ENTERTAINMENTS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LX, Issue 18381, 23 April 1923, Page 9

ENTERTAINMENTS.

OPERA HOUSE. The boisterous j humour .of : Stiffy end Mo delighted a vary large audience at the Opera House on Saturday evening,; when these two vaudeville favourites made their appearance in a new revue, " Stiffy and Mo in the.'■ Army." 'J£ Their gags and patter were .greeted with gales of laughter from all parts of the house, their make-up as "soldiers" and their comical antics providing endless : amusement to the audience. They were on j the stage practically all the time, : and j put a great amount of vigour into the i impersonation of their parts. The revue J included the slight thread of a story, I which ran its course pleasantly with the I assistance of several smart young ladies i and their admirers, an elderly aunt,*and j a small, but well-selected, chorus. The ! costumes worn by the chorus j were ex- ; ceptionally pretty, and the scene in the | desert, with six gorgeously attired East- • era girls listening to the song, " Back to j Araby," was an outstanding feature of j the performance. There were several : good voices in the cast, and encores were, | frequently demanded. " Stiffy and Mo lin the Army" will doubtless prove- a I strong attraction during the coming week, (these two fun-makers having clearly , established themselves in the "favour of | Auckland's lovers of vaudeville.. 'The' j first part of. the programme .'. included a j number of good turns, one of the best of j which was mat of Nell and Braddy Shaw. i Wendy and Alphonse won numerous enI cores for their bright performance, vocal | and conversational, while the Royal j Opera Singers scored one of the bits of i the evening in their singing of the popn-, j lar favourite, " Funiculi, Funicula." j Pat Doonan and Conway and Beej cham - also ,-..,.■ won loud applause in their, ~ various , turns. There will be a change of the vaudeville programme at this afternoon's matinee, one of the outstanding attractions being the spectacular performance of the Mirano Brothers in their aerial acrobatic specialty turn. , : '; '■ ~ '. ,

"POSSUM PADDOCK."

A riot of laughter greeted the .< first ■ presentation of " Posaom Paddock " at the King's Theatre on Saturday, ■ where it drew crowded audiences at both the afternoon and evening performances. ■" There was 'not a discordant note in the whole piece, which, from the rise of the. curtain to its fall at the , close of the last act, provided continual rounds of . merriment. ,r The' play is one of the great ■- Australian "out back." Dramatic touches were not lacking, for part of the- plot deals with a scheme to unfairly •; seize - fti portion of .an old squatter's-.., (property.,. But the prevailing note, and the one that! undoubtedly makes the popularity of ■ the" Eiece. is humour, amusinsr situations, ut, above all, amusing dialoene. ; " The love-making ~ scenes between Billy and : Bob , McQuade and the two' girls,; Mary Ellen and Anastasia, were, perhaps, the best of tiie ? whole performance.', Miss ' Lesley Adrien, always popular 'with Auckland % audiences on ; account of her charm ; of manner, made a success ;of a light, vivacious part, playing the role "of Mrs. Neila IDarseley,;; a young; widow. She seemed -to'; have the art of v making everyone feel at ease : under the most try- : ing circumstances, ;> arid of always: saying the right tfaing at the right time. ; 5 "Her / conversations with Hughie Bracken, i played by Mr. George Cross, ■ were parti- , cularly notable.: for. 1 the quick, clever ; re- ;r parte*; on both sides. The performance will be repeated each evening this week. ■

; y STRAND THEATRE. ■■'■ The I absorbing mystery story told co vividly :in the v: D. W. Griffith picture, ■ ** One Exciting Night," now the principal y:; ; attraction at ,:■.: the ;;■ Strand. Theatre, has y.: aroused much interest among the numer- ; ous patrons of 'that popular,;hnusei i Pre- : . ! sented with an appropriate-i: prologue, \ tftiis '- thrilling photo-play is excellent •;en*--'," tertainment. On the supporting bill are several other good films. -..-. .** I - '-;.-,_..■>':;.;■;.,..'./.,;,.;:--_- —- , ; •,.: ;.;.:„; >*■»■•-« ;_. ! , NATIONAL THEATRE. "The Flirt " is a pronounced success [ at: the National Theatre this week. It 'is a human ; story >with !;y dramatic arid;. ,•; pathetic touches;; ; cleverly ■ intermingled,;•/.; an<s witlh '. wholesome -. humour \. by ' way of Iyrht relief. ' Eileen Percy is.;the-' star, ' and she is supported by a distinguished cast of. players. Good films are shown in addition. .y, ;.:,' y. >'~; ' TIVOLI THEATRE. ■ The double- Paramount programme at. the Tivoli Theatre this week;? is headed ,byfi" The? Cowboy and the Lady," with y-" Mary Miles Minter "and Tom Moore 'inJV the leading roles. ,It is a - dramatic ,'■;• story of the West, of consistent interest;;. Constance : Bimiey iis the V featured player :'";.- -/ : in the second attraction, ./'Room and Board." This /depicts the romance of a poverty-stricken'young .Irish. girl. LYRIC THEATRE. The 4 Selznick feature, 1 y'f. Love Without y Question/* is the principal filmVon > the current bill at the Xyric Theatre. It is. replete with mystery' and > dramatic situations, .and is; admirably enacted by a cast- headed by Olive Tell : and James •'-W. '.. Morrison: 1 The ■<■ second ' attraction:': is i "Putting It Over," with Dick' Talmadge >' in the chief role. , * ■ * - GRAND THEATRE. The -Gist sisters, Lillian and ; Dorothy,; are/. seen '- : to Site; utmost f advantage '■-yin."-; ■■ : ". " Orphans of the Storm," now the chief picture on ; ! the programme being screened at the Grand Theatre; This stirring 'tale: : : ' of the French Revolution is enacted and produced in a very /thorough- manner, sustaining the interest to the end. I There ;'; are excellent supporting films, of a varied ; description. , BROADWAY * THEATRE. What is claimed to be an excellent pro- ... gramme will be 'Screened" at the Broadway , • Theatre, Newmarket, . this evening. -Pris-- : cilia- Dean will be seen in ; "Under ; ; Two Flags," which is a film. version of the famous book of the same name by -Ovids.'. "Kazan" will also be screened. ',''"'" BOHEMIAN ORCHESTRA. '. The Bohemians open their tenth: season at the Town [ Hall on Thursday " night next with a most acceptable';programme. \ The > outstanding orchestral / features ;s are : Mendelssohn's graphic ;, and ""'beautiful Scotch Symphony and the noble / Bee- : thoven Violin Concerto, ;in 'J : which :;> Mr. > ! Haydn Murray will take the onerous solo : I part. Miss Fay Nezdar will f contribute j two songs and the Lyric Four 1 two quari tettes. ■ ; * ' _