AUSTRALIAN STAGE GOSSIP.

Otago Witness, Issue 2241, 11 February 1897, Page 39

AUSTRALIAN STAGE GOSSIP.

(Specially Written for the Otjlgo Witness.) ' Dear Pasquin,— Ctrl Hertz, tho cleverest conjurer that baa y«si visited A ust.raKsia, will shortly ", tako a dying trip through MnoriUad, opening i in Auckland lato in February or early in March. ( Theatre-goers throughout Maoriiand will re- ; member thia wonderfully clevHr conjurer when he visited the Land of the Moa with Freddy Mason, the Fairy Four, and others, who were greeted with packed houses everywhere they appeared. Amongst his many new illusions is that of Noah's , Ark, which haa already been fully described in ■, this column. The comiog tour will be under the ! inauagatnent of " the two whitest men in front" — L. J. Lohv and Kdwin Geach, jun., the latter ; being in advance Nutf sed. Madame Emily Soldeue returned from London ' per Cuzco, 20th, and from an interview with an ' Evening News representative I take the follow- ! ing:—" George Edwardes ii likely to stage 'The Geisha' in Australia. It is the height of luxury in artistic effect. It is a beautiful piece, delightfully improved, and will take in Australia, being light and sparkling, like our climate, and with plenty of pretty girls dressed to suit the climate. The latest bon'-bouche is that Mr Favren Soutar, son of Nellie Farren, h<ts broken his engagement to Mary Kate Cutler, because of the intervention of Mr Charles Ryley respecting some of his Australian coups. I was present at Drury Lane Theatre at the reception of Mrs Keily, on her ninetieth birth- • day. They say the shades of the late Sir Augustus Harris arc still seen directing and prompting from his old stand in the Queen's Box There is nothing new theatrically in London since the opening of the Irving season. Ellen Terry is at Monte Carlo. Ouv representative singer is ; Madame Melba. I pride myself on having predicted her success four years ago. Now it is an accomplished fact There really is none to approach her in the highest walk of her art. Italian , opera will be produced by a syndicate in London aud New York under one manager, Maurice Grau. • Having the monopoly, this will prevent singers running up their figures. Adelina Patti was under contract to sing for Colonel Mapleson, but after his failure she promised to sing for him if he would cancel her contract, and did s-o at the ' Barber of Seville ' matinee, netting £1400. I met Mr Geo. Musgrove in London, and he asked, 'How long ate you going to stay in Sydney?' I replied, ' Until they turn me out.' •Sardou's five-act play "La Tosca," which ths Potter- Bellew Company are playing on their present Maoriland tour, was last played in Maori- * t land by the George Darrell Dramatic Company at Dunedin Princess Theatre, July 1895. For the benefit of 'gram collectors I givu the two ; casts : — * PoTTEB.-BnLi.F.w Com- Daiiheli. Company, pany, 1897. 1895. Kyrle Bellew ... Baron Scarpm ... G. Darrell C Keightly... M*rio Cavaradoßsi ... C. Dobson O. M. Berkeley... Cezare Angelotti J. B. Atholwool Mrs B. Potter ... La Tosca ... Harrie Ireland Linda Raymond.. .Mario Carolina... Miss F. Gill The Dairell cast also included Fred C*mbourne, George 11. Ireland, Barrie Marschel, Will \ Gleinow, J. B. Patterson, J. Byrue. They played as an afterpiece tho one-act fairy tale ