ENTERTAINMENTS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LV, Issue 16936, 23 August 1918, Page 7

ENTERTAINMENTS.

Ilipf ■";■'.'■;. ■—-•— —-. ' HBjli> : fflS' MAJESTY'S: THEATRE •':.;; W"' ? *ta>»tnrn to ' announced of Miss KathT ' fsne MacDonell, of Daddy Long Legs " ||||g£ 9 v,'and; Mr " Charles Wa/dron, 1 supi*sP§'^d\ by .:■■ » specially-selected J. • o.' I Williamson company, in a series ,of \ < \ tV plays, and for a limited season. - The { ', coming visit will be tho final appearances '. 0 { these artists in the Dominion. The i ' play selected for opening this season is l ■ Richard -Sheldon's production,, 'entitled I "Romance." ; "Romanes" has been f • 7- played in London continuously since .the - ;? early part of 1915, and is still drawing ; 7 77 large nouses; in fact, so pronounced has V been its success that it has been trans- ■ ferred to three theatres during that time. '- 7 .It is said that in the part of Margherita ■ '' ■ -Cavallini, Miss.MaeDonell • has the great i 7"7 opportunity of her career. Mr. Wafdron u ; a said to be particularly well placed, both 7"! '■'-■ '.as the bishop in the prologue and, later, ].:.■•■ as the romantio Thomas Armstrong, v the •••' .' 'susceptible rector of St.' Giles. Such well;.';known artists as Misses Emma Temple, •■'": Beryl Bryant, Clarice Hardwicko, Aubrey Worth, and Messrs. Roy Kedgravo, Kenneth Brampton. Charles Brown, Prod 7." Cambourne, and Frank Hatherly should 'be sure of a warm welcome. The season .7 is limited to eight nights. The box slan?5 Lan? for we season, which commences at His Majesty s Theatre on Friday next, will :■'■ be opened at Wildman and Arey's on ■■■'■"" ..Wednesday morning next. '"' ' AUCKLAND' CHORAL SOCIETY. : :77. The concert given by the Auckland i 7 Choral Society at the Town Hall last 77".7 night gave opportunity for a varied pro- .,-'..'■ gramme to be presented before a fairly '7;large audience, Mr. Colin Muston conducted. The outstanding features; were 7 ; " 7-Gada's cantata, "The Er) King's Daughter," a work with the libretto based upon \ Danish legends, and Beethoven's Concerto •. -v'j'dn C Minor for piano and orchestra. " The ' -Eri King's Daughter " had not been per- , Y'- : 'formed > by the society for many years, 7-7 and, the fact that the baritone role of Oluf "':.'•wis sung last night by Mr. G. M. Reid '.•. brought back "' recollections of musical .7.' '.achievements of over 20 years ago. It 7/ would be too much to suggest that the '""' exponent's performance of the exacting p ;7f music was up to hit previous standard, . "77-5 yet the fact remains that but few bari--77 tones could cope with the exalted range •77 of many of the lines with more success. • ':.';.,The society is greatly indebted' to Mr. ; Reid for agreeing almost at the last ..; ..:„■'•: minute to sing a very trying part, which . .- had practically been refused by many con- ': 7 ; cert singers... Miss Cora Melvin, in her 77 interpretation of the music of the Erl 7.. King ■; daughter, was commendable, and/ displayed also a pleasant and light soprano voice. Miss Jessie Bartlett, in :< the musio allotted to Olnf's mother, was ■'■ .well suited, and put a fine sense of appeal 77 ■■'■' : into tho lines' " Oluf, Keep Far From the - Erl King's Mound." Miss Bartlett also showed = requisite feeling in "I Watched :. : ; Before the Castle Gate, eta The chorus r :': Was, occasionally a little slack in attack .'.• • arid the sopranos lacking in verve in • some:'of their > lines. These impressions 7 were only transitory, and in the majority ■(■:■-'. of cases sound readings were secured. The ? orchestra In this and the other concerted ■''■'":'-.■/. pieces -.was. consistently good, and also .i gave a creditable ■! performance of ' Reis- -- eiger's "; " Yelva" • overture. Mr. Cyril .' ; Towsey, as exponent of the pianoforte • ; part in the Beethoven Concerto, repeated •• is former triumphs, and. was accorded a • .■. hearty encore at the close. - Right through . "there was adaptability between soloist and i ':'. orchestra, :. the .? result being eminently ' satisfying to the aesthetic sense. , Miss Cora ■":■: • Melvin'i "Lol Here the Gentle Lark." Bishop, with flute: obligate by Mr. Q. ; E. Poore, was a: bright piece of vocalisation, ..;which richly merited the recall,;; and the Fame remark applies to Miss Jessie Bartlett's subsequent singing of' the Mallinson bracket, H X)h, Thank Me Not," and ,: " Sing! Break Into Song." Two excerpte from Elgar's ■ Bavarian Highlands . suite, ■ for chorus and orchestra, a pretentious Selection •.■ embodving "Reminiscences lof E . Verdi," and \ Fanlng's " Song of the Vik- ': • legs,"/ contained much to interest. Mr. ' ;. ; ,,-, Cyril Towsey played the piano accompanifX ; ments with his usual. skill. ■" ■" 7*v\ '•' ' OPERA EOTJSE.' ' ■ •;■:. " ',} The' current,' programme r at. the Opera 7'7'l House is headed by: Nellie Kolle,.who has 1 well maintained her popularity, after long •'■ iM absence- from Auckland. The Vivians are 77two "juvenile singers,' both possessore of ' 7 ' - Voice* of unusual - quality. The . Farrows .- appear ifa " The Bargain Hunter." : Winifred and Lumley are V popular. .All the ■ ether, items are i very acceptable. . ±\.\^ 77 GRAFTON LIBRARY COURSE. 'The winter course •of entertainments held at the Grafton Library was productive , , of a successful dramatic and musical evening, arranged and organised by Mrs, C. pM|!lO.sForsyth.r/,Dramatic, items were contri;'t ' buted by Misses Olive Dean, Belle Mynott, ;" . Tudor Hughes-Jones, Madge Stu'bbs, Minna 7 1 ,-;" Lury, Evelyn Ferguson, - ':' and Gladys ■;,"' ■ Jones, Messrs. 'H. -Hemus and .J. J. Faulkesj : musical items: by; Dr. ; Cox . and Mr. ;H. ; Hemus ;"•■ songs : ;, by Miss : ; Jossie -•'■ Bailey. -Miss Enid Plummer. was cccom-1 7lf77paniEt. ] An outstanding feature of 'the programme was a duologue from Henry ,VUI., Defence' of Queen Catherine," by, Mrs. C: C. Forsyth and Mr. H. Hemus. •■ ...>....* FOOTBALL CLUB CONCERT. ■ ■■■ 'A concert arranged by the Ponsonby United ■ Football Club "'. will ' : be given in the Town Hall concert chamber to-morrow IfpKpight. Items will be given; by Madame '-■'. • Clinkard,:Miss Ethel. Rae, Master Hoff- ' \"< -man, Mr. Jas. Calvert, Mr. Hintz,-Mri . R. / Bell,' Mr. • Smithson, Mr. Adams, and .■ l '■ Miss Sullivan i will - play selections on the ' oxylaphone. Miss Daphne Knight's pupils will give a display of dancing. The Auck7land City Band will play the overture ''Romeo and Juliet.'". '•'.■•■:'.'<:' '-';•--/ ' . TIVOLI7 THEATRE. ' ' ' . . ' ' "Bab's Matinee - Idol," which will be '; 7screened at the Tivoli Theatre to-night for, ' , , the last time, the second of a series of pictures based on Mary Robert Rinehart's lv7P? book, •*' Bab, ; a Sub-Deb." This film -is j,. extremely ,; humorous', ■ and,'. tells how . the a } little \ schoolgirl was ■' the "' means .of ; her P^T^father losing a; million-dollar order for i7l'7hmunitions; of, her sister. losinsr her. fiance; '. 7.>' v and of her idol's play being ruined. The 7 plot is unusual. Bab's real scheme is,to '' ; ';■ I'aid ''air actor, whose play is not drawing ■ 7 large nouses. The plan :is . typical of her 7 777 nature, but, . unfortunately, everything goes : :>:'. .wrong. - Many people, whom she had no intention of drawing into the plot, form '••■ the main cause of its, failure, as well as , , , .- upsetting .their own private schemes. ' The 7 headings are a feature of this film., To- ' morrow the subtle and original Japanese ■ • i'/ actor Sessue Hayakawa will be seen fa a 77^777new r play, "Hidden Pearls." 1 , It is said i , to'bo a soul-stirrinp racial drama, per- •;. ' fectly photographed, • and ; generously staged in the beautiful islands of Hawaii, 70.'';? and has been proclaimed as the best proM duction in which Havakawa has appeared. i A Mack Bennett comedy, ."Sheriff Hill's 1 Tussle," and ; a Burton ' Holmes . " trave|||i!^.logue will .he shown, in addition to i||ptopical gazettes. The overture will be ailllpplayed by the full Ttvoli Orchestra. . :' , <<!,-" ' EVERYBODY'S THEATBE., i ' • '• "The Purple Lily," with Kitty Gordon 77:7 fa the leading role, : will be screened at ! i)-.;77 Everybody's Theatre to-day for the last, ;7;! ; ;7time. To-morrow "The Trap" will head .'':,:■•' -:- t the programme. Alice Brady appears #as :\( '^l Doris Shaw, a beautiful girl in love with •,'| : .':.7x»' rough fisher-lad. But she meets a r ■;'7;v/ : | stranger, and the fisher thinks that she /has forgotten him. He sets a trap, whereby he makes it seem that she'is, not .777; only indiscreet but also bad, and her 7? ■•;7father, a fanatical fisherman, .caste her ;%.'7;isA his house;' Then Doris goes to the i ' city, and - there meets with ' • many ■-' wild adventures. • ,';"-'.,'-.' . •'' ''■ y -.