AMUSEMENTS.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 15186, 4 July 1911, Page 6

AMUSEMENTS.

" THE BELLE OF BRITTANY." " Dftffo<lil Timo in Brittany " does Damo Nature infinite credit ae viowod by tho old mill in ■■tho Bois D'Amour, hard by which no9tles tho venorablo Chateau <le St. Gautier. And tho smiling flowery proepect gains animation to the point of riot whon it fills with rustic- swains, villaco maidens in tho most brilliant frocks and quaintest of hoadi.<lross3B, artists without vocation, and equally irresponsible and most affable people of family. In such a. scene is tho blitro and amusing romance (of "The Bello of Brittany" developed. The story of this latest musical comedy from tho repertoire of Messrs Clarke and Mcryncll, produced at Hie Majesty's Theatre last evening, is of gossamer quality, but Borves admirably to link together a sequence of tho brightest musical and humorous onisodes. rho vivacity and merriment of tho production aro not to bo resisted. It it) liberally interspersed with musical numbers for both principals and chorus, many of them of charming quality,' and on the humorous sido in counterbalance is characterised by genuino drollery and much that is farcical. Why millors' daughters should bo so provorbinlly fascinating has yet to bo explained l . At anyrato, Babctto, tha pretty heroine of the piece, is tho daughter o£ Miller Poquolin and nia amiablo spouse. Tlic day fixed for her wedding with Baptisto Boubillon, tho famous Parisian chef, whom she has not yet seen, has arrived, and the air ie full of festive preparations. At such a critical moment tho old legendary village trysting■trco tako3 a hand in the game, for under its shade, while tho convent bolls aro pealing, Babotto meets young Raymond, 6on of tho Marquis do St. Gautier, a circumstance which proves quite fatal to the chances of the great culinary artiet. Tho marquis, when ho sees tho trend of ovente, creates some uproar, but pecuniary considerations havo a pacific effect and everything develops swimmingly. In fact, tho good humour of overybody is positively contagious. In tlw second aot tlic chateau of tlio marquis is represented on fot?, and tho handsome interior depioted l furnishes a suitable environment for costume display and happoningß contrasting with and elaborating those of tho tirst act. "Tlio Bello of Brittany," full of light, laughter, and liveliness as it is, gives tho company presenting it excellent opportunity appearing to advantage Tho production does tho company thorough credit. Considerable interest attached to the appearance of Miss Winifred O'Connor in tho rojo of Babotto. And Miss O'Connor realised expectations. Her singing •and acting wore alike meet pleasing. The possessor of an agreeable and flexible soprano voioo, which sho uses vory effectively, she carried off tho vocni honours of the production. Tho taking ballad "Daffodil time m Bnttany." enhanced by the oliorus, was.a delightful contribution, while later on in tho ballad "Tho dawn of lovo" Miss 0 Connor carolled in tho highor flight of song with admirable ease and fluency.' A particularly charming number, too, in which sho participated! with Mr Thorley, was the "Stepping-etono" duet. Aito. gether, Misa O'Connor mil be remembered as almost natural, fresh, and melodious Babette. Tho biggest part in tho piooo is that of tho Marquis, .who is portraved as a very gay old dog, indeed. In hV impersonation Mr Tom Walls carries almost tho wholo burden of the humour of tho comody on his shoulders, tho capability of wJiioh i<i however, quite eqwJ to flfe occasion Marquis ie an irresistibly droll and diverting/ not to say disropulabte, representative of ancestral lineage, and kept the audience in a. perpetual simmer of amusement. Especially entertaining vjas tho comedian in his presentment of tho Marquis as a vocalist. The romantic ballad, "If love's flame you'd kindle-sing to him, in which the Marqire endeavours to instruct his ward m the amatory art, was tho cleverest of burlesques, and tho absurd measure which tho Maoris troads with Madame Poquelin at the ohoteou comedy of the richest onfcr. Mr Harold Thorley as lUymond sustained a prominent part in excellent stylo. He mndo good use of his vooal opportunities, m'nkhß a special success of the ballad, "The kingdom of a woman's lhairt," and'his acting was easy and natural. Baptisto the Che' is a. character.somewhat of tho lypc of Thackcmys Mirobolent As impersonated by Mr aarice Stone this lacked something on the humorous side, perhaps, but whs otherwise