ENTERTAINMENTS

New Zealand Times, Volume XXX, Issue 6624, 14 September 1908, Page 7

ENTERTAINMENTS

OPERA HOUSE. THE FATAL WEDDING. Some day a writer of melodrama may arise who will give to a hero who is normally constituted and who lies an ordinary amount of understanding. And when such a hero and res the play ho motes in will be unpopular. It is useless to rave about -he stupidity of melodrama, to tell how the hero goes through three or lour acts, unseeing, unhearing. foolish and heroic —waking up just before the curtain falls to understand in .one minute from the comic man what he has misunderstood for a number of years, people want n hero who is a persistent foul, a heroine wno is sweet and silly, a villain whose villainies appear as terrible as possible and a sho-liend who oozes poison at every pore. People who do not weep at the real horrors of lifelike.to dry a tear at a representation of hcai t-rendering impossibilities, and so clever men like Theodore Kremer, knowing the public, mathematically gather a little bit of sunshine, a small section of tears, a good deal of vaudvillc and season the whole with •'heart interest’' and call it a play. This is the wherefore of the unquestioned popularity of ''The Fatal Wedding.” Appreciating the immense interest 90 per cent, of an audience take in a judicious melodramatic mixture the Afeynell and Gunn Dramatic Company make every possible point in presenting such a production. There was a very large audience to see “The Fatal Wedding” at the Opera House on Saturday night. The story has been told to great Wellington audiences before and contains the usual ingredients of most melodramas with the exception of the most exhiliratiug part of the entertainment—“tile Tin Can Band.” Thorp is a great deal of this band of children but not too much. Apparently, although trained to a hair, they arc still full of tlie breeze and vim of childhood and manage to present many highly,amusing comicalities. Wore detail than formerly is introduced, and the by-play of several of the boys causes many convulsive chuckles in circle, stalls and gallery. Little Donald Cameron, red-coated and with a tin almost as large as himself, leads the kitchen utensil orchestra, and Daisy Mendoza, Maggie Dickenson, VJucpnifi Williams and Gladys Bancroft introduce specialties. Mr C. It. Stanford as Peter Schwartz, a friend of this mass of ragged childhood, is particularly at home in “the Tin Can Band” scene and substantially helps an excellent performance.

The sorrows of the story need not be revived. Briefly the faithful wife is said to be unfaithful by the villains. Tho loving husband believes the villains, mainly, ono supposes, because he loves bis wife. There is a divorce, of course, inter-stealing of children, the usual attic subsequently discovered (also as usual) to belong to the husband, the coming marriage of the husband to tho she-fiend, her death at tho altar and the restitution of real love and all that sort of thing as a preliminary to catching the car. Mr Rrriest Leicester, as the husband who doesn’t believe that his wife is quite nice, plays with power, although the part is not quite good enough for him. Miss Beatrice Holloway as the suffering wife, who takes in spwipg while she is suffering and is saved from poison oy a Kndly thunderstorm, is always winsome ‘ and charmingly accurate as to enunciation. Mr C. I>. Stanford as a German janitor gets scope for his ability as a first-class character actor. Miss Marion Norman as an Irish cook gets the loudest laugh of the evening. “But,” says the pale divorced wife to Bridget, “the judge said ho was to have the custody of tho children.” “The judge bo damned!” answers tho cook, and tho_houso roars and rocks with' laughter. There never was anything so good as a “bad” word in tho way of melodramatic humour. Mr E. G. Coughlan as Toto, a French butler, is capable but forgets his anglicised French in his fronclufied English. Miss Queenie Williams, the “Little Mother,” is certainly talented and very much grown up for seven years old. Mr G. P. Carey as Reilly, a constable, does his little well, and Miss Ida Gresham and Mr P. Coape as the female and male villains respectively, are hardly convincing in thoir rascality. Both lack force. Tho play will be repeated each night until Wednesday. On Thursday J. A. Campbell’s domestic play “The Old Folks at Home” will be staged for tho first time in Australasia. A lino children’s act is introduced, in which the youngsters perform au Uncle Tom’s Cabin soena.

THEATRE ROYAL. THE BimX.S-SQUIRES CONTEST. The exciting pictures showing the full details of tho Burns-Squircs match have fairly “caught-on” with lire public. Crowds continue to he attracted to tho Theatre Royal, standing room only being available, after oight o'clock on Saturday night. The pictures are intensely realistic, and pourtray tho incidents of the groat contest with such faithfulness that tho spectator almost imagines himself at the Stadium in Sydney. There are, in addition, some very fine scones from the Franco-British Exhibition, including the Marathon race, the march past of the athletes, high diving and jumping, swimming matches, and physical culture exercises, which in themselves form an interesting collection. Miscellaneous pictures help to complete a very attractive programme. Tho Burns-Squircs fight will be shown again this evening.

HIS MAJESTY’S THEATRE. The two exhibitions of the Royal Pictures at His Majesty’s Theatre on Saturday were attended by large audiences. The picture of “The Merry Widow Waltz Craze” has “caught on” with the audiences, who enjoy heartily the escapades of Mr Lightfoot in his devotion to the seductive dance. “The Life of a Chick” is a new picture, and is very inteifestVng. The last two nights of the present programme are announced. ME CHARLES SAUNDERS. Everywhere he has appeared Mr Charles Saunders has become a firm favourite with his auditors. His voice is ilow at its zenith, and at practically all the big festivals at Homo be is now tenor soloist. An exchange

-cme-rks: "We venture to assort that iALdci'i -Sound an Alarm’ has never br'-nAnus with more imposing effect than by "Air Chas. Saunders. The ringer has every qualification for such an Inspiring aria. His voice, a pure Lenor. cultured and wide ranged, has a 'volume that is truly superb. The injunction ‘Sound an Alarm’ rang out like a trumpet call, as clear-toned as a clarion. In tho highly effective unaccompanied passages tho voice of the singer seemed to pervade the building with a flood of sound, wlr.ist tho 'last word’ of the invocation was a tour tic force. A really magnificent climax had seemed to be reached, when the voice unexpectedly swelled out into a crescendo that was astonishing.” Miss Clara Dobson —Airs Saunders---and Mr John Prouse will take part in Wednesday's and Friday's concerts, tho box plan for which is now open at the Dresden.'

The Opera House was well filled last night when the Wellington Professional orchestra, assisted by May Driscoll, contralto, and Mr -Ernest Dantes, baritone, gave a. sacred concert. Tho numbers selected were popular and each was capably given. Mr F. Oakes conducted and .Mr J. Woodward led the orchestra. There was a voluntary collection and the proceeds aro to bo given in aid of a distressed member of the Hammers Football Club.