“WHITE HORSE INN”

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22831, 16 March 1936, Page 10

“WHITE HORSE INN”

AN ARTISTIC TRIUMPH ENTHUSIASTIC FIRST NIGHT A packed house at His Majesty 6 Theatre on Saturday night signified by enthusiastic acclaim that tbc J. C. Williamson mangacment bad done all that it had promised when it announced the season of “While Horse Inn. lirom first to hist it was an evening to delight the simple and satisfy the sophisticated the high-water mark of musical comedy. Its appeal was proved by the regretful sigh evoked by its effective but enforced ilotie. it was 10 minutes past 11, but no one was ready to go home. What an enchanting show it is! No play with music this, but musical comedy proper in all its blessed nothingness, Fipst the score —there was not a phrase, not a bar, not a note of its music that the audience did not want to hear again, and this being so, the battle was more than half won. But this near victory did not absolve the producer from doing his share, which Mr S. Albert Locke valiantly performed. The scenery was about the loveliest seen on the stage in Dunedin for a decade. And the costuming was better, if that were possible The settings were superb. They were not what Joe Gargery would call too architectooralooral,” for the designer had added a touch of delightful imagination and originality to the impressive Tyrolean beauty. The alpine backgrounds seem to bring the scent and feel of the mountains through the open windows, and everyone seemed to fit in perfectly. The show is full of tiny strokes of admirable craftsmanship and touches of real brilliance which give it distinction. It is staged with perfect taste, which prevents its lavishness from descending at any time into mere extravagant display of the “Roberta” variety. In fact the best feature of the piece is its mounting. In this latest and finest example of spectacular musical comedy, the J. C. Williamson Company has recognised old tradition and at the same time discovered new glamour. Or perhaps it would be fairer to say that Mr Locke has done it. His part in the whole thing is that of the connoisseur in beauty ns distinct from spectacle. It is a distinction Hollywood has not completely mastered even y 0^ In tjie nature of the thing there could not be much real acting, but there is fair opportunity for a favoured few. Such playing as is possible falls to the lot of Miss Romo] a Hansen. Air Herbert Browne, Mr Don Nicol, Mr Alfred I'nth, and Miss Miriam Lester. Miss Hansen gives a delightful exhibition of wayward charm. There is more art behind that smiling face than the casual spectator might imagine from an experience of her as Josepha. The part is not one in which she can shine to the top of her bent, but she made the very most of it. She breathes energy and accomplishes a lot by sheer personality. And, of course, she sings delightfully But even the musical scoi’e makes small demands on her considerable talent. Still ‘ White Horse Inn ’’ would have been very ditferent without so charming a chatelaine. Mr Herbert Browne seems to improve in both voice and manner as he grows older. He was excellent ns Sutton, and he _ sang his lyrics with expression and meaning. His wooing, however, has more intelligence in it than emotion. It always had. He, like Miss Hansen, has had better parts, but he has never done anything better. Mr Don Nicol’s Leopold was undoubtedly one of the successes of the show. Audiences like him, and well they might. There is a tremendous, and infectious verve about his characterisations. He has seldom been better served by a role than he is on this occasion. He has style and mannerism which, permit him. though a waiter, to look like a love god and abjure mnwkisliness. His singing fits his acting admirably. Mr Alfred I rith s was a welcome reappearance. He had many friends in Saturday night’s house, and he made many more. His Ginkle was a good study, well in the traditional slapstick style, which is still a greater force and asset in the legitimate stage than a great manv players seem to think. Miss Miriam Lester was prettily demure as Ginkle s daughter, and coyly responsive to Mi Browne’s special variety of advances. Mr Colin Orane presented a winning portrait of the Hapsburg Emperor, investing it with genuine neatness and polish. A whirlwind type of comedy, compounded of high-pitched giggle, flying limbs and rollinir eyes, won Mr Alban Mack a *ot oi favour, and young Master Grieves os Piccolo was very good. The whole cast welds itself into a mosaic of good performance, and the chorus acts throughout ns though it knew what the show is about, which is so unlike a chorus. It lias an enormous task, but it succeeds, because singing, dancing or just jumping around, it acts as one person. Their costumes are a triumph of imaginative tone blending. Positive or negative, bright or sombre, the colours are exquisitely mingled, with the result that every ensemble is a picture. Added to this was realism to provide the final touches of artistry. Goats and waterfalls, smoking chimneys and twinkling window lights, to say nothing of bovine performers of the most intelligent kind, are all numbered among the delights ot the piece. The musical numbers, like the cast, are far too numerous to deal with in detail, but they must all be pleasurable memories for those who heard them. “It Would Be Wonderful,” sung by Miss Hansen and Mr Nicol, was delightful, and there was real merit in “ In Salzkammorgut." in which Miss Hansen led the chorus and Ginkle through a romp. “ Your Eyes ” found Mr Browne in great voice, but “ You, Too,” was even better. Miss Lester made up . the duet in both. “ The Waltz Song ” and “ Fairies ” were also well received, and “ Sigismund ” won Mr Alack a lot of applause. Miss Hansen’s fragment, “In This Fickle World,” was full of charm. lie Legionary,” however, was the riot of the night, with its chorus of waiters, big and small, fat and thin. It was greeted with round after round of applause, ami had to be repented. Lighting is one of the features of the show, and the music, which is under the direction of Mr Harry Burton, is one of the contributory factors to one oi the best first nights for years. Only with a revolving stage could such a production bo adequately presented, and although the device is working effectively all night, it is not until the end of .the evening that a real demonstration of it is given." The glimpse provided roused the audience to one of the most enthusiastic displays of appreciation seen here tor many years. BOX PLAN ARRANGEMENTS J. C. Williamson, Ltd., announces that plans will be opened this morning tor next Saturday night and the two lost nights of the season, which must definitely terminate on March 24. The performance to-night will commence at 8 o’clock sharp, and will terminate at II pm. The doors will bo opened at 7 o’clock. Ticket sales to all parts ot the house will be at the D.1.C., and also at the Rialto from 9 o’clock this morning. The first matinee of the season will take place on Wednesday, when the performance will be exactly the same as in the evening. Special prices have been arranged, and children will be admitted at half-price to all parts of the bouse.