NOTES BY LORGNETTE.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1194, 18 January 1895, Page 16

NOTES BY LORGNETTE.

“ Htro come the actors, Buz, Buz.” —Hamlht The theatrical editor of the New Zealand Mail will be happy to receive and print route dates and any Other information concerning' the mo\ ements of companies. A post card giving ‘ ‘ route dates ’ ’ for the week is recommended. Address all communications forthis column to “Lorgnette,” New Zealand Mail office Lambfcon quay, Wellington.

Mr Tom Pollard’s Opera Company still holds the boards at the Opera Houre. On Wednesday and Thursday evenings “Olivette" was revived with great success, and to night (Fridiy) Offenbach’s merry little “ Princess of Tiebizonde” is staged. This is repeated to morrow (Saturday), and bn Monday “La Ma - cotte," with Miss Cissy Sandford as that mischievous female imp, Bettina, will be produced. On Tuesday “The Gondoliers” will make a welcome re appearance, followed on Wednesday by “ Erminie," and on Thursday night “The Fort/ Thieves" will be staged. At the close of the Wellington season the Company play Blenheim, Nelson, Westport, Greymouth, Hokitika, and then return to the North Is'and, opening at Wanganui for the race week, when Mr Pollard hopes to produce “ Paul Jones," which is to .be put into rehearsal forthwith.

■ Walter Bentley and his company have been playing Nelson and B’enheim with fair success. The company op-ns at Theatre Royal on Monday next. “ David Garrick ” and “ Cramond Brig ” form the bpening programme. ,

Mr Poole, it now appears, telegraphed South the other day that young Tyler could not keep his engagements because “ his voice had gone.” It is a pity he didn’t break his Wellington engagement, which assuredly brought neither satiaf iction to the public nor to the management.

' The Royal Comic Opera Company did excellent business in Dunedin. Miss Nellie Stewart made a great hit in “ La Cigale," Marton, the leading part in which, in Australia, was created by Miss Marie Halton, and afterwards played by Violet Varley.

“ Pasquin,” in the Otago Witness, gives the following interesting particulars of the singularly varied experiences of The Firm’s new baritone, Mr Wallace Brown low “Mr Wallace Brownlow, the baritone of Messrs Williamson and Mu - grov.e’s Royal Comic Opera Company now in New Zealand, has led a singularly adventurous life. As a boy he was a ’prentice at sea, later ho joined the Cape Mounted Rifles, and he served in the Basuto campaign of iB!T9.-81. Gold digging in America and diamond-mining in South Africa were followed by experiences of “roughing it ” in other parts of the wrorld, until the adventurer “ struck it rich,” as it were, by discovering that he had a “ gold mine "in his voice. Aided by a fine stage presence and an unlimited capacity for hard work, the young baritone soon made his dibut in “ The Yeoman of the Guard" at the Savoy Theatre (1889), where he appeared as Sir Richard Chclmondely, Lieutenant of the Tower, for 400 night 3. lie then played Ring in “ The Gondoliers" for 500 nights, and later visited the Continent and America with a “Mikado" company. When Mr D’Oyley C irto built the It yal English Opera House under the erroneous impression that London was musical enough to support high-class opera all the year round, Mr Brownlow appeared as Prince John, and later as Richard Coeur de Lion* in Sullivan’s “ Ivanhoe ’’ ; and before the English Opera House finally became the Palace of Varieties ho sang as the Due de Longuville in. Massager’s brilliant work “La Basoche. ‘‘ During Miss Nellie Stewart’s season at the Prince of Wales's Theatre (1892) Mr Brownlow was the William of the cast (in succession to Miss Marion Burton); and subsequently he figured in nearly all the operatic ventures of 1893-—a “ black year " for the theatrical world.

Says The Stage (London) of November 22 : —Mr Charles Warner’s company, playing “ Under the Mask of Truth," are successfully appearing this week at Mr Mr J. B. Mulholland’s pretty new theatre, the Metropole, in Camberwell, South London, where next week will be seen and heard Sir Augustus Harris’s company with “ The Prodigal Daughter," in which Miss Grace Warner plays the part of Ross Woodmere. Thus, curiously enough, father and daughter will be seen at the same theatre in quiek succession.

George Leitch is still with the Kennedy Company atDunedin. Late productions have been “The Librarian " and “The Prodigal Son." When is George Leitch going Home to claim that immense fortune of which at one time such startling rumours were going about ?

Miss Katherine Hardy, late of Wellington, is now a member of “ The Judge" Company, at Melbourne Bijou, and is said to have wonderfully improved in her acting.

