MUSICAL and DRAMATIC

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVI, Issue 17294, 18 October 1919, Page 3 (Supplement)

MUSICAL and DRAMATIC

A permanent New Zealand repertory company playing old English dramas and comedies, Shakespere, and the best writings of the' modern school of dramatists, is shortly to be established by Mr. Alan Wilkie, who is at present • touring in the south. In a recent inter- I view, Mr. Wilkie stated that his current i ' '.".ir was preliminary to settling down to j ' regular work with headquarters in the I" Dominion. Speaking of the tvpe of drama • he intended to include in his repertory, ! Mr. Wilkie said that an essential feature of his programme would be the production ! of All-British drama. He had a strong '. ; prejudice against the American " crook" melodrama, and the vaudeville type of j ; farce so prevalent in the States. " New . Zealand was flooded with American plays j and pictures, which he considered a great j pity, as the drama could and should serve j as a link with England and the colonies, i keeping us in touch with national thought I and sentiment. Also the production of ! English classics was of great educational • value. He has decided to includeShakespere in all his future tours, and , plays of the modern schoolPinero, '• Galsworthy, H. A. Jones, etc., as well as ; good standard melodrama. i The value of music in the school I curriculum is realised by the Los Angeles ' city fathers, who have just purchased 180 pianos for public schools and 30 for high schools. More music on the school curriculum is the outcome of experience. It is the result of investigation, thought and improvement. Educators are be- ; coming agreed that the systematic study of the piano, violin or any instrument o*f the symphony orchestra takes equal rank with mathematics, science and languages as a study, educationally. The principal of a large American public school stated recently that proper credit should be : given for music work done in and out of j school. It should count towards pro- ' motion just the same as any other sub- ; ject. ''I have always felt," he said, ' " that the boy who can play the violin,,! or the girl the piano, is more highly j educated and better prepared to live completely, than those who cannot do these things. I believe that the teachers who introduce into the classes the folk-songs, of the people when studying England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, etc., teach geography more effectively than those who i do not. Music should be correlated with every subject witcPwhich it has any connection."

Miss Emelie Polini has been re-engaged by Messrs. J. and N. Tait for another year. The English actress is anxious to visit Rotorua, and when the difficulties of reaching the thermal region during a week-end whilst in Auckland were repre- | sented to her, she exclaimed, " What's I the matter with flying to the place?" i Miss Polini has been aloft seysral times in England and America, and sees no reason why she should not fly from Auckland to Rotorua on Sunday morning, and return on Monday afternoon. Theatrical books do not as a rule, make a large or continuous sale. Perhaps the ! chief exception to the rule is Doran's "Their Majesties' Servants," which has been attended with great success ever since it was published, in all its editions. Another admirable Jsook, from the point of view of the actor or student of the stage, is Colley Gibber's "Apology," which does not, however, appeal to the | public. It is somwhat astonishing to | find the " Apology" offered in a second- ' hand bookseller's list for £57 10s. This, I of course, is for an extra illustrated copv| I many portraits, views, and mezzotint i engravings. Still, the price is a con- j siderable one, even though the copy was j formerly the property of 'Queen Charlotte, Consort of King George the Third." Mr. Harry Dearth, the English baritone, who has been charming large audiences! in the south, has finished the South i Island portion of his tour, and is now i working his way up through the North Island. He is supported by a concert company, which includes Madame Marie ; Power, contralto, Mr. Harold Beck, cellist, I and the Australian pianiste, Miss Carlien Jurs. The music of " Sybil" a comic opera I with book by Captain Harry Graham, shortly to be produced at Home, is said to rival that of the memorable "Widow." - The composer is Victor Jaconi, a Hungarian. Miss Dorothy Hastings, the principal boy in the " Goody Two Shoes" Company, is a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Shattky, of Hastings, and selected her native town for her stage name. She has a very high opinion of the Australian stage girls, and says that much of her success has bean due to the fine team work of the Williamson corps de ballet. It is probable that Mr. Robert Court- ; neidge. the well-known London entrepre- . neur (who was in Melbourne many sears ' ago in connection wth the beautifullyi staged Shakesperean revivals)' will visit I Australia and New Zealand next year . with a comedy company of his own headed ;by Mr. George Tally. Should Mr. Courti neidge finally decide to make the trip he I will be accompanied by hfe daughter, ■ Miss Cecily Courtneidge, who was born !in Sydney, and has already made a i reputation for herself on the London j stage. j Sir Harry Lauder has just sent a wirej less message tar Mr. John Tait, now in ! Wellington, asking him to convey to the 1 people of New Zealand the keen ferret he I felt at not being able to visit the j Dominion. Two of the latest acquisitions by the j j J. C. Williamson Ltd. management are | " Tillie of Bloomsbury," a London comedy I success, and a musical comedy entitled attractively "Kissing Time," the music of which is by Ivan Caryll. They will be produced in Australia by the firm in the near future. Mrs. Mclntyre (remembered here as Miss Blanche Brown of " Our Miss fiibbs.") has returned in Tasmania with her husband. Mr. Theodore Leonard, a new comedian, is to. make his first appearance in Australia in the J. C. Williamson production of "Theodore and C 0.," which will be staged when "Maytime" has run its course. He was in the successful runs of the play both in England and throughout his long stay in South Africa-, where he produced, and played the i principal comedy parts. Miss Maud Fane, who has returned to Australia, will make I her reappearance in this musical comedy. Mr. Arthur Gordon, the young Auck- ' land violinist, who recently returned from : England, has just completed a tour of j the South Island and is about to come north. The death is reported from Sydney of Mr. R. F. Anson, the well-known ! actor. The deceased was the son of Mr. . G. W. Anson, one of the. finest character ] actors Australia and New Zealand ever i saw. The late Mr. Anson was a member lof the Oscar Asche Company which i toured New Zealand. Mr. Harry Dearth, says the Christj church Star, is a distinct personality, lull of energy, and possessing a certain I magnetic quality. He is something more j than a singer. He is, indeed, a firstclass story delineator, and his clear every little point of a song. Mr. Dearth said that all through his singing career, whether as student or concert performer, I he had always realised that a song was j only half suns unless the words were j distinct and the meaning clear. "T tell the storv of a snng," he said. "Take, for instance. Hedgeccck's " Mandalay'— Hedgeeock, bv the wav. is the organist at the Crystal Palace. That song does not require to be sung. You want to speak it. Of course a singer must sing, but the point for the young and aspiring vocalist to keep always in mind is that a listener wants to hear the words, that he mav know what a song is all about. Stand behind a pianist, ana listen to the accompaniment of ' Mandalay. and I believe you will agree with me that no song could have a more natural accom-paniment-it is so constructed that one can speak the words. That is what I °" m Mvsico Drakaticts. 1