MUSIC AND DRAMA OF THE DAY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LX, Issue 18565, 24 November 1923, Page 8 (Supplement)

MUSIC AND DRAMA OF THE DAY.

p THEATRICAL NOTES. . v London's - Lean Period Over. , So much has been written from time to time about the lean period, through which the theatre has been passing that it is comforting to observe a distinct chang for the better, remarks a London write . Not since the economic depression set m after the summer of 1920 have there been l,nv nl»\s in the West End playing to so many pla. revival has svnehroneood money, inis revival n«. ised with the production of se\eral tia style dramas and mebdrarnas mos which have caught on in quite a Mr KXTwas " The Dancer* V. in which Sir Gerald du Manner proved himself a shrewd judge of public taste, for ♦he nlav is now well past its ZsUtn per formance Next came " The Prisoner, of Zenda "revival. " The Green Goddess, a success from the outset., followed, while two other pieces, not in the same category, but belonging very definitely to a pre-™ period—■" The Merry Widow and "What Every Woman Knows — have proved beyond doubt that it was wise to revive them. Now comes the pews that both Good Luck "at Drury Lane and " What Money Can Buy at the Lyceum give every indication of being successes, despite the .act that the dramatic value of neither is of a \eiy hl | h u t ta success is not confined to the theatres presenting i melodrama. All. Maugham's brilliant piay, Our has proved a magnet, and full houses are the rule. The success of " London Calling," Mr. Chariot's revue, at the Duke of York's, is notable. " Catherine, at the Gaiety, has also made a hit, and nall-a-dozen other plays are bringing in plenty of monev. , It really looks as if things are improving all round. Perhaps we are in for a " boom." Plays and Players. Mr. TictoC Pfmce is touring the western South Wales with his own p£afcMime ' "company, producing " Rainbow I^Jand." 4& •

Mr. W. S. Percy, the well-known New Zealand comedian, ' accompanied by his wife and children, will leave for London shortly. Percy will play a .pantomime encasement V' un(JeT the direciion of Sir Oswald StolJ.f

The American; rights of Sutton Yane s clever and original .play, t 1 0«w»d Bound," havp been secured bv William Hariris, junior. There is also talk* of the play going id Ss^lTEa«l; in London from its present "home at Hampstead. Mr. of Hawera, who was* recently-- 1 awarded. a Royal Academy of Music '-scholarship, will shortly leave for London. Mr. Fennell is the youngest L.A.B. in New Zealand or Australia to be a warded "an exhibition in singing at the Royal; Academy.

" Stop Flirting " recently reached its 150 th performance at the Queen's Theatre, London. , At the end of October it made room for the production lof "The Little Minister," bat there was no thought, of concluding the run, and it was transferred to I another West End theatre.

IN FILMLAND.

Education on the Screen.

As a-humanising influence the cinema has already achieved wonders. _ It is in process of completely transforming the general attitude towards animals, by bringing home to everyone how much akin are all living beings. Captain Knight, the producer of "In the Tree Tops," a British film, states that a farmer who saw the pictures of the family life of birds he had always regarded as vermin undeserving of pity, was so impressed that he v there and then decided to henceforth give his former victims a sporting chance. Many of these natural history productions might well serve as models for the producers of fiction films. Were the same skill and conscientiousness devoted to " shooting Folly as it flies, and catching the Manners living as they rise," which Captain Knight and a few like him expend in getting their pictures of animal life. films illustrating human beings would invariably command the respectful attention, even of the most critical. Now and B,gain a film is shown which holds the mirror up to Nature and when it does, it rarely fails to achieve success.

I Education is a process to which there ' is 110 finality, and it has been wisely said that there is no school like the one which i teaches us to submit all our passions and, i prejudices to the acid test of truth. In I this lies the superiority of the screen over • any teacher, however gifted, because, being human, he is necessarily fallible. I The cinema, on the contrary, if untam- ! nered with, can only expose the , rigid truths It enables every spectator to exercise his own judgement and draw per* sonal conclusions from a solid foundation ! of incontrovertible facts. , :

Notes and Comments. Mr. Bud Atkinson.' lessee of the Queen's Theatre, Auckland, has taken over the control of the Princess Theatre. His management of the latter house, which was recently resigned by Mr. Rud Petersen, commenced yesterday.

