THE LATEST PANTOMINE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLVII, Issue 14531, 19 November 1910, Page 5 (Supplement)

THE LATEST PANTOMINE.

" JACK AND THE BEANSTALK.'* '• / "■ ."'•■ -■ ■ ■ .' ■ ■ . ' ' : -V". : v - i I, 4'l WONDERS OF DRURY LANE.;; i I . articulaiily charming and fanciful is the idea underlying the pantomime at Drury Lane this year. The combination of {fie fairies of Shakespere, fancies of "Jack and the Beanstalk," and the reality 'of the Boy Scoute—very wisely these latter are . Vnot made fun of—strikes one as being fraught with the happiest possibilities. Mr. Arthur Collins gives the following full de- , scription of the great "annual": — Hie subject I have chosen for this year is 'Jack and the Beanstalk,' but in my '' ff opinion the story, which is very slight, has always hitherto been very badly told, and Mr. Hickory Wood, Mr. Frank Dix, qnd myself hope to give a new turn to the old incidents, though, of course, we shall ajl- vi;| here to the main points, such as the selling of the cow, the magic beans, the "growing beanstalk, and the Giant. .. : : • " The story will open in the present * d#.v, ; and the scfne will represent a pine forest . « on the Surrey Hills at dusk. A party of • v Boy Scouts have just finished their day's V.s? march, and are pitching their.tents in order ■" : to retire for |ho night. Jack .Hallibut-. one of the Scouts, before retiring, starts to read! . the v story-of 'Jack and the Beanstalk,' ?, but drowsiness overcomes him, 'the book 'S falls from his hands, and he falls asleep. : •/; Then appear the fairy characters from' 'A Midsummer Night's P\ick;.Titarifa, Mustard Seed, and the ' other, attendant "v sprites. Titania and Puck lament the fact ; | that they have done no mischief : since the K Midsummer Night's Dream and the episode" j of 'Bottom,' 300 years ago, and'think this -i is a favourite opportunity to recommence. 1 litania says it is the. ambition r of -every boy to be the hero of his, own dreams, and they decide that Jack . Hallibut shall v:! go through the adventures of the hero in ' Jack and the Beanstalk.' .They produce the magic harp and place it jn his tent, " ' and when Jack awakes lie-finds his appearance changed. He picks up-the' harp,as he touches the strings -it gives forth" 'a ? seductive melody, which becomes" the leitmotiv throughout the play. At. the _sanf6 time Halley's comet is seen passing through i the sky with the Princess,..,the heroine, seated in its tail. He naturally falls desperately in love at once, and goes forth in : 'S$ the world to seek her. THE " SOTTB MILK '' COW."/' -•••»« ' "In the next scene wo . are introduced .'to "\:M Jack's mother, Mrs. Eallfbufc, who has been ! « doing a very big trade with her cow, who '. . supplies sour milk. The King. <£W martyr •■*■§§ to gout, calls with his Court to take nob ;;j the waters, as at Harrogate, but'the sour S? milk cure. Unfortunately, wherithey arrive, Puck casts' a ' spell over' tile cow tod■/. ■:£ turns her milk sweet, with the consequence. that the King, after partaking faas*a ';£}s worse attack of gout than, evfir. .'"He. is .'so incensed that be orders Mrs.. Hallibirt> her -'--A son, and the oow off his farm estate, their . only consolation being that'now thGre will -'/$ be no necessity' for' 'them to fill up Forms : " IV. Mrs. Hallibut' sends Jfy:k 'to Wscgfcet .■'&§, to try to sell the cow. On wa^,'being ,;j tired, he ties the cow to a tryeting tree atfd: sits down beside her. : To whilei away the ' "3* time he takes the- harp from his shoulders /.* and, carelessly touching the strings, the leit- » •/'' motiv sounds again, and is answered ■by : j'%; the appearance of the Princess. They thus ■?- meet for the first time" face tO" face, and to ? Jack's dejight he learns .that his love is re- V ciprocated. He gives her '£he"hUr|>, 'explaining to her that whenever she is in any . danger she has but to play upon it ar.d ho •will come to her, no matter where she mafyr -%;lt be. Leaving her he goes on his way to the ; ; market to sell the cow- •; Here Puck steps'in, again ; and purchases the,aiiim^l. ls ,,A§ H ho } ; pays for it , with the traditional bag of beans instead of gold, ho changes into the A appearance and drees of a - butcher./' . ; . hat, ley's cojlet; " ' " Jack is greatly distressed wfy^.he'see# I this, as lie is fond of the aniraak and ,do<s - not wish.her to be killed. ife b'egs Puck , -.J to cancel the deal, but 'he