MUSICAL AND DRAMATIC.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIII, Issue 13307, 13 October 1906, Page 4 (Supplement)

MUSICAL AND DRAMATIC.

.... BOOKINGS. J .J % .... i vi , HIS MAJESTY'S THEATRE- . '. October 8 to Harry Eickards' Vaudeville . Co. October 29 to December I—'VVest-Breseian Co. December 3 to December —*" Man from _ Mexico," Mr. Edwin Geach's Co. - , December £6 to Jannary lirough-Pleia* ming Co. ' ■ ■ • :■• " , ' • ' '• 1907. . ' ■ January 16" to January 24—Meynell and Gunn Co.—'"The. Little Stranger." , January 25 to February Royal Comic Opera Co. ,' -. ' „ .. ■ February 18 to March 9-" The fcquaw t Man i and "The Virginian" (Mr. J. O. William- • son'* Co.). . March 12 to March 16-Meynell anil Gunn Co. March 25 to 30-Besseg o' the Barn Band. April 1 onward-William Anderson Dramatic Co. .. . . OPERA HOUSE. October 3to October 27— C. Williamson b Dramatic Company (Miss Tittell Brune). - CHORAL HALL. November— Dolores' Concerts. • Miss Tittkix Brunf. lias - been a tremendous success in " Dorothy Vernon " at the Opera House. On Monday she will , ap- . pear in the name part of •" Leah Kleschna." At the conclusion other season here she; begins her tour of the South Island, and will be in • Chrisichurph for the carnival dates there in November. ... By the way, " Leah ; .Klesclma" "was, in part, the outcome, of a dream, according '. to 1 lie writ?!', 'C. M. S.. Mchcllan, '.when in Paris with his wife. On the boulevards they frequently saw a somewhat striking young woman. She was refined and pretty," .remarked McLellan, "and at first we thought she was respectable." He was convinced, however, that the girl was working under* some stronger influence, and this idea was confirmed later on when they met her again in company with a man who looked like, a. thorough-going villain. When they had gone out of sight," said McLellan, "1 said, 'That is the man who is forcing her to do something against her will,' and I immediately decided to put the gill into a. play." How the incident was to be developed, however, the playwright . coultf not decide until tine' morning his wife told him that she had hat! a strange dream, in which she saw a woman burglar enter her room. " Instantly the idea came-to me," said McLellan, "and 'Leah Ivleschna' was the result." West's Pictures and the Breccia us return to Auckland, opening at His Majesty's on the 20th inst. The combination has had a most successful Australian tour of six months. Some slight changes have been made in the personnel of those musical artistes the Brescians, but the Misses Martinengo and Messrs. R. . and H. Hayward and Mr. Fred Mills remain with the company. ■ Mr. Harry Richards' Vaudeville Company will present an entirely . new programme, at His Majesty's Theatre this evening. The bill of the past week has been extremely popular and crowded houses have been the result. • This afternoon a matinee will be given, the programme being especially, suited to the young people. The Auckland Shakespere Society will give their'final reading of the present season on Friday, 26th inst., when "The Tempest' 1 will be, presented. A very fine cast has been arranged; and the reading should prove - a fitting conclusion to a specially successful season. ■ * The. well-known- comedy actor, Mr. Peter Savieri, who has toured New Zealand from end .to eud with various dramatic con!panies, is now out-on the road 'with a company, of bis own. He reports having got together a very compact show, and has so far met with a fair measure of success. . The success of the pipe band contest on January 1 and 2, subsidised by the New Zealand Government and emoted by the Scottish • Society of New Zealand, is practically assured. Five pipe bands have already . announced their intention of competing, and several move have opened negotiations. • .. ■ • Madame Blanche Arral, who ie described a* " V Petite Pattij* is at present in Melbourne, twd likely to come to New Zealand, j Iw'fS;'.d of filling the papers with accounts ! of , her ' brilliant successes in' Europe and America {to say'nothing of ,Eu;ypi. ai d Tonkb and China), she preferred t' ;tand before her Melbourne audiences simply on her own merits. She was practically unknown to those to whom she sang at a previous Marshall Hall concert; and as the' result of her unequivocal success on that, occasion the Princess' Theatre was crowded to the doors, when the distinguished prima donna gave , a vocal ' recital on her own account, with the advantage of the usual stage accessories of scenery 'a»*d costume."' '\> ■ r '"' ' , Writing to Mr. J. C. 