Ivy Shilling, the Australian dancer, is now en route to America from England, where' she hopes to participate in film work in Los Angeles. In view of the many studios closing down, the prospects do not appear altogether too bright.

i Universal has- engaged four screen favourites for Baby Peggy's third feature i now called " The Right to Love." They | are Robert Ellis, Winifred Bryson, Ned Sparks and James Corrigan. Others in ] the cast are Victor Potel, Elinor Fair and I Anna Hernandez. •. V

William Duncan has just finished "The Steel Trail" and" has commenced on another Universal serial. The new one will also be a railroad story called "The Fast Express," written by John Howard Clark and .Paul Bryon. Edith Johnson will head the supporting cast.

" Soft-boiled" is the title of the first special production of that ar< i-riding, hard-hitting- son of the saddle, Tom Mix. Made at the .William Fox West Coast Studios., it is a J. G. Blystone production. " Tony," . the .wonder horse, is again prominent in support of the star.

> STicola, the American magician, and his company, missed the Japanese earthquake owing to their success in Kobe, -where thfcv were detained, another week, otherwise they would have been in the centra of'the "disturbance. v All Japanese contracts held by foreign performers have lapsed as a matter of course.;, . 'Mr. elder of Mr. and} Mrs. mwtM. to Miss Muriel ®ild»wt>rl,h, otStfrhpg Point, on Wednesday. It w was • previously announced that- the marriage would be #-iebrated at St. Canice's Church, Dar .nqh\rrst, Sydney. The reception was to be held at the ; home of -Mr. and Mrs." Hugh. J. Ward. ;•£ ,; 1 • Z. • • The new socbfc ** My Gal/' which has recently readied Auckland, promises to became highly popular. ' The words and mujic are by Ed. Nelson and Bud; Cooper. The' composition has &>' good swingine lilt From Germany comes news ,of a now and fis tuneful and j " catchy, Jj lose invention in the form of a compressed who have heard it have beer charmed oy ; paper cinema, screen. It is claimed that Jts' melodiousness. The local distributors , not only does this screen (present the are Lewis R. Eady and Son, Ltd. j best possible surface, scientficajly, for . \ " •' :'X " " ' . , . , . ! enlargment of photographic pictures, but Mr. E. J. Carroll, the much-travelled, is j s washable, just sufficiently absorbent again on his way to America, on one of : p reven t condensation, and is practically bis periodical jaunts in the interests el I everlasting. The cost is low, ana the business and pleasure. In view of the 1 p]j ee inexpensive. fact that the new theatre is well on the r r r t . way in Castlereagh Street, Sydney, it may be. anticipated that Mr. Carroll is preparing the way for important attractions to be available about the end of next :

v Yet . another , large-scale production has been secured for, distribution by Selzriick. J: This is " Woman to Woman," the screen version of the famous play which is now being " staged in Auckland by Miss Gertrude Elliott (Lady Forbes Robertson) and her company. The principal role of the • film was enacted by Betty Compson. '

Oommmenting on the picture theatres he had visited on his recent tour of America, Mr. Edwin Geach, of . Sydney, | said: "One place that surpasses all j others, in my opinion is the Egyptian | Theatre in Hollywood. This is acknowledged to be the most wonderful theatre [that the cinema industry can boast of, and rightly, too. There is an orchestra of a hundred players, and fourteen performances each week are given, including Sunday, of course. It was there that I saw ' TTie Covered Wagon,' with the prologue of seventy people. The takings at all times at this theatre are enormous. This is absolutely necessary, in view of the great expenses."