\S\ '■':■■ ■ NATIONAL THEATRE. 7 ~' •■7 V ',i( "Mrs. • Dane's Defence," will be ■ ,'screened at the-.National Theatre for the laut time to-day. • To-morrow, ; a Fair- • . bank's film, "A 'Modern Musketeer,",i will gfgglWshown... In " A Modern: Musketeer," Fairbanks ■' is 'said to perform amaz- , •. fag feats. Many -of. the scenes were •Wen in:-.-:-;..tha'.v' Grand • Canyon 7of Colorado, '• ■'■« and the • work ~.. of -'. the agjf Acrobatio star ' and lofty peaks- ; 8000 ft ,|r7- ' »boye - the sea' level.- and along the, precipitous canyon should thrill any audience; In one of the scenes he climbs up the side f||||gs. [the! canyon on , a rope, - with"-; Miss ; MarWI0» $* Daw hanging to his neck. Actual Jjews of : the famous Grand: Canyon :•: give |||||§W^ an added value. The story is iiiigLi^;:.. - , ~,.

«ud to have an anneal theme, presenting dashing incidents of : romance in which \ a young man withithe spirit of a gallant and adventuresome knight of old has some sensational experiences. In 1 "A Modern Musketeer.'' Fairbanks, as the : hero; has many exciting adventure* before winning the hand, of the heroine. '-■ • "MY FOUR YEARS IN . GERMANY." It was at one time predicted by many that if America declared war against Germany she would be so hampered by internal strife caused' by her large Ger-man-American population as to be pratically useless as ,an ally. :■< The reason why these predictions proved false is to ho found,. to a great extent, in Mr. W. J. Gerard's "My Four Years in Germany." As a book it hod a great influence, but a3 a -photo-drama,., ft: is claimed, it has wielded an incomparably greater influence, and the clear manner, in which it presents the facts of the case has gono far to convince possible German sympathisers in America that it is only by loyalty to America that Germany can be truly aided, since it is only by dofeat that Germany can hope to free herself from the terrible incubus of Prussian military autocracy. Although a very long film, it M said to grip the interest from first to last more powerfully than the finest romance could. :' The Auckland season commonces this evening at 7.45 at the Strand, and at the Lyric to-morrow at the matinee. A special performance for scholars and students will ho given at the Strand to-morrow at 11 a.m. GRAND THEATRE. To-day is the last chance of seeing "Baby Mine" at the Grand Theatre. This picture is extremely amusing, and the attempts of a wife and her friend to reconcile the husband of the former become very complicated. To-morrow "Womanhood, featuring Harry Morey and Alice Joyce, will be the leading picture. ■■< It is a powerful drama, and the settings are exceptionally fine, Topical gazettes and humorous films will be included in tho programme. PRINCESS THEATRE. • Tyrone Power in the film "A Modern Lorelei" will be shown at the Princess Theatre to-day for tho last ' time. Tomorrow "A Sleeping Memory," a Metro production, . featuring Emily Stevens, will be the chief attraction. This picture is based on the novel of the same name by E. > Phillips Oppenheim. ' Other films, topical and humorous, will be shqwn, * . QUEEN'S THEATRE. ';. "Under False Colours" will be shown at the Queen's Theatre to-day for the last time, Harry Morey will take the part of the hero in "His. Own People," to be screened to-morrow. The plot of this picture is very unusual, and should prove Interesting. - A rich vein of humour rims through it, though the predominating features are those of a powerful drama. v LYRIC THEATRE. "The clever photo-play, " Heiress fa* a Day" -will be screened for the last time at the Lyrio Theatre to-day. It is a clever film, replete with incident, and the leading lady, Miss Olive Thomas, plays her part well. It is the story of a poor manicurist, who. aspires 'to'riches-; and position in the " smart set" Other films are shown. " STRAND i THEATRE. &$ The final screening of the Triangle film, 'Heiress for a Day," will take place at the Strand Theatre to-day. Miss .Olive Thomas is in the principal -\ role, and capably fulfils . her difficult task. - • •. GLOBE v-THEATRE.''.' .. The chief picture jat the Globe Theatre is an exciting detective drama entitled The Page Mystery." June Elvidge acts welL Other pictures are shown.