ENTERTAINMENTS

New Zealand Times, Volume XLIII, Issue 10083, 23 September 1918, Page 2

ENTERTAINMENTS

"THE THIRTEENTH CHAIR." The success achieved in New fork by .‘Tue. Xium.encu Ona-ir,” tue sensationu. mystery .uiimia, to oo siagetl at tile u.and Opera House by •). C. Williamson, Ltd., to-morrow evening, is without 'parallel m America's u.eatriL'-al jiiswiy. In Australia it broke tue records estao-il-mea in (Sydney and Melbourne by "Within the liaw,” which was written bv the author of “The 13th Chair/’ ana it is dniy because Miss Margaret Wyoherly. the leading Xady, has to return to the united Slates almost immediately which prevented tile mystery play from running on indefinitely. in the ■ Conimpnwealth."Tho Tiiirtcenth Chair” is one of those cast-iron'plays which could'not fail'even were it presented by a mediocre company, but for' its Australasian tour the J. 0. Williamson. Ltd. management has secured a powerful combination of dramatic artists. The management was fortunate to induce Miss Wycherlv to come to Australia and the nonunion to repeat her New York-triumph as Rosalie la ‘Grange;' and 1 that she has more than- realised expectations niay be gathered by the fact that Sydney and Melbourne critics wore unanimous in declaring, her. to be the most finished actress who had yet. appeared in those cities. The part of Rosalie gives Miss Wycherly every opportunity for the display of the dramatic genius which she nossesses, and which has made her name famous in America. Mr Brinsley Shaw, the leading man, was specially chosen by tho author,for the Part of Tim Donohue, and he, of course, appears to special advantage in this part because he can depict it exactly as the author intended it to be portrayed. Playgoers will be glad to welcome that delightfully fascinating young actress. Miss Lizette Parkes, in a role in which a Sydney critic states might have been specially written for her. Each artist was :: specially selected because of their fitness for the parts they enact, with the happy result that a perfect performance is presented. The maiority of those in-the cast have “starred” in important dramatic productions sta.ged-under the, direction of J. C. Williamson, Ltd.these include Gaston Mervale, Sydney Stirling, Leslie Victor, Tan Maetaren f --EtheT-Morrison, and Nancye Stewart.., . The cast also includes Misses Tien Hogue, Eileen Robinson,- Maisie, Carte, Messrs- -Thomas Sidney, Carletdn Stuart, Harry Paulton, and Rawdon Blandford. The plans for the season are on view at the Bristol, VAUDEVILLE AT HIS 7 MAJESTY’S. Plays 'may- come and plays may go,but the stream of vaudeville talent into the local Puller theatre seems to go on for ever,.To-night’s new diiU;fproV mifies to be one of extraordinarily high quality, hirst .and foremost amongst the , newcomers will be. Boy Bonham a juvenile Canadian who has astonished the world. ,His bendings and feats of, contortion , have,, according to IA-Ustra-/ lian critics, never been excelled in the theatres there.' 'Thiis 'is - ’ palrtionfarly high praise when one • recalls Marcel, "The Filleted Marvel/’ Juno Salmo, Ferry the Frog, Manktn, the Le Grohs, • and many other fine .exponents -.of contortion. A pleasing -feature of the act is ' that it- is entirely devoid ofanything coarseness or nncanniness. The.-;consistently- popular Ha-.; verly revue combination will be seen and beard in another of their whimsical, excuses for fun and- laughter, entitled ’’Murphy’s Elopement.” As the title indicates, it is written around the adventures "of one Michael Murphy- and his friend Daniel. Casey, who. are not,, unknown to ‘ Wellington audiences. - Another first appearance will be made by fihat well-knowndramatic actor, Mr Brandon Cremer; who, with a partner in the -perton, of-'Miss Kathleen .Arnold, will present one-act comedies of a highclass nature., His opening sketch is ’entitled ' "Through ' the , Wrong Window.” Myra" Gale and Sadie will make a welcome reappearance after- a- rengtfiy absence, ahd will be seen and heard in a novel sifiging and dancing scena.-Sadie will -be-remembered as a talented -juvenile dancer. -Those established, favourites,' Malide Courtney and Mr “C.,” will present an .entirely new . programme for..; their farewell week in Wellington, and Miss; ; -Nellie • Kollo, the ■ popular- choru a singer, will be retained for three more nights. The-same programme will, be presented' "nightly throughout "the- week and at the customary Saturday matinee. THE ENGLISH PIERROTS. That..rare .combination of gifted ; entertainers, the English Pierrots, presented a complete change of programme at the Town Hall concert chamber bn Saturday evening. While there is an agreeable proportion of comic numbers in the hew bill the more serious class of vocalisation is well represented and shared equally in- the enthusiasm- Of ‘the applause. Mr Louis Langley used MS Fght baritone voice with masterful taste in '•‘False or. True,” and in the fanciful '’Barber of Turin.” Miss Elsa Langley’s bewitching Dutch song and dance, ■‘Susan’s . Sabots,” proved ' universally popular, and tlie encore item, “Steihe,” was also greatly ■ relished. -This charming young lady again made a big hit in company with Mr Austin in the duet, ‘A Bit- of Love,” and scored a ‘ further success, in the additional. duet, ‘'YouTo lu Love.” Miss Langley is given to interpolating too many quips during v. the progress- of her songs, but otherwise her efforts-- are exquisitely artistic. In the concerted composition “Jack O’Lan-tern/’-Miss Langley excelled in the title role. “In tho Great Unknown,” a particularly . affective (tenor , song by Mr David Lyle; was' one of the most meritorious renditions of the evening. In response to " insistent plaudits Mr Lyle conceded; "Love Lily” with splendid effect. A bright and tuneful ditty, “My Don’t Caro Girl,” by Mi Leslie Austin won a well deserved encore, to which he replied with “Every- Girl is Doing her Bit.” Owing to a slight.cold Miss Elsie Kosslyn was unable to give ber- solo «ongs, but took part in tbe concerted numbers. Miss Billie Wilson was com spicuously pleasing in the chorus song, "Would' You Miss Mo?” and a “slavey” chorus song, “Jane.” Mr Roy Cooke did particularly well with-‘‘The Last Call,” and the-ever welcome “Sands of the Desert.” Mr Charles Lawrence’s pianotogue, “Exits,” evoked prolonged applause. As an additional effort he gave “Across the Borderland,” an impressive verse story Of tho snow-draped NorthWest, which was applauded to the echo. The audience laughed uproariously at Mr W; P. Turner’s "Old Moore” and "For Thee, my Love, for Thee.” Miss Rim a Young’s interpretation of the pianoforte solo “To the Sen” (SchubertLiszt) was. a brilliant achievement. When recalled Miss Young played. "La Ponpep” with graceful , skill. ■ Tho company appeared in several . quartettes, concerted items, a clever ragtime travesty ("Ragging an Opera”), and a musical farce (“The Vicar’s Daughter’’).-Miss Rlimn Young proved herself a capable accompanist. The English Pierrots will repeat tho programme nightly until further notice. EVERYBODY’S THEATRE. Occasionally some rare picture makes its way to these parts to teach a powerful moral lesson such as the screen alone can teach. Unfortunately such pictures arc few and far between. Other pictures have come‘here purporting to teach a moral lesson hut have failed because the producer, with The- idea of making his picture a payable proposition, has made ;an'appeal also to the baser feelings, of the theatre-goer. It was pleasing therefore to see at Everybody's Theatre on Saturday a fine strong moral 'picture’ carrying with it a 1 stern lesson on tho evils of slanderous gossip. Slander has been -called "tho goubet whelp of sin,” and its. terrible results have been powerfully - preached in this now picture, "Babbling Tongues.” A most forceful picture it is, acted most powerfully, and produced almost perfectly. It