njfusesl -Jack . . threatens, and then, in order iio'BkW'hitt!self, Puck calls up Halley's Comet; whose -, tail " if is to sweep the marketplace;-The result Wi of the appearance the cornet >is. a whirl- I wind, which sweeps . through the„ market- - ;f place, carrying fill before it. ''' Jack, 'it wilt C be seen, has been blown into -Hie trees of ;: a magic • forest; ithe • fibme 5 -Titania,' 'He ' ;f has lost his P^acess; ; -'4rtd>'''i[i'' , des^^cat -fr her probable fate, he calls ! to'her, but- 13 answered only by mocking echoes. Nymphs t I rise from the pools and tempt, him, like ; j'f| another • Ulysses/to hearken to" their-syren song instead of pursuing his search for his lady-love. Nymphs also appear in-the water- >9s fall and from the trees, and surround him.' V Ho resists all' their temptaticn6, rafid; still | calls for his Princess. Suddenly in'lheidi6- ' tance'is heard the sound of- fi/>barp.-«lt"be- : comes louder and louder, and-he fe&ls that 3? it is the Princess calling for him.' Following % the sound he finds himself in Titanra's *-X home, and recognises her as the fanryrwhom - i « he saw in his dream on the Surrey Hills. She asks him what he has done 1 with-the , harp which she gave to him, the harp which r j brought love and was to protect him from - danger. He tells her he has given! 'it' to J3? the Princess so that she could summon him v.i if ever in distress. At this moment again • ->4 is heard the leit-motiv, and Jack now realises that the Princess lives, but needs his ' help. Suddenly the music stops, a -broken •; "i melody, and he knows now that she is ill-" OjS real danger and has lost possession" of the _ harp. Titania tells him before he can regain his love he must win back the harp, /;•,£s, and, with the avowal of his determination ■ to let no obstacle standi in the way - of-his i » securing it, the first part of the -pantomime ends. ■ - : THE GIAXT BOOSEVELT. . ; , "In the first scene of the second .pare \ Jack has returned to his mother, dejected ; and miserable. She asks him. about-., the . v cow, and he throws the bag of beans on v to the table. Suspicious at the .silence i.:; when the bag is thrown down* his mother : rips it open, and finding only beans instead : of gold roundly abuses Jack, -throws the - : :fi beans out of the window with.this curse; ' May they grow to be as great as your f stupidity.' The scene changes i to the-next |Si| morning, when the Beanstalk: is seen to ..Jf| have grown to.the skies. Jack determines, | ° to ascend it, and. on arriving at the sum- - t mit finds himself in the Giant's poultry yard, where he discovers the Princess"has 'if'i been' taken' by. the whirlwind:'. 'As"'he ,J ft ; about to , take her down Beanstalk the ■ Giant's arm arid hand come thiough the castie window and snatches her away into, the castle. It is the Giant"who has taken V; the harp, away from the princess,, which' accounted for the sudden break in the melody which so startled Jack in a previous scene.. ."S " Jack's business now is to regain pos- \ session of the harp and the Princess, and eventually in his struggles with the. Giant :J0 this monster is precipitated over the Beanstalk into London Town, and. is seen •= < lying in the middle of Fleet-street. He has .. - smashed up St. Paul's and the Bank of England, and the chief newspaper oflices ; are underneath his body. Jack discovers that it is the Giant Roosevelt, and.-from g his pockets emerge lions, tigers, and ail the other wild animals which he had captured on his travels, in addition to kings, queens, and presidents. After which Jack .■ | and his Princess marry, and live happily . , >r ever afterwards." The pantomime ends . -g| with the happy inspiration of a rcproduc- ■ tion of the scene of t-hft Boy Scouts. It - : has all been a dream." ' '•'•THE CAST. The cast at present includes Mr. Graves as Mrs. Hallibut, his fust ance before a London audience'in the chat- »- V.' acter of a woman j Mr.- George ai»d Mr. Harry Randall, who- thuti returnffbttt ■>' the scene of many forme? •.successes v IVtr. Johnny - Danwrs r #Mgasrß, Dtrsm-a'tod Lfbg- f•' ford, Bennett and'Majtell; tuid' a newcomer. in the Liipioo, while - ■ Mr. / Arthur Conquest , riiiiy' be seen as: the '. |l| cow;^ Th© Pen]3er Troupeiwill * once- agaia [ "supply the harlequinad®. r Amongst the ladies are" Mis? Dolly Castles, Miss Victoria. Sieversy »Miss J.Mena Brae, and, Miss Hilda - » JPljyfair,' and the Tiller Troupo of ci^ldcaa* m