jtojottier musical prodigy has "* disi covered. Master James Australian child , pianist, . native of Ashfield, Ne#' Sotitn Wales, aged 11, last week * condncted . a performance of the City of Sydney Band at the Sydney Town Hall, Master ~ Walker, who is a pupil of Mr. Stefan < Polotynski, the Polish composer and conductor, will leave shortly with his teacher for' a. New Zealand tour, and j - for ' the British Empire Exhibition, Lon- \ : don. <• ' v... v:- ■

. IfcjS ;}«seresfcing to hear- that Gilbert Bare and Moliie Kerr have been specially engaged by R.A. Meyer to play important, nfrts in " The"*.*lieturn of Sherlock Jlolmes." at the Prince's Theatre, London. Gilbert Hare, the son of one of the loost masterly players of his time; has, of course/ 1 made .his. own position on the* stage; -while Mollio Kerr, in a succession of very varied impersonations, has also shown that, on the stage as elsewhere, charm and ability can be inherited.

, i Mrs- Fiske .appears to have made a palpable hit in lihe New York production of St. John Erviae's comedy, Mary. Mary, Quite Contrary," and the general body or criticism is loud in praise of the wit and, charm with which the actress interprets the anthor. Or? the whole, too, they are quite cheerful over the fact, that the new play is entirely, different from thos* striking instances of gloom, its predecessors, " John Fergusson " and "Jane CSfegg." Londoners are waiting to see jjfa Moor&rint the part'. .a-

'Annette Kellerman's New Zealand film, taken in . Nelson*." Marlborough Sounds and Christ church .early in the year, is said to have 'been purchased by American producers - for • a large sum. The picture, which is called " Sonia.' of the... South. Seas," -will be ' screened in New Zealand as soon as the prints are available.

Mr. Jerotne Patrick, a -prominent New Zealand/actor, who went to America some years ago. and returned to Australia about 1519 to play in " Daddies." died in New York recently, according to cabled advice received by Mr. O. Mevnell, one of tne directors of J. C. Williamson, Ltd., and father-in-law of deceased. The late Jerome Patrick was, a very imposing man, and also a most capable actor. His death, at a comparatively early age, removes one •who had achieved quite an amount of success on the legitimate stage and in pictures.

Miss Irene Vanbrugh and Mr. Dion Boucicault are still delighting patrons of the King's Theatre, Melbourne, with " Belinda." t Their popularity has in no way diminished, and each week finds them with, new followers. It is a treat to witness such delightful artists, says a revwwer, and this contention is borne out by thousands more of Melbourne people who j 1 " 08 * consistent, in the support aSSI / urin P their stay. It is i V ® e l*nda " will run for new piece^from"*! en , be replaced by a t, rem their extensive repertoire. Eornard Shaw's Majesty's TheatrsT "W resented at Her the Bvdney last week, and the Hon. • Th « atrc Society dqetion under+* v VC S PS " The proMcMabon, and the nro^la* 1011 of Gr '^ an the Queen Victoria "were in aid of Williamson Slit , ' the J. C BenWenfc J? v? , th « Actors* and Mr. Ron BondeS Ttene T anb ruph v*w at the raatinS **** their 8 «- ■A Utvlncg. for.the and inSi:s^»^An»txalia,

Making her debut under .the Fox banner in support of Charles Jones, in his recently started feature, " Big Dan," is Tr-lby Clark, <a vivid, vivacious Australian actress who. went to America from England to play in motion pictures. Miss Clark is well known in Australia and England for her stage work during the war. Several years after the Armistice and after taking 'a needed rest. Miss Clark crossed to New , York. She was given glowing notices by the metropolitan reporters, and as a. result received some interesting . stage offers. But her heart was set on motion picture work. Going to the William Fox Eastern Studio, one afternoon, she made so good an impression that a screen test was given. An engagement followed. :

Work has comenced at the Fox Hollywood studios on the screen version 'of Henry Arthur Jones' and Wilson Barrett's stage play, " Hoodman Blind." A cast of leading artists has been engaged. David Butler and Gladys Hnlette head the list. Marc. McDermott, remembered for his work in other Fox productions, Begina Connelly, Frank Campeau, Jack Walters and Trilby Clark complete the cast. " Hoodman Blind" enjoyed a long and prosperous run in the United States and abroad several years ago. It ranks with the successful melodramas, the scope of action and the thrill of romance giving it the element* of a gripping picture. John Ford, who is directing, this special, completed work recently on "Cameo Kirkby" a screen -version of Booth Tarkington's and Harry Leon Wilson's stage play of that name, with John! Gilbert in the title role.

