ENTERTAINMENTS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXII, Issue 18950, 23 February 1925, Page 12

ENTERTAINMENTS.

MURIEL STARR SEASON. ' j " The Garden of Allah," which has been attracting crowded houses to His Majesty's Theatre, will be finally produced tomorrow evening. For Wednesday evening, the farewell appearance in Auckland of Miss Muriel Starr and Mr. Frank Harvey, the J. C. Williamson management is said to have reserved the best play in the repertoire of tho company. " Bought and Paid.For," by George Broadhurst. Marriage, in which the basis is wealth, not love, is the keynote of the story. Miss Starr is said to be at. her very best in " Bought and Paid For." Sho is at home in drama that gives such scope for emotional by-play. According to Australian critics all her facile skill goes into the sensitive young wife, a pretty, penniless bride married to a wealthy, resolute, selfmade man, admirable in all his qualities except for regrettable moral lapses when wine drowns his better self. The character of the husband, Robert Stafford, is played by Mr. Frank Harvey. He is said to present a brilliant impersonation, beinc particularly strong in tho drunken scenes! Others in' tho cast will include John Fernside, Fred Coape, Jessie, Page and Rosamund McMillan. The box plans are at Lewis R. Eady and Son, Ltd. KING'S THEATRE. The King's Theatre, Now ton, since tho Fuller vaudeville and revue occupation, has already assumed a comfortable family atmosphere, and the attendances since the opening last Wednesday have been more than satisfactory, proving that there is plenty of room for another theatre, when the show presented is to the taste of the public. For his ninth week in Auckland, Mr. George Storey will this evening present his revue company in a gay musical extravaganza, entitled " The Prince of Ost-end. This playlet gives the company a fitting medium for tuneful song and humorous patter. Mr. Storey and his trusty henchman, Frank Haining, make an excellent comedy team. Fun runs riot during the whole time' the popular little comedian occupies tho stage in this production. A newcomer in the vaudeville se:tion is Maxwell Carew, a clever and versatile English entertainer, who specialises in female and male character impersonations. Another fresh tace will be that of Victor Burke, a well-known baritone vocalist, who will render numbers selected from a well-stocked repertoire. Fullers' Eleven Wonders will introduce another varied act, which ranges from singing and dancing to whirlwind acrobatics. Tho . Mullaney Brothers will also be seen in another clever burlesque comedy and simultaneous dancing "BROADWAY JONES." Tho second production of Mr. Seymour Hicks and Miss Ellaline Terriss and company, a musical comedy entitled " Broadway Jones," will bo presented in the Opera House to-morrow evening. The play is the work of Mr. George M. Cohan, the author of the popular farce, "Seven Keys to Baldpate." It was an instantaneous success when staged by Mr. Hicks in London. The performance is reputed to be clever and amusing. Mr. Hicks appears in the title role, taking the part of a cheerful, happy-go-lucky young man whoso wit and ability to deal with adverse situations affords continual amusement. The part calls for a display of personality and a realistic touch which Mr. Hicks has developed to perfection. Miss Terriss takes the role of a secretary, and secures ample scope for her talents. Genuine humour is essentially the basis of tho production. NATIONAL AND LYRIC. "The Sideshow of Life," a film version of William J. Locke's well-known novel, "The Mountebank," is the chief attraction on the current programme at the National and Lyric Theatres. Anna Q. Nilsson and Ernest Torrence are in the leading roles. The story tells of an Englishman who pl.iyed the part of clown in a second-rate French circus, who is left alone when the circus closes down. With a girl as his partner he wins popularity in a vaudeville act. Then the war comes and four years later ho is a Brigadier-General. He meets Lady Auriol Dayne, and interesting complications lead to a happy ending. "Dizzy Daisy" and "Wet and Warmer," two comedies of especial merit, head the supporting programme. EVERYBODY'S THEATRE. "Wanderer of the Wasteland," a Paramount picture in natural colours which heads the current programme at Everybody's Theatre, is a film version of the well-known story by Zane Grey. It tells of a man who, believing that he is responsible for tho death of his brother, becomes a lonely wanderer in the desert. For four yea?s he lives under an assumed nam* in tho desert. Then, ono day hs comes upon a small cabin at the bottom of a canyon, where live an aged couple whom he recognises as the parents of Ruth Virey, a girl he had met years before. That night the old couple are killed by a landslide, and the wanderer sets out in search of Ruth. The story ends in a pleasing romance. PRINCESS THEATRE. "Curlvtop," a story of the underworld of the Limehouse district of London, is the chief attraction on the current programme at the Princess Theatre. The heroine is a diminutive girl named Connie Raymond, who, because of her beautiful hair, is generally known as "Curlvtop."' Her beauty attracts the attention of sjanv men and arouses the jealousy of another girl, Bessie. Tho latter invites her to her homo and then, suddenly springing at her," cuts off her long, golden locks with a pair of shears. Deprived of her chief asset Curlytop loses her position and becomes a lonely outcast. She falls into the hands of a sailor, who tries to hypnotise her, and is rescued just in time. The supporting programme includes "Salvage," with Paulina Frederick and Milton Sills in the leading roles, and a Fox Sutishine comedy, entitled "Pinhead."