POLLARDS' JUVENILE OPERA COMPANY.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XXXVII, Issue 10237, 28 August 1909, Page 6

POLLARDS' JUVENILE OPERA COMPANY.

The following from a Wellington contemporary will give admirers of this ever-popular combination an idea as to what they may expect on Monday night, when Mr Pollard and his clever company will renew acquaintance with a local audience: —"Playgoers who remember the many excellent performances of "Hip Van Winkle," given by previous Pollard companies, will be surprised to find that the present production at. the Opera House excels in every department anything seen "here'before. The staging and dressing is of the very best, while the energy imparted into the production by Mr Pollard's company is markedly apparent from principal to chorister. Mr Charles Albert make;; an excellent "Rip." Gifted as he is with a more than useful tenor voice, his rendering of "Rip's" solos in the first act called for the. highest praise. That clever boy comedian, Master Bert Nicholson, simply revels in the part of Nick Vedder. Mr Pollard is to be heartily congratulated on his magnificent production of Planquette's popular work. Judging by the large audience present on the opening night and the enthusiasm displayed, there seems to be an upward move in the taste of theatregoers. "Rip Van Winkle" is comic opera pure and simple, with a coherent plot and a strong romantic element, and it is pleasing to note that the public are waking up from that musical comedy nightmare and are preferring the better class of work."