satisfactory. Tiro Chef contributes one or two bright songs with charm, and w association with Miss Bennetto, as maid to the Marqiiis. Mr Stone participated in some very acceptable danc ing. Mr Fred Winn imparted d*y humour to the part of the old miller, and Mss JNellio Ka\ajiagh was very happy in the role of Madame Poquelin. Aβ Comte \ letoro, an excruciating of Dandy and capital foil to tho Marqtiis, Mr P Cory was decidedly amusing, while Mdss J'lorenro Qiimn presented a graceful stajra figure as tho dignified MdEo. Doniw, ward to tho Marquis, and contributed largely to the success of one of tho most doli"htfiil of the concerted numbers, "Tho <ountry mice, supported by a sestette of very demure young ladies. A numbor of other parts woro adequately sustained, and a very bright spot in the production was the graceful dnnco contributed" by Miss Marguerite Lcroy in tho second act, which would not havo discredited' the imperishaNe Carmen herself. The chorus has eomo excellent vocal opportonitios, and tho ensemble at the close of. tho first iicl was' a musical feature of tho piece, given with stimulating •effort. "The Bejlo of' Brittany," like- its predecessor, is lavishly and beautifully staged, and was rcco'ived with marked _ appreciation by tho audience, recalls being numerous. The season will be brought / a close this evening with a final production of " Tho Bello of Brittany." FULLERS' PICTURES. -. . Tho enterprising firm of' John . Fuller and Sons keeps tho publio well supplied with batches of now and interesting pictures twice a week, and, one of tho ciiango nights being Monday,' tho latest tones was produced last evening, mceiinjr with the usual strong expression of approval.' Thn now lot of pictures is in mett icepects quite on a. level with those previously seen, and is judiciously vajicd in charac-. ter. The pictures to whicn prominence may bo given aro: *' Tho Land of tho Brahmins," '" Wintor TiafEo in Stcck-I holiii/' "A Seminole's Sacrifice," "I'Ming in tho Adriatic," und, of course,'" A Talo of Two Cities," which lias found such favour with patrons that ij was thought advisable by the management to retain it for a few nights longer. It is really a very lino set ot films tout a used to place tho salient points in Charles Uickons's interesting story fceicro tho spectators, albeit there is a touch of the gruesome about ono or two of tho pitcurcs. The scenes in India are very wojl placed on tho screon, and there is, outaido tho views of places in tho Indian Empire, several depictions that give an insight into the customs of the rativo inhabitants. Tho pictures of tho Swedish city of Stockholm aro exceedingly interesting, and consist principally of views of the waterway of the port, to a great extent in an icebound condition. ."A Semir.olo's Sacrilico " is, as the titlq indicates, a stoiy.of the Red Man—in this easo a chief named Hod Jacket, who is prepared to offer himself up to the American soldiery to save his tribe. A featw-o of this lot of pictures is tho splendid horsemanship of tho Indian chief.. The method of netting fish in the Adriatic is excellently'placed before the spectators, tho operation being entirely a manual 01:0. " Weeding Sella " illustrates how tha daughter of a wealthy, but not too generous, man i 3 struck down with illrueas through a reluctance to make J lmbitablu and sanitary an' Italian flower 1 tiers peer toneinont, infection being convcyod through tho medium of the Mowers. There are several amusing pictures in the new-prograiiiiiuv " Foolshead as a Telegraph Messenger" being one of the most diverting. Tho other two aro "Max and His Mother-in-law" and. "A Mix-up," both of which aro amusing. In an acceptable programme of music, the orchestra played tlio overture to "Rigo!otto" in a way that was worth hearing, though it passed unnoticed. The same scries of picj tares will bo presented to-night. ! KING'S THEATRE. J Ruby Wallace and Little Willio made a I reappearance at the above theatre la-st I evening, and, tfiough those vyere tho only I changes in the artists from theso appeari ing thorp last week, th© various items ' given were quite new in the change oi •programme, and 1 received unstinted applause from a largo audience. Tho minstrel first part contained many bright selections, nnd the corner-men provoked plenty of laughter by their comicalities and quaint asides. In the second pait Jack Kcarns nnd Ida Rossiyn gave a fine comedy turn, and in their topical vertes quifco brought down the house, their entire budget being exhausted before they v.'ero allowed to Icavo the-stage. - Miss Essio JonninKH, swig ''Jii3t idlo dreams," and an imperative encore; while the Kolt'o Boys put on sovoral new juggling turns, tho precision with which tho.v taruw plntc.s, clubs, nnd l»lle from cne to another Bud wont through other foata of lnlineing provWinK t moro than usually exoollent turn, Iho Lowta Trio proved most su«irjiaful In thtiv pouf- " Sunny Ceylon," and flip porforaonoo concluded with a SCTDr.ining furoc, "Tho Asylum," the voriouß parts boir.g tok"n by Misse3 Idc