'Williamson'from London Mr. Julius Knight sp&ais enthusiastically of the possibilities of " Raffles," which will be one of the first plays done by that actor when he returns 'to Australia next 'year. In his opinion it w.ll be quite a* big a monev-maker as ■ " Sherlock Holmes," and lie has already grown quite enamoured of the character of the gentleman burglar which be will play. It is said .that Mr. George Titheradge returns to Australia at an early date. Mis* Morothy Marsdin, whose Puck in "A Midsummer Night's Dream'" was a feature of the 'Shakesperean productions, conducted through "Australia and New Zealand by Mr. ' George Musgrove, is appearing in London,' and Was the Oliver in a recent performance" of " Oliver Twist." lii an interview the other day Mr. -Arthur Roberts said that "Musical comedy is almost plavcd out. comic opera is com-, ing once more, and burlesque, which is a higher form of fun-making than either, wilt undoubtedly attract »> public satiated with the inanities of so-called musical comedy." Mr; George 'Ed warden, who years ago extinguished the sacred lamp of burlesque which Mr. John Hollingshead and his attendant priests and priestesses Mr. Edward Terry, Mr. E. W. Rovce, Miss Nellie Farren, and Miss Kate Vauzhari —kept a light so successfully at the Gaiety Theatre, and replaced it with the fickle flame of " musical comedv," has at last sounded -he death-knell of this form of entertainment, which has been vastly popular in London of late years. Mr. Edwards announced at the annual meeting of the Gaiety Thoitro Company that he thought it was tiire to make a change, and that the new play at the Gaiety, " Aladdin, - ' would he of quite a different character. The profits of the year's working amounted to £17,196. as against £9651' of the previous year. There, are. at. present only four musical comedits running in London, and during tin "»ast season the general '. impression has been that Londoners are quite tired c' ; 'thf-.c; plays. ' At the. Victoria Pier Pavilion, Folkestone, recently, "i' large' house assembled expressly to see a performance by Mrs. Langtry. The audience was greatly in- ' censed by the actress only performing a . 'south African episode of little dramatic ■.tower. and onlv lasting 20 mlnules. As Mrs. Ln,ngtry. left the. pavilion she was followed bv a hissing crowd, and had to he escorted by two policemen. It was announced that Mrs. Langtrv, owing to indisposition, would be unah:* , o x til her subserrnpnt engagements at ' »ur;iomouth, where she was billed to perfo-,.;< in .^>piece entiled "Between the Ni;,;ht- and the Light." Mrs. Langtry was foffering front an entire loss of voice, attributed to nervous shock. Mr. Jacob P. Adler, the Jewish actor, has been appearing at the Pavilion Theatre, Mile End Road, during a week's stay in London. Originally a reporter on a newspaper in Odessa, Mr Adler was later on a Customs officer, and then went • on to the stage in Russia. Twenty-two ■ years ago die appeared in- London, and : threo years later went to America, where he has remained ever since. He has his own theatre in New York. Mr. Adler has played 400 parUi. " and according to the Daily Express, whilst his' friends tell him lie is ' heat ' in. King Lear, he inclines to Sbylock. ' I attempt to show that Shylock is not the terrible man lie is genially thought to 'be," he says. " Shy lock represents a > suffering, persecuted nation; and it is in that light I try to show him. Shake' Die re did not. intend that lie should he .'taken as a bad, man. Ke wished '-im to be regirded as a genius, one ;v' been oppressed, and a character - us <c Jewish life."'■ • . " V T.. ; , iltrsico-DRAiiAnc us.