PLAYS AND PLAYERS.

New Zealand Times, Volume LVII, Issue 2413, 19 January 1895, Page 2 (Supplement)

PLAYS AND PLAYERS.

Mr Tom Pollard’s Opora Company still holds the boards at tlio Opera Home. On Wednesday and Thursday evenings “Olivette" was revived with great success, and last evening Offenbach’s merry little “Princess of Trebizonde” was staged. It will be repeated tonight, and on Monday “La Mascotto," with Miss Cissy Sandfurd as that mischievous female imp, Bettina, will be produced. On Tuesday “Tho Gondoliers ” will make a welcome re appearance, followed on Wednesday by “ Erminie," and on Thursday night “The Fort/ Thieves" will be staged. At tho close of tha Wellington season the Company play Blenheim, Nelson, West pon, 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 bo put into rehearsal forthwith.

Walter Bentley and his company have been playing Nelson and B enlu-im with fair success. The company op-na at Theatre Royal on Monday next, “ David Garrick ” and “ Cramond Brig ” form the opening programme.

Mr Poole, it now appears, tele g.-apbed Sooth the other day that young Tyler could not keep his engagements because

“ hia voice had gone.” It is a pity he didn’t break hia Wellington engagement, which assuredly brought neither satisfaction 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 Cigala," 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 now baritone, Mr Wallace Brown low:—“Mr Wallace Bjownlow, the baritone of Messrs Williamson and Musgrove’s R >yal 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 Capo' Mounted Rifles, and he served in the, Basuto campaign of 1879-81. Gold digging; in America and diamond-mining in SouthAfrica were fo'lowed by experiences of “roughing it ” in other parts of the. world, until the adventurer “ struck it rich,” as it wore,; by discovering that behad a “gold mine "in his voice. Aidedby 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 Chclraondely, Lieutenant, of the Tower, for 400 nights. He then played King in “ The Gondoliers " for 500’nights, and later visited the Continent and America with a “ Mikado" company. When Mr D’Oyloy Carte built the Rnyal English Opera House under the erroneous impression’ that Loudon was musical enough to support high-class opera all the year round, Mr Brownlow appeared as Prince John, and later as Richard Coeut da 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 Blanche. ‘ 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 ho 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 mccessfully appearing this week at Mr Mr J. B. Mulholland’s pretty new theatre, ;ho Metropole, in Camberwell, South London, where next week will be ieen and heard Sir Augustus Harris’s jompauy with “ The Prodigal Daughter," n which Miss Grace Warner plays the part of Ross Woodmero. Thus, curiously, iuough, father and daughter will be seen it the same theatre iu quick succession. G.orge Leitch is still with the Kennedy lomoany at Dunedin. Late productions lave'been “The'Librarian" and ‘.‘The prodigal Son." When is George Leitch ping Homo to claim that immense foruue of which at one time such startling ■uniours were going about 1 London Referee, says : —Last week all bcatrical London was stirred to its lepths by the rumour that a well-known ,nd popular comedian had been offered 6800 a week, .10 per.cent, of the,receipts, : louble. salary for matinees,’the centra 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 .approveof : hi* part." The gentleman in question " is, I read elsewhere, no other than Teddy Lonneii. Ho certainly wasn’t worth £309 a week to Williamson and Musgrove.

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.

Miss Harri s Ireland, who was so long with Bland Holt, has, 1 read, left tho company, and will appear shortly as “leading lady " with a company organised by her father for an Australian provincial tour.

A Chicago lady at the World’s Fair expressed her iear, it seems, that the attraction of 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 tho States on another long lecturing tour in order to raise more dollars.

Ben Fuller, the wonderful diver whose performances at the London Aquarium have been such a draw, has come to grief at last. , A Loudon paper says : Shortly after eight on Sunday morning Bon Fuller, the well-known exhibition diver, dived from the high level of the new Tower Bridge, into tbe Thames, a height of 240 feet. Deceased, who, evading the officers on duty, gained access to the roof of tho caging of the bridge by means of a trap door, dived in his accustomed fashion, feet foremost. Ho 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 on his own initiative, and altogether without the knowledge of the Royal Aquarium authorities. Fuller proposed making a similar attempt to jump from the bridge on the morning of the Royal opening, but he was persuaded from his purpose.

Violet Cameron, once almost the queen of English burlesque and comic 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.

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

Mr “ Gentleman Jim ” Corbett, the pug; player, is unquestionably a modest man.' He is said to bo 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 j man, and . apparently murmurs words of praise and encouragement in his oar. 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, • 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. ; Allan Hamilton, here with Fillia’ i Circus and Myra Kemble, is now manager ■ to Woodloch’s Circus at Biisbanc. Fitzgerald's C.rcus at Christchurch after, 1 hear, a very successful tour of the; ' Coast. ■. , ! ; Alice Learner,., hero with Lonnen--Courtneidge Gaiety crowd, is back again- : at the music halls. So is pretty Lolia Roze. ; • ■ Late in November the advance-book-: ing 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 1 Alfred Dampier was about to tour the 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 Buller will accompany Dampier on his tour. Prom the fact that I have received a marked copy of a Newcastle (M. S. W.) paper containing a long account of the Norman-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 Keightleyj Alice May, Blanche Lewis, Athena Claudius, and'others in the cast. William Rignold, brother to the great George, is,,playing Santa Klaus in the London Lyceum pantomime. , 1 .“Charley’s Aunt" has been put on at I 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." . - - - ■ “The Judge,” produced at the Melbourne Bijou recently, is said by the' Age to ■ hex one ■ of the most laughable of farcical ‘-'comedies ever placed on the boards of that theatre. Elton, in the name part, is said to be immense. Cara Thompson, Nannie Harding, Wilfred Shine, and others also get a good word. Modern Society (London) of a recent date has the fu’lowing foulsh 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, tho audience being visibly bored by a fire 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 be the beat 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, tbe satire seemed very wire drawn. Oscar is but a flashy fellow at his best.

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

Why should tho ladies rage, and the emancipated females take counsel together ? (says the Loudon Pelican) Is not tho sox to the fore on the stage, and aro not tho daughters of F.ve being boomed alike, largely and widely, at theatres in the metropolis ? Let us cut the canklo and come to statistics. To begin with the “ girls.” Is there not tho “ 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,” “ Tho 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 things in the world.” —“ Lorgnette ” in N.Z. Mail.