Three different films of the Japanese earthquake . were shown on-- September 29 at (prominent theatres and cinemas all over England. The .■ three films, taken by the Famous-Lasky, Fox, and Pathe Companies, arrived together in the Leviathan at Southampton and their transport from Japan was a remarkable demonstration of enterprise and speed. The journey of the Famous-Lasky record, which is pevhaps the most comprehensive, seems to have been typical. The film was despatched from Yokohama in the Empress of Australia on September 12, and arrived at Victoria, 8.C., on September 23. It was taken to Seattle on the same day by seaplane, and thence by aeroplane, by way of Grand - Falls (Montana) and Chicago, to New York., which was reached on September 25. From New York it was forwarded in the Leviathan. The Fox • Company took the lead of v their rivals by haying a number of positive copies of their film made in New York, lhese -were ready for exhibition immediately after their arrival at' Southampton, iSS -Jif 1 " 5 actua i!y shown in London k . I w»rs * Jte 1710011 Y The same evening copies 6U aS far north as Newcastle-on-

MUSICAL RECORDS.

An interesting Peter Dawson bracket is " Don Juan's Serenade " (Tschaikovsky) and " Woo Thou the Snowflake " ■ (Sullivan).DawsonN lovers will appreciate ' these numbers.

It is said that Beniamino Gigh's singing of the big aria from Giordano's opera " Andre Chenier," for the' gramophone, proves him to have something of Caruso's splendid force > and rich quality.

' The numerous lovers of violin music will be interested in a new Kreisler record. This is. the artist's own arrangement :of " Chanson Arabe," from " Scheherazade"' (Rimsky-Korsakov). It is a colourful and lively little composition.

A new John McCormack number has unusual interest in that he gives us one of the vocal numbers from the musical comedy success, " The O'Brien _ Girl." The song is " Learn to Smile,", and is uncommonly tuneful and alluring.

Titta Ruffo's singing -of the little song, " When I was Page to the Duke of Norfolk," from Verdi's " Falstaff," is said to indicate that Ruffo must be a very lively Falstaff. A strong sense of comedy is felt in his characteristic singing of it. *

A new Rachmaninoff recording for the piano is a " Minuet," ; from " L'Arlesienne" (Bizet-Fachmanlnoff). The piece is not of th» genre that , its title would suggest, but of a bold 'and dashing conception, and is perhaps not so well recorded as other records by this artist. T

An exceptionally well-recorded 'violin bracket is "Kaleidoscope." (Cesar Cui), .played by Arthur Beck with;' and " The Rope Dancer " (Alfred Moffatt), by Marjorie ■ Hay ward. The' former 4 is nothing if not melodic, and The Rope Dancer ' is an old English daftce number. A record to buy. ' 1

The - wonderful success, of " The Beggar's Opera " has led to the- recording of quite a number of its vocal successes in a series comprising five 12-inch doublesided records. The numbers - have been sung to the accompaniment of - the Lyric Theatre (Hammersmith) ' orchestra, • conducted by Frederic Austin, and will be noticed in this column" in due course. v

It is a peculiar coincidence . that two of the leading gramophone record publishers decided almost at the same time to bring out full-length records of Tchaikovsky's " Pathetic " Symphony (No. 6 in B minor). There are differences in detail between these two fine sets. Each (says an English critic) will have its admirers, and .as for : the symphony itself, the performances in London during the past 30 years show it to be the most: popular ; of any ( modern symphony.

