ENTERTAINMENTS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIII, Issue 13296, 1 October 1906, Page 6

ENTERTAINMENTS.

HIS MAJESTY'S THEATRE. ! MR.' CHAS. VERNER IN " SHAMUS ! ; O'BRIEN." t •» I Th\t the Messrs. MacMahon did wisely ' when they decided to play a week of Irish : drama in' Auckland was amply, proved on Saturday night, when the house .was crowd- . Ed to witness " Shamus O'Brien, as presented by Mr. Charles Verner. ' Shamus. " O'Brien" is a romantic play, picture;*] 5 dressed, and full of incident from first to last, and was manifestly enjoyed. There L have been several' versions of "Shamus O'Brien" presented to playgoers, but that 1 of Mr. Vomer is this: Shamus not only , «aves the life of the rich and beautiful Mary Donoughmore (Miss Oriel Hotson), but wins her heart-, poor peasant as ho is. , '- r cousin seeks her hand in love,' but she assures him that she can never be more than a friend, or, at the most, a sister. the cousin, Leslie McMurro (Mr. A- .Boothman), has joined the King's army, and has to assist in quelling a rebellion in Galway, and in wiping out O'Brien and his gang. b This becomes very congenial work as tn ' play proceeds. McMurro finds a willing 3 collaborator in Shadrack 01 inn (Mr. b. - • . Fitzgerald), spy and informer, and an okf 2 and unsuccessful suitor of Mrs. 0 Brien 1 (Mrs. Barry Lane), mother of the hero. I O'Finn, rushing before a crowd of intubated rebels, seeks an asylum in. -Miss , Donoughmore's house. Here Lc- learns ot • Shamus* presence in the neighbourhood sees him in that very house, and eodea*ours to steal two papers one containing tJi , names of O'Brien's rebel band, and the.other 1 the oath of the same band. These 0 .in , tries to secure, and eventually does obtain , 1 with a view to hanging 0 Brien , and getting the reward for his arrest. Around these incidents the play revolves. Several characters are introduced into the play which are not absolutely material to the story, but are there for stage purposes. VT Among them are the Hon. Kate 0 Reilly (Miss May Renno), Molly O'Brien (Miss L. Sinclair), Father Malone (Mr. E. B. Russell Larry 5 Mahoney (Mr. E. Nable), Colonel Glavertey ■ (Mr. W. Ellison), and Sir Reginald Dare (Mr. F. Coape). . Mr Verner came» as a pleasant surprise to habitues of His Majesty's Theatre He was perfectly natural in his acting, and therein showed that he had mastered his art irom the first principles to the last. He discarded most of the old stag© mannerisms, a.ad threw himself completely into the character as wax in a mould, and the result was eminently satisfactory. He was a happy combination of the tragedian and the comedian ; at one time moving the audience to tears, at another making them, laugh hilariously. lie sang several pretty songs, among them "Live in Mv Heart" and "My Boy, Sou i Are Irish," which were heartily applauded. As Mary Donoughmore Miss Hotson gave a fine character-study of the approved melo--1 dramatic type. Miss May Renno, as the ! frolicsome Irish girl, Kate O'Reilly, was an unqualified success. The Leslie McMurro , of Mr. Alfred Boothman was a thoroughly convincing piece of work. As Shadraok ! O'Finn, Mr. Fitzgerald earned the fervent execrations of the gallery for best part of the evening, and it is to bo concluded that lie succeeded in painting the character of the informer as black as possible. v The> Sir : Reginald Dare of Mr. Coape was a, good ; piece of work. Th© rest of the cast was adequately filled. ! The mounting of the piece was excellent, ' and the selections of Irish airs for the incil dental music were most happily ohoson. " Shamus O'Brien," ,as produced by the ' MacMahon management, with Mr. Verner 1 in the name part, has all the elements in it ' that go to make a great success. It will be ■ repeated this evening. The management ■ have in preparation that old Irish classic, " Arrah-na-Pogue." ) ,1, :

! OPERA HOUSE. - » . *' »' FULLER'S VAUDEVILLE COMPANY. The change of programme at the Opera House on Saturday evening attracted a good audience to witness the entertainment provided by Fuller's Vaudeville Company. Barrass, described' as the Marionette King, made his first appearance, and his performance ( places him high among the artists in this line of business. He introduces five figures, and by his skilful manipulation of strings practically makes his figures live. He first gives a representation of the antics of a person, who has dined we'll but not wisely. Next a skeleton appears, and while performing various feats the several portions of the figure separate and are brought together again in rather an uncanny manner. An acrobat and balancer are shown going, ' through a performance, and then follows a L figure, the arms and legs of which are detached* and these with the trunk dance "to-g-ether in good stylo. The whole turn is distinctly clever, and the effect is heightened by the limelight. The Power Bros, give a i clever performance on the tight wire, which ooncludes with the younger of the two jumping on to the shoulders of the elder brother and then back on to the wire while the l^t- . tor balances on one leg Mr. Victor Loydall and Miss Rosa Berry introduced another delightful and clever sketch, and Mr. John Fuller pleases the audience with a fine rendering of two of his favourite songs, his sweet tenor voice being heard to advantage. Mr. Carl Collier delights the audience with his comic songs and witticisms, 'and has to respond several times. Miss Stella Vern< s a, a you 11/ artist, sings a ballad and a prettilyillustrated song in artistic fashion. The Two i! >rrS rS' V<! clever song and dance sketch. Miss Qlara Keating, the serio-oomie, fic.ds favour in her. singing and dancing, and Mr. Aubrey Douglas renders comic songs in food stylo. Mr. Val. Newton, the basso, contributes his songs in pleasing manner, and the' Driscoll Bros, continue to claim approval in their clever and original sketches. A number of amusing and other pictures are thrown on the screen by the Warwick bioscope, and altogether it may bo said that the programme, which will be repeated dur ing the week, provides ' capital evening's entertainment. B MR, HARRY RICKARDS' COMPANY. * On Monday evening next, Mr. Harry Rickards will introduce to the Auckland public, at His Majesty s Theatre, a new company ot vaudeville artists, specially selected, to make a short tour through the colony. The combination appears to be an exceptionally strong one. A prominent feature will be the appearance of Mr. Brinn, described as a sensational cannon juggler and manipulator. His act is sensational in the extreme. He b»f ai h a £ii n? V T* mighfc dream about but hardly expect to see. Juggling with armaments of , war is his forte. He puts big gun shells to uses that probably made the 2"^ ve War Office gasp with astonishment >Seymour and Dupre are American . sketch artists. Little Cliff, England's foremost juvenile comedian, is onlv 15 rears ol age, but performs like a finished artist, and is an expert in dancing. Miss Nellie Kilburn is an English , £Cno and burlesque art--Ist and Baby Watson, a wonderful child artist. Amongst the other members of the company are Mr. Fred. Bluett, the wellknown comedian, and Mi Nita Leete., balladist. Ihe box plan opens on Wednesday morning at Wildman and Arey's.