AMUSEMENTS.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 13959, 19 July 1907, Page 6

AMUSEMENTS.

"HUJIAX HEARTS" DRAMATIC COMPANY.

Mr Ewin Geach's JJramatic Company gave a powerfully realistic performance at- the Irmcces Iheatre last evening of tho popular American drama " Human Hearts." Tho , production was witnessed by a very large and entirely sympathetic audience. There is no t ling subtle about the methods ot the 1 Mr Hal Reid, who i? said lo have composed his magnum opus whilst undergoing a • term of imprisonment for a crime which he had not committed, thereby emulating in a small way the great Cervantes, who .lvrote the incomparable ' Don Quixote," and • John Banyan," tho insuircd Bedford tinker who produced tho sublime "Pilgrim's Progress" under exactly similar circumstances There the resemblance onds. Neithei the haughty Spaniard nor tho humble Englishman attempted to' produce a work of 11 Teat heart interest." rhe fact that they actually succeeded in so doing cannot now be brought "P in evidence against them. Mr Reid, on tho other hand, has obviously had constantly in his mind's eye -the emotional heights reached'by "East Lyune" and that class of melodrama if which Mrs Henry Wood's study in marital mismanagement and ruinous retribution is such a bright and shining light, and his "Human ncarla" is consequently first, last, and alwava "ilie-play of heart interest." As the four acts of tho drama unfold themselves, one can almost hear the oracular voice of some great American manager proclaiming that here, if anywhere in drama, is, to be found the pure language of the heart. Certain it is that those theatregoers who are never so happy as when they can scarcely restrain their tears will <go into raptures over this sedulous study in sentiment. Mr Ernest Leicester (Tom Logan), an actor of admirable presence and an impressively convincing histrionic style, is the hero, and a remarkably fiue hero too, from the point of view of endurance. He is as philosophic in adversity as was tho amazing Mark Tapley who, as Diokens was particularly careful to point out, was jo'liest under difficulties. His wife is unfaithful; in alliauce with her lover she attempts to murder him; Mr Logan, sen., is murdered by mistake; Tom's liberty is sworn away by tho woman who bod-'vowed to love, honour, and obey him, and the man who had betrayed her; harrowing scenes - in prison follow; the hero's .little girl prattles pretty pathos; the dungeon encloses the husband for an attempt on the fife- of the villain. But Mr Leicester rises superior to ali the stings and arrows of his outrageous fortune, and emerges triumphant in the. end, the . pleasing picture of virtue rewarded. Miss Valentine Sidney (Jeanette Logan) sustains a lione-too-enviable role with consipcuous ability. As the wife who did" she is very far from being a Ladv Isabel. Her affection for her child, little Grace Logan (Miss Alma Palmer) is not of the self-sacrificing kind that leads up lo tho .pretty deception of a •' M-adame Vine" but there is a wolfish intensity about; it that redeems it from tho oonunonplace, She sows the wind, and flic reaps the whirlwind, which Satisfies a'.l the moral requirements. Mr G. R. Montford (Frederick Armadale) is a painstaking villain, who thinks as little or, stabbing a loving as he does of running away with a hypocritical wife, and as little of going out of his way to taunt a man' who is down as either. He obtained in • a full measure the hearty hisses of the audience, and his soul doubtless rejoiced thereat. ■ Mr G! M, Berkeley. (Jem Mason) is a characteristic tramp. Ho has excellent chances in the comedy element, and makes tho most' of them. He doos something or other that, is clovcr,. or witty, or laughter-provoking in ever)- scene. Mr Lloyd Earle (Moses Jones) has such unmitigated ill-luck that, in consequence of his sorupulous endeavour to bo the Uncle Tom to "Maas" Tom at every turn, it is no wonder ho is black in the face. The audience cordially approved of his faithful servitorship and signified the same in a demonstrative manneT. Miss Alma Palmer (Grace Logan) is not only a charming child, but a most precocious and promising little actross. Miss Eva Guildford Quin (Ruth Larkins), who has long loved the hero in secret, follows that person with her sympathies with a zeal that is y,'holly commendable, and when the curtain finally rings down it is understood that (the wicked wife's death having caused a vacancy in the family circle) she very properly comes into the inheritance. There are a host of minor characters, all efficiently interpreted. From a scenic standpoint t-.e production loaves nothing to be desired. At the end of the second act especially there is a delightful stage pioture. ' Human Heartscontains, in brief, all the elements of successful melodrama, and will, no doubt, prove as strong on attraction in Dunedin as it has done in the other centres of the colony.

THE CARRENO RECITALS. To hear Madame Oarreno is in itself a, musical education, apart from tbo extreme ploaamo to ba derived from listening to her playing. It may be thought by many that rnich playing is beyond their comprehension, ijttt this is not so. No one could fail to be moved by such a wonderful, even marvellous, exposition of pianoforte playing as Madame Carreno 19 capable of giving. Jjike all musicians of hijh -standing, Madame Carreno diaws largely upon tho works of composers not familiar to tho many, and the music is .what is termed high class, but it is treated in such magnificent stylo that it must appeal to evon those who prefer music of lighter character, and must impress them with its grandeur. Madame Carreno does not, however, adhere closoly to such a selection, but horo anil there offers something calculate! to be more popular with the multitude. It is difficult to convey a correct idea, in so many words, of the lady's smperb playing, which really requires to be heard before it can be properly understood. That sho is a pianiste gifted with marvellous powers and exercises a complete control over tPe instrument is beyond question. Her playing is of the most brilliant description and of the most finished order. It is diversified in kind and is throughout strongly marked by artistic conception, the greatest possible taste, and splendid execution. In 110 instance last evening could the most exacting critic Jo otherwise than give vent to ail 'emphatic conviction that her playing was a triumph in musical skill, and every member of the audience evidently held this opinion in the -very strongest form. Outbursts of applause followed each successive item, and on several occasions tho enthusiasm reacted cheering point. Madame Carreno's solos were Beethoven's "Sonata" (op. 53). a nocturne, etude, ballade, and waltz by Ciiopin, "Concerto in D minor" by Rubenstcin, to which an orchestral accompaniment was played on a second piano by Herr Bcnno Scherek, " Impromptu " (op 90, No. 2) by Selmbert, and the Schubert-Tausig "Marche militaire." The third recital will be given this evening, and Hie programme is of a similarly attractive W'der, ALHAMBRA THEATRE. Fullers' Entertainers appeartd again lost evening before a crowded house. To-night affords the last opportunity of witnessing ciiw excellent week's programme which is being submitted to patrons.