MUSICAL and DRAMATIC.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIV, Issue 16675, 20 October 1917, Page 3 (Supplement)

MUSICAL and DRAMATIC.

- v 'The J. 0. Williamson New English Musical Comedy Company is reported to have made another success in Sydney, where the first Australian production of < " You're in Love" has, been givon. This i piece is from the same producer as. , "High Jinks." The author takes his ( characters on a yachting trip to the South ( Seas. Miss Maude Fane was successful as , Georgiana, the girl who it; married, on , condition that for a year there must be j ho kisses between herself and her husband. ■ : : Mr. , Cyril Maude :is : appearing \in Aus- : tralia in " General John Regan." -This \ play, is said to represent a clever writer's .; successful attempt to put into a dramatic \ sto»y the \ representative :' characters of a .Connaught. village, and at :the.' same . time provide a . star ..part . for a .leading actor. In the village of Ballymoy all / . the . other , personages rotate round, depend upon, or submit to the importance .of Dr. O'Grady, the impecunious village physician, who persuades, directs, or adjusts with scarcely a moment's pause in his - talk from ' the • leginning of the first act to the end of the third.".- ; "g - -;"' : : ..' The new opera company formed by the Fullers,., with ,■; Cappell ,I as ■■ star, and Sicamuzzi,, Caciali, Rubs, ; Lois, Barontini, , and Franchi—all late .of.:; the . excellent GonsE.lez. combination—in < the ;: principal roles, has additional interest from" the onion's point of view. ;. Signora , Cappelli at. the Adelaide opening sang Eleonora in "Ii , Trovatore,"..;; and : Signorina Vorona sang Gilda in -" Rigolotto,". two acts of each opera being ; given. Signora Cappelli has an Italian,reputation, and ' this is not the/first time she has sung principal soprano to her husband's tenor. Signorina Verona is a;' young singer whose voice is said to be reminiscent of Madame Tetrazzini's. \M. Pore],. manager of the . Vaudeville Theatre in Paris, died recently at the age i of 75.' Outside . France he was: _ best known as the husband. of Mme. Rejane, whom he married; in 1892. S M. Porel - started life as. an actor, passing from the ; national dramatic school of the Conserva- , toire to the Odeon. ,He became . stage ■ manager and then manager of that theatre in 1882, and for 10 years the Odeon saw brilliant days. Mine'. Rejane, : under '. his management,', was reaping." some of her i first triumphs; on its stage, and. in •; 1892, ? when M. Porel : left that ] house and j took over the Boulevard, she /followed; him thither as his wife and leading lady. Some l of the plays staged by M. Porel, at the - Vaudeville and played by/ Rejane were "Madame Sans Gene,"'.-', and .'/Maison ;do. Poupee." Mme. : Rejano; retired \ from the Vaudeville to a - 'new and * handsome theatre of her own' a few years 'ago, and the Vaudeville, like the Theatre Rejane, has not since renewed its earlier j , successes, ■ ' ■ • ..;.-./ '.-:,/■ .; . Marie Lohr : is to go into theatrical management for herself this season. ';-;; \ , . /'Sir/Johnston arid' Lady: Robertson recently revived the " Passing of the Third ■ Floor Back" in aid ! of: the Scottish Women's '■ Hostel, .with excellent results. "So'.< good, '-, indeed, were the receipts from this rovival / and other entertainments, that a cheque .:■ for £10,000 was handed to the fund..::. • -The scenic and/ spectacular side is pro- ,■ minent'in " L'Aiglon," which is now" being / staged at Melbourne Theatre; Royal the Kalhlene MacDonell .company. : There ■ are five < acts, each of -.which: is* on", an elaborate scale. The first is the Kursaal, Baden. .The second,' the Duke's Cabinet at Se,hoenbrunn. - The third, the Roman ■ Ruins' in the Park at Sckoenbrunn. The / .fourth';; the battlefield : : . at Wagram, ip ■ which' is i seen the' Spectral > Battle. The fifth"- is the Duke's bedroom ,at . Schoen- ■'•■ brunn,,with tableau, " The Man of Des- : ,tiny." ' A clever young dancer in the "Mr. Man- •. hattan" Company; is ' Maudie Amery,/who - is credited with being another example of ; the fine material the J. C. Williamson ■ firm:'is' able to draw, from its various com-; 1 panies. -/Miss 'Amery,,' has youth, charm and personality/added to her art as a dancer—all of which. she makes good use of in her solo . dance, with which' the - second act of .-'■ "Mr. /Manhattan''■;,; com : '; mences. :/.. .-/f; /-.V'' V' ■?..';- ■'■'"':■'•;'■• ' : During the'run of some Chinese films at - the Eltinge Theatre;; New: York, the girl i ushers were ill dressed'as Chinese ladies.,

