitan, performances of popular plays. It would be difficult to state, foi example, how inafiy times " Charley's Aunt" has been acted consecutively by a single company both ill and out of London; but it must run into several thousands, and into many thousands, including the performances of the numerous; companies which have played it contemporaneously abroad and at home. Much the same thing may be said about such worldfamous successes au "The Sign of the Cross," which has been seen by millions of people, " The Private Secretary," " The Mikado," R The Silver King," and "The Lights o' London." The last-named two dramas have been played on some stage or other practically every night for nearly a quarter of a century. INDIVIDUAL RECORDS. Still more striking are the facts pertaining to the individual achievements of actors. Quite recently we are told that Mr. 1 red Powell played Jagon, in "A Grip of Iron," over 5000 times; also Mr. Martin Harvey registered his 1000 th performance of Sydney Carton; and M'r. Van Biene his 3055 th of the genius in "A Broken Melody." And how many times, one wonders, has Sir Henry Irving played Mathias; Sir Charles Wyndham, David Garrick; Mr. Henry Neville, the Ticket-of-Leave Man;. Miss Minnie Palmer, My Sweetheart; MrCharles Warner, Coupeau, in "Drink;' M'r. Edward Terry, Dick Phenyl; Mr. Penley, Charley's Aunt? And how many times did David James play Perkin Middle wick; Mme. Celeste, Miami; Jefferson, Rip Van Winkle; J. K. Emmett, Fritz; Charles Arnold, Hans the Boatman ; Sliiel Barry, the Miser in "Les Cloches;" Wilson Barrett, Marcus Superbus and the Silver King; anil Dion Boucicault the many Irish characters he created? Often enough, no doubt, for the actors themselves to have lost all count. . The record in this respect is probably held' by Miss Jennie Lee, who said recently that she had acted Jo, in " Bleak House, nearly 9000 times. She has played the part in sixteen London theatres, as well as all over America, in every part of Australia, in South Africa, and in India. OTHER records. Certain other players, too, kept careful record of their performances. Sothern act- . Ed Lord Dundreary 495 times; Patty Olive, Blue-ey'd Susan, 1775 times. C. H. Hazlewood appeared over 4000 times in an undistinguished play called "Simon; and Edmund Falconer acted so frequently in " The Peep o' Day" that he claimed to have been seen in that play by 26,584,000 persona ! ... ; ... .'. ~. . ( . . - j A separate history is associated wit.li the i long runs and relocated revivals of Gilbert

and Sullivan operas at the Savoy. There is nothing in the story of the stage to be compared with the remarkable successes of these productions. The operas most frequently played were: —"H.M.s. Pinafore," "Patience," and "The Mikado." "Pinafore" ran 700 nights ,in 1878-9, 120 nights in 1887, and 174 in 1899: total, 994. " The Mikado" ran 672 nights from 1885 to 1887, 116 nights in 1888, 127 in 1895-6, and 228 in 1896-7; total, 1143. " Patience" ran 170 nights in 1881, 408 in 1881-2, and 150 in 1900-1: total, 728. And others had long initial runs — The Pirates of Penzance," 363; " lolanthe," 398; " Ruddigore," 288 ; and "The Gondoliers," 554. " legitimate" record. One long run has not yet been mentioned because from a " legitimate" standpoint, it was perhaps the most memorable in all the annals of the theatre, and therefore requires a special note. This was Sir Henry living's epoch-making 200 performances of Hamlet at the Lyceum in 1874. By that single achievement Sir Henry gained a name and reputation for all time. Ambitious productions at. West End houses do not often come to such grief as " Floddcyi Field," which ran for a week at His Majesty's, or " The Gordiau Knot." which had a nine days' run at the same theatre; or the Bancrofts' gorgeous revival of "The Merchant of Venice," at the old Prince of Wales' in 1875. The last-named had Ellen Terry as Portia, but the Shylock of Charles Coghlan was not liked, and three weeks saw the beginning and Iho end of the experiment.