must have deeply impressed the large audiences present at Everybody's Theatre on Saturday, and have driven homo its lesson to all who saw it. Tile picture is reminiscent of the French anji Italian pictures seen here before 'the war, but now replaced by the- lighter American features. The poignancy of the acting may have appeared overdrawn in places and the theme a trifle overdone. This, however, is a matter of opinion. The picture tells how ‘‘squint-eyed slander" enters the home of husband wife and couples the name of the wife . with a young poet, a protege of the husband. The three are intensely ; devoted and honourable, but the viperous breath of slander brings ruin and disgrace on the name. Merely because the wife takes a kindly interest in her husband’s young friend relations in the house commence to gossip about the pair. Gossip quickly grows and spreads its net on the home. Stray words are whispered into the husband’s ear’ and he becomes suspicious. At the vile promptings of his relations these suspicions l grow. 5 Meaning glances and casual innuendoes continue to do their worst. ' Misfortune piles on jbiisfortune until finally the husband, dies as the result of a duel fought to defend his wife’s honour. He dies convinced that his wife and dearest friend have betrayed him. The wife is driven bo the arms of the other man and babbling tongues have done their worst. An exceptionally strong cast is headed by James Morrison and Grace Valentine, with Paul Capellani, Arthur Donaldson, Gladden James and .Louise Baudet. The picture is an Ivan superfilm. EMPRESS THEATRE. On Saturday a Vitagraph drama, "The Tenderfoot,’’ was screened at the. Empress Theatre for the first time. It tells of Western Life. The homely people of that part serve as a contrast to the Easterner, who arrives from a great city to follow simple pursuits, that he might forget an. evil that had overtaken him. The role of the tenderfoot is played with considerable success by William Duncan. In this personality he is good-hearted, honest and reckless. . As its name impliesj the picture tells how on© man, disappointed in love, . seeks solace, in the wild scenery‘ of the West, and is received by the ruddy eons of those parts with some -humour - and n 0... JitUe contempt.. They scorn his refined appearance and his somewhat artificial personality arouses derision. It takes - but a short time for circumstances to. mould him into the'shape of the ordinary man of the West, and at their, own game he ultimately excels them. . The. girl who had. been such a big factor in his life at the gay metropolisTWhence-he -came, arrives at the village, and. in his efforts to win her affection, he basses through some exciting .©vents. He succeeds, but how worthless that affection is is proved by her extreme selfishness. The character of this town girl is thrown" into relief by that of another girl, with whom the tenderfoot becomes acquainted. She - "is natural and therefore charming, tender and therefore lovable. She .wins him in the end.. This picture is : supported iby A 'laughable comedy. , ‘ ARTCEAPT THEATRE, i Western pictures always seem to take with the lovers of the screen in Wellington, 'and more especially' when that marvel of the motion-picture industry, William tS.OHart, has “the' title . part. "Wolves of the Bail,” r the Hart-Inoe production of great dramatic power which is.showing at the Artcraft Theatre, proves, 310 exception to the rule. Buck Andtade, leader of a gahgtof “hold-ups” is told that his mother is very ill. One Of his men, Rablo, manages to get to the dHng woman before Buck and he tells hbr what her sou really Is—the bandit;of -the- plains; the - ’man’’ all El Kantara is after. Andrade arrives and confesses to his mother. In a very pitiful scenA he promises her that he will run straight. In the meantime ’ the New York office of the railroad company send a fellow with a .reputation, of being the smartest man in the secret service, to capture Buck Andrade, dead or alive,. It ,iC-Xatber pmpaing .to see the. detective- ahd ' Budk, how without his*'mask and riding straight, 1 on the train together. There is a hold-up, hue Andrade is fearless and is able by his daring, to get, the trton-wretkfiKs...into...the. bush. Cassidy has followed Buck and hoars,the men., call Apdrade by his name. He therefore triesvto arrest .Buck, who turns the tables by a simple but remarkably clever , trick. He then dresses, in the Hetobtlve’s clothes and' takes his papers and goes to. the. station, there to clean up -the ‘‘Devil’s Divisions." A beautiful love'' ■ story.. runs-; through the inlay, which, is directed by William S. Hart and supervised, by Thomas H. Ince. Vola Vale. makes a charming heroine, and some -veay, fine- horsemanship is displayed., The second, photo,play on the, programme is a story of the great Sahara Desert, in which that talented actress' Miss Elsie- Ferguson has. the star, part.' She has a good leading man in Lnmsden