Marine Elliott has been for some time helping toVnurse the wounded'in Egypt. Being in need of a rest, she returned to America arid appeared in one or, two ; moving pictures. Offers from managers of the legitimate stage for her to go back ivere, however, all refused, Miss Elliott profering to return to her nursing. An entire island, 20,000 persons, 5000 horses /and/a/fleet; of /steamships were needed to stage "A Daughter of the Gods," William .Fox's picture featuring Annette Kellermann. Prom /- a ■'■■ barren waste, leased ■ from the British Government,, it. is said that Mr. Fox created a city of steel and concrete, which might have stood for , generations,; but for the fact that, in; the search for massive, impressive effects he found ;it necessary Ito destroy ■• in; a day this metropolis, which had cost much to build. Not only werp these original : expenses met by Mr. Fox, but it is stated that in one instance, j. where it was found necessary to produce a mountain torrent, he caused to be diverted from its source a river/ and again, in order to ' create the camped plain jof the. Sultan's warriors he had razed a range of hills. ; "■ '■: Miss . Doris Gilham, ' who . is i- making a success of Mrs. Chichester ;in J. and N. Tait's production' of "Peg o' My Heart," now on lour in "Victoria, has probably done more to make Hall Caine's heroine, Glory Quayle, .- popular; than -:■;. any /' other actress. It happened during a tour throuh the English ;. provinces -, that i Miss Gilham was asked to undertake the role in a sudden - emergency, -arid being , young, ;at-' tractive, 1 and '} emotional, ■; she ; soon made audiences feel that she was the real Glory. 'She.played.the part ■over' 1000 : ; times beI fore she ' got a' chance to escape : into one less flamboyant, .but the release was not easy, andsho could, have gone,;oh-playing the character for much longer if she had cared to undertake; it. /. In : South 1 Africa, which she ; visited ; a , few.' years ' ago, Miss Gilliam played practically nothing else. ' Mr/ T. B. Irving /was to commence his autumn season at the Savoy Theatre, .London, with a new-and:original.play by Walter Hackett, '}. Mr. Harry I. ;-.Cohen/business manager of the I London and. provincial. productions of " Damaged Goods,": which -has now 'passed its 150 th v production .at ■. St. Martin's.Theatre, gives some interesting particulars. He says that at the;- Olympia Theatres, ; Liverpool, '.the -takings; of f; tho piece in i- nine performances /were:. £3000, beating Mr. Graham JV'offat's previous record of provincial takings by £800. ;, The , Playhouse is the ; ~ame which Mr. Sydney : James . has * : bestowed V upon .-; the! Sydney louse of entertainment first known as the Standard Theatre, and afterwards known as the Little .-.Theatre. Here the new entrepreneur has ■ gathered a ; company ;of considerable talent, which opened with ''.The.New Sin," by Basil Macdonald Hastings,/ In this play Hilary Cutts is a young' man with many relatives, none of whom may",touch any of the family money till ;heis : dead; and his ; sins consist first in remaining' alive, and second;in:■ sacking death by walking towards the gallows for a murder which ho acknowledges, but has never committed. In his eccentric idea there, W room -' for much clever '.situation mid dialogue, " for philosophy, - a little acid, and;; for \ humour a/ little ; morbid; '/arid the author ; has : done very clevor ; things with it. v Musico-Dramaticus. -