Eosslvn, Vora Kearae, and Jessie Lee, and Messrd Tim Howard, George Sparkee, and Jiick Koirria, In addition, an excel!«nt little dramatic story was given per medium of the biograph. The programme will bo repeated iliia evening. HAYWARD'S PICTURES. There was & good audience at tho Barns Hall last night, when ceveral additions were made to the new programme pre-, Edited on Saturday. Tho meet notable of these was Dickens's "Talo of Two Cities," whioh is of a very impressive character. Tho characters in this ore superbly acted and richly dressed, and but for tho ab- , sonco of sound tho onlooker might suppose himsolf before real live actors. Tho rest of the programme- is gocd, and has already been doscribod. For to-night a novelty is promised in tho shape of graphophono reproductions of songa by Caruso and Constantino. Theso ore sure to bo excellent, as these eminent tenore exaot targe fees, end thfceo would bo wasted by cheap records. Tho songs to bo rendered include " Among the fair throng and "Don Sebastian. THE GLASGOW THEATRE. The late Eouth Dunedin Town Hall was patronised by, an appreciative audience last evening, whon (lie lirst night's programmo was repented.. Tho "Veil of Happiness," a Chir.aso drama, represented in Patho Fror« colour cinematography, is ono of tho star pictures in a first-class programme, and is full of pathctio interest. A blind Mandarin is under tho blissful bolief that ho is surrounded by a faithful and affectionate spouse and a loving son arid household, but is undeceived when, for a brief period, his eyesight is restored, and ho awakens-to tho duplioity and unfaithfulness with which ho is encompassed, and in a fit of frenzy destroys his eyesight for 'over rathor than endure what ho has been compelled to behold. Thfcro will bo 3. change of programmo to-morrow evening,. when a now machine—the very latest modal— will bo installed. The orchestra deserves & word of commendation for its share in providing a good two hours entertainment • ARCADIA PICTURES. Tho Arcadia Pictures at Cargill's'Corner were again exhibited last evening to an appreciative house. The films are all of a good class, and -tho Bcreenjng is excellent and the musio good. To-night a complete now programme will be presented. Several now American photo, plays are included l in • the new programmo, including " Tho Redskin's Secret," an Indian drama by the famous Bison Company, end enacted by real Indians. .There will also bo a fdesh budget of New Zealand views. AFTERNOON CONCERTS, , Tho first of n. soriee of afternoon concerts for tho year given by the Girls' Club of ■ St. John'e • parish, Boslyn, was hold in tho parish hall on Saturday afternoon, and ■ proved vory successful. Mr A. Washer acted as chairman. The programme consisted of a pianoforte rolo by Mr Pacoy, violin eolo by Miss Todd, quartet by Mrs Payne, Miss Fleotrwood, Miss Thompson, and\Miss A. Hill Jack, end songs by Mrs Todd, Misa K. Carter, and Messrs Romorill, Blackie, and Haggitt, all of whioh wero. highly appreciated l . In tho interval after-' noon tea was served, and a dance brought tho afternoon's proceedings to a successful close "THE PRINCE AND THE BEGGAR MAID." ..- • "The Prince and the. Beggar Maid" is said to havo oil the qualifications in the r shapo of setting, raiment, -and' highlj-. coloured romantio effects to ensure popularity with a large section of theatregoers. Tho playgoers for whom Mr Anderson caters can always rely on a dish weJl spiced; with l stirring incident and coated with good wholesome morals. "The Prince and the Beggar Maid" fulfils all these essentials. Tlio fine staging and effective scenery, the gorgeous dressing, and the all-round excellence of the company have combined towards the complete success of this romantio dVama. In the mounting of the production somo beautiful scenic pictures aro presented, notably tho battlements in- the second act, with its pretty perspective, and) th-3 interior of tho cathedral. The box plan for 1 the opening performance is at the Dresden, . . ■■•..•