Hare. A Paramount Gazette and a further series of the Green Hoorn screen contest, complete an all-round excellent entertainment. "A SOUL IN TRUST." “IAU mothers are splendid/' eaj« Dabney Carter, the hero of the power-, xul and thrilling photo-drama "A SonJ in Trust." As the irony of fate wilt have it; he is thereby unconsciously paying tribute, not to his own mother. Cut, in his own mother’s hearing, to th« woman who had adopted him in hit infancy and had indeed proved to him the best of mothers. His own. mother, hardened by injustice, has not scrupled < well knowing that he was her own son* to play upon Dabney Carter’s chivalry and generosity of character and use hint us the unwitting means of doing a great wrong, which threatened to ruin tht lives of his greatest friend and bene, factor and his dearly beloved mother bj adoption. But his unstudied, heartfelt phrase, "all mothers are splendid, ‘ causes remorse to thrill through, eveu heir hard heart; she repents of the com templated wrong; repents at the eleventh Honr, and makes amends, enough to hfl so means a woman’s supreme sacrifice, the loss of her son just when she haa come to know, to admire, and to xotft him. The play is full of pathos ana abounds in tense, dramatic situations Miss Belle Bennett and Mr Barney Sherry are seen at> their very best 16 the principal roles, and the cast as s; whole is a strong one, while the play iC admirably and mounted* An interesting "Gaumont Graphic” and “Crushing Walls," the seopnd chaptej of the stirring serial photo-play “Tht> Fatal Ring” round off a first-class pro* gramme, which was screened to largs and appreciative audiences on Saturday and will be repeated each afternoon an* evening during the week. THE QUEEN’S THEATRE. A double feature programme of highly entertaining qualities is being screened at the Queen’s Theatre tins week, "Roaring Lions and Wedding Bells, ’ a very amusing comedy, coupled with Juni Caprice in “A Modern Cinderella/’ ar« the chief items in a programme whick is finding great favour.