New Caruso records seem to *be ■ without end. This month comes a duet (sung with de Gogorza), "A la Luz de la Luna" (Anton Michelena). This is a typically Spanish i melodythat is to say, joyous and melancholy in turn. Yet its languorous l rhythm, alternating / with the ardour of passion, make it quite fascinating. The-outstanding feature of the piece is the owning solo (by Caruso) -bf\a solitary singer serenading by moonlight. In the subsequent .passages the voices of the artists blend perfectly.

Rimsky-Korsakov, who is so thoroughly at home "in the fantastic and supernatural in music, has probably given the world nothing' more popular, than the weirdly beautiful ' '.' Chanson Indoue," ' from "Sadko." It has now been recorded by. Amelita Galli Curci. The soprano interprets the number in her own fashion, and her rendering of the young Hindu's song, allied to the equally plaintive accompaniment of strings, wood-winds, and the note* of the distant mystic bells, make a really outstanding record. ' s

M. Chalipin arrived in England recently, and sailed for the United * Staffs without .making a public appearance. Before he left, however, he sang to . what is probably the smallest audience he has ever had—that is, of course, if we except the ideal " gramophone " audience of tone! While walking round the hotel, the music of the Savoy-Orphans Band attracted him, and he' suggested that he should make ' a contribution to the pro : gramme. Music was quickly, sent-for, and the astonished musicians were treated to two songs. •

The amazing progress that has been made in recording orchestral , music is well illustrated'in a series of four .doablesided records, on which f the Royal Albert Hall orchestra, conducted by Sir Landon Ronald, gives us Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 in C Minor (Op. 67). This wonderfully rich work. is brilliantly played and the recording is as near perfect as one ".could wish. 'Indeed, -in few of the more ambitious of the orchestral recordings has the result' been so evenly good throughout. , This is a work that the lover of orchestral music should investigate.

Another musical comedy success to be seen out here in due course • is " The Lady of the. Rose" (Jean Gilbert). A series 'of records; both vocal and instrumental, covering the ■ more outstanding successes of the play, are to hand and no doubt give a good indication of its musical qualities. These comprise selections by the Mayfair Orchestra and • the Hackel-Berge Orchestra; "Land o' Mine," sung by George Baker, and .on the reverse side " No One Ever Kissed Me," 'by .Violet Essex and Walter Jefferies. " A Woman's No " and " Silhouettes," Violet Essex and George Baker and " Catch a Butterfly While You Can " and " Live, Laugh and Love," by Violet Essex. \

Some time -ago the '. writer , spent , a pleasant and profitable couple bf , hours with a fellow-gramophone enthusiast. His selection of records was a wonderfully good oneand' not a cheap one either. Judge of my surprise— hbrror—when I saw this collection of musical gemsthat artist and manufacturer had taken infinite pains to make as near perfect as may ; be—piled indiscriminately in ill-assorted heaps without protection from dust of any kindwithout even the makers' 1 covers! Every gramophone user should know that dust is an unfailing source . tof damage to records. , It fills up the delicate grooves, eliminates the fine tones, and it also blunts the needle,. which in turn creates further damage. With careful and intelligent use, the average record can be " run through " hundreds of times without having any appreciable signs of wear, but to treat records-like so many dinner plates and expect the best results is expecting too much. It is most unfair to the artist and the manufacturer as well. Most purchasers of gramophone records complain of the flimsy nature of the covers—or envelopes—in which the records come from the manufacturer; but this ctomplaint is not altogether well founded. The flimsy cover is merely a protection for the, record while it is' in transit from to the user, and is not intended as a permanent cover at all. Most gramophone dealers stock record envelopes, ' maid© of either very stout cartridge paper or thin ; cardboard, which will give very good service and will eliminate a good deal of the dust nuisance. In any case} it is most im.portant that each record before being played over should be thoroughly cleaned (not across' the grooves) " with a" velvet p»4 PC fine : brush. K