London Referee says :—Last week all theatrical London was stirred to its depths by the rumour that a well-known and popular comedian had been effered a week, 10 per cent, of the receipts, double salary for matinees, the centre of the stage, and all the limelight if he would leave his present position, and go over to a rival company. This princely offer, to the astonishment of everyone, was refused, the reason of the refusal being that the gentleman in question “ did not approve of his part." The “gentleman in question " is, I read elsewhere, no other than Teddy Lonnen. He certainly wasn’t worth a week to Williamson and Musgrove.

Miss Harris Ireland, who was so long with Bland Holt, has, 1 read, left the company, and will appear shortly as “leading lady " with a c nnpany organised by her fa'.her for an Australian provincial tour.

A Chicago lady at the World’s Fair expressed her tear, it seems, that the attraction «.f so many foreigners would corrupt the morals of Chicago. “ Chicago morals," exclaims Max O’Rell, “you will excuse me if I roar, won’t you ?"

By the way the story goes that some of the investments made by Max O’Rell in America and Australia have turned out very badly, and that the genial French humourist has gone to the States on another long lecturing tour in order to raise more dollats.

Ben Fuller, the wonderful diver whose performances at the London Aquarium have been such a draw, has come to grief at last. A London paper says: Shortly after eight on Sunday morning Ben Fuller, the well-known exhibition diver, dived from the high level of the new Tower Bridge into the Thames, a height of 240 feet. Deceased, who, evading the officers on duty, gained access to the roof of the caging of the bridge by means of a trap-door, dived in his accustomed fashion, feet foremost. He rose to the surface once, and then sank. He is supposed to have sustained internal injuries. The body has not yet been recovered. Deceased leaves a widow and one child. It is understood that Fuller made the fatal leap ou his own initiative, and altogether without the knowledge of the Royal Aquarium authorities. Fuller proposed making a similar attempt to jump from the bridge ou the morning of the Royal opening, but he was persuaded from hi 3 purpose.

Violet Cameron, once almost the queen of English burlesque and eomic opera, has come down to the ’alls at last. The following appears in a London paper : “ Miss Violet Cameron will appear at the Alhambra, also Parker’s performing dogs." Sic transit , etc.

Maggie .Moore’s screw in Melbourne Royal panto, is £SO a week. So says the Bulletin, but I expect she has a small share in the profits as well.

Hard times in Melbourne. It was always said that veteran George Coppin, M.L.A., and once reputed enormously wealthy, would not a ! low his children to go on the stage, but in the cast of “ Aladdin," at Melbourne Royal are Daisy Yarmouth and Lucy Don, Coppin’s two daughters.

Recently, at the Royalty, Chester (England), Mrs Herman, who was playing Eliza Harris in “Uncle Tom’s Cabin," in the ice scene, where the dogs are used, slipped on one of the ice blocks, fell, broke her leg in two places, and dislocated her ankle.

Mr “Gentleman Jim” Corbett, the pug. player, is unquestionably a modest man. He is said to be displaying a poster which depicts himself in evening dress surrounded by the principal Sovereigns of Europe, whilst Mr Gladstone, standing in the foreground, grasps the hand of the great man, and apparently murmurs words of praise and encouragement in his ear.

Allan Hamilton, here with Fillia’ Circus and Myra Kemble, is now manager to Woodloch’s Circus at Brisbane.

Fitzgerald’s C reus at Christchurch after, I hear, a very successful tour of the Coast.

Alice Leamar, here with LonnenCourtneidge Gaiety crowd, is back again at the music halls. So is pretty Lelia Roze.

Late in November the advance booking for “His Excellency," the CarrGilbert comic opera at the London Lyric (of which our London correspondent gave such an excellent description lately) amounted to no less than £9OOO. Whew !

Alfred Dampier was about to tour the

j 1 English provinces with “ Robbery Under Arms,” when the last mail left. The Ruppert season at the Princess came to a sudden end, with a row and halfsalaries. The faithful George Duller will accompany Dam pier on his tour.

From the fact that I havo received a marked copy of a Newcastle (N.S. W.) paper containing a long account of the Noiman-Berkeley Company in “ Cinders," I presume the show will soon be in Maoriland. Albert Norman, who was with Bland Holt so long, is leading man, with little Berkeley, Cyril Keightley, Alice May, Blanche Lewis, Athena Claudius, and others in the cast.

“The Judge,” produced at the Melbourne Bijou recently, is said by the Age to be one of the most laughable of farcical comedies ever placed on the boards of that theatre. Elton, in the name part, i 3 said to be immense. C ! an Thompson, Nannie Harding, Wilfred Shine, and others also get a good word.

