ENTERTAINMENTS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLV, Issue 13673, 14 February 1908, Page 6

ENTERTAINMENTS.

MS MAJESTY'S thuatrk. . - THREE LITTLE MAIDS." A D.MNTT little musical comedy, entitM "Three Little Maids," was produced for the ■ first timo at His Majesty's Theatre last evening by Mr. X C. Williamson's "Blue Moon'* Company. Those appearing in the piece made the most of the many ludicrous situations and. infused a deal of fun into the three acta, and the whole production was received with favour. The "three little maids" are the daughters of the Rev. Theodore Brans- . combe, the vicar of a country parish. ,Siek and tired of the village of Market Mallory, they, accept an invitation from Lady St.' Mallory to go to London to act as tea girli; in that lady's Bond-street establishment, in : order.to relievo their father's somewhat, «'<-«

tonuatcd purse, and incidentally to have some fun. Before leaving for the aity tH" versatile young ladies fall in with Lord V

Cheyno, Brian Molyneaux, and M. do l'Orme, and indulge in an interesting flirtation, to the ill-concealed chagrin of the liters' city charges. At the tea rooms, as is v only to'be expected, the gentlemen trip in, the threads of the disturbed country lovemaking are again taken up, with the equally inevitable result that the curtain 5 is rung down with a reasonable prospect of rico and old shoes for the "throe little maids." Th« chief part of the piece is that of an exaggerated English " johnny," Lord Choyne, whose cheerful inanities were admirably portrayed by that capable comedian, Mr. . Myles Clifton. His song, "Algy's Awfully Good at Algebra," was a perfect gem in it*. way, while in the duet, "Golf," with Ad* ,- .\ (one of the three maidn), he provided much mirth. The "three little maids" themselves had much to do, but their singing.and; Hv acting lacked nothing throughout in fre»l • ncss. The parts were taken by Misses Daisio Wallace, Amy Murphy, and Alma \ : <'-:$M Barber, as vivacious a trio of country girli as on© could wish to meet. Ada (Miss Oaiaia Wallace), doliciously frank and irresponsible, provided much merriment, and her ■ singing was a treat, while Hilda (Miss Alma Barber) and Edna (Miss Amy Murphy) both l proved themselves very popular. Mis* : Murphy's singing, and indeed the singing of all. three, was thoroughly enjoyable. Miss Barber's rendering of "The Miller's' Daughter" provided one of the best interludes of the play, and. Miss Murphy's contribution of " The Girl You Love" waa equally appreciated. As for the remainder of trio, male trio, Mr. Harrington Sweeney, as the . orthodox stage Frenchman, got in tsomo very clever work, his method of making love being original, if nothing else; and Mr. Reg- - \ inald Kenneth, though more reserved in hi». ■•. ,' methods, was hardly less successful. One of ! "' the most successful songs in "Three Little = Maids ' was "Looking for a Needle in » ( . '; Haystack," sung by Mr. Victor Gouriot, .-, . • from which that comedian extracted much ,' merriment as Cupid of the tea shop. The part of Lady St. Mallory was admirably impersonated by Miss Celia Ghiloni, and those of her proteges of society by Misses ,'' Ada Page, Jessica Deane, and Buby Armfield, The lesser purl,, were taken by Miw Dulcie Murphy (.Miss Dcarej, Miss Hetty: Patey (Miss Crane), Mis* Blanche Fancy (Miss Price), and Ah. Arthur Lissant (thevicar). The scenic, -effects were very com-"'; plete, particularly the setting of the tea ; ? rooms, and tho musical arrangements, under Mr.. Alfred Moultan, were excellently carried out. The last two nights of the season are announced. ' OPEBA HOUSE. The programme presented by Fuller** Vaudeville Company at the Opera House last evening attracted a large audience. Allan Shaw displayed remarkable faculty of manipulation with coins and cards, and Fred H. Graham and Nellie Dent, in their onftact comedy, "A Bachelor's Dream," gained :] J ; much applause. Other interesting contributions were provided by Walls and Lucas, ' ' the Lucas Sisters, Rupert Christie, tho T«v ; Prices, and Bud Peterson, the bioscope pictures lending variety to an enjoyable pry ~ gramme.