The pantomime “ Aladdin ” at Melbourne Royal is said to be doing well. Maggie Moore is as popular as ever, and Laura Roberts gets big kudos for her singing. OlJy Deering is in the show, and “ Tommy Atkins,” (sung here by Charles Arnold in “ Captain Fritz," brillgs the house down nightly.

Modern Society (London) of a recent date has the following foolish par : —“ln Australia the drama appears to have reached a startlingly low ebb. At Melbourne, Oscar Wilde’s ‘ Lady Windermere’s Fan ’ was recently staged, but could not attain to more than a fortnight’s run, the audience being visibly bored by a fire of epigrams, the point of which was lost at the Antipodes. Sidney Grundy’s ‘ Sowing the Wind ’ had to be withdrawn after a week, despite acting said to bo the best ever seen in the colonies." Considering the population of Melbourne a fortnight’s run for a play like “Lady Windermere’s Fan ”is not at all bad. As to the point of the epigrams being lost at the Antipodes, the so called “ epigrams " were only very flimsy things after all. They possess a fictitious smartness when uttered before the footlights, but when I read the play the other day in book form, the satire seemed very wire drawn. (Lear is but a flashy fellow at his best.

William Rignold, brother to the great George, is playing Santa Klaus in the London Lyceum pantomime.

“Charley’s Aunt" has been put on at Sydney Criterion for the holidays, and will be followed, I see, by “ Hans, the Boatman.” I should have thought that sickly stuff had long ago been shelved as “played out."

Why should the ladies rage, and the emancipated females take counsel together ? (says the London Pelican). Is not the sex to the fore on the stage, and are not the daughters of Eve being boomed alike, largely and widely, at theatres in the metropolis ? Let us cut the cackle and come to statistics. To begin with the “girls." Is there not the “Gaiety Girl," the “Wrong Girl,” and the “ Shop Girl !" And of the “women,” can you not see any evening during the week, on payment at the doors or otherwise, “The New Woman," “A Gay Widow,” “The Lady Slavey,” “Charley’s Aunt," “Rebellious Susan," and “ Lady Windermere ?"

When Mr Charles Arnold was in Adelaide recently (says Sydney Sunday Times) he learnt that a company had just passed through who mentioned their intention of playing “ Charley's Aunt ” in Western Australia. Mr Arnold at once sent on legal documents to Mr Francis Hart, at Perth, demonstrating his rights to the comedy, and the piece announced for production on Boxing Night was withdrawn.

Says a London critic ;—“ Look out for two startling sensation scenes in London in due course, one a circular saw bench on which a drugged man is placed to be sawn asunder. The other a cremation scene, of all th'ngs in the world.”

Mr Boucicault has engaged Miss Geraldine Oliffo as leading lady for the Brough and Boucicault Company, says a London cablegram to the Sydney Herald.

Mr Manfred Bose, the manager of the Walter Bentley Company, has been busily engaged during the week in arranging for the return visit of Mr Walter Bentley, who appears at the Theatre Boyal on Monday evening next in the charming comedy “ Garrick,” which affords ample scope for able acting, not only by Mr Bentley, but by all the members of the company. It is a far cry from the modern drama to oldfashioned comedy, but Mr Bentley easily bridges over the gap and presents a courtly, polished gentleman of the old school, that would please Garrick himself. His drunken scene is admirably acted, and his heroic self-sacrifice in the last act beautifully played. The after piece is the Scotch farcical, historical drama “ Cramond Brig’” in which Mr Bentley impersonates the old Scotch farmer, Jock Howieson, the miller. Playgoers are reminded that the season is only a short one. The box plan is at Holliday’s.

Cyril Tyler, the boy soprano, has gone back to Sydney along with his mother, whose professional name is Mdlle Pardo. Their intention was to take passage by the next steamer for San Francisco. Mrs E. W.

Oldham and Mr E. Nitschke belong to Adelaide, and are returning there. Herr Gerard Vollmar (the talented 'cellist) was professor of music at the Adelaide University. We understand that he intends joining Mr Marshall Hall, who is starting a Conservatoire of Music at Melbourne.

The dates arranged for theatrical companies during- the next month aie as follow:—The “New Boy” Company will open at the Opera House for a week’s season on the 28th, and the Eoyal Opera Company will begin their three weeks’ season on the 11th February. Bentley’s Dramatic Company will open at the Theatre Eoyal for a week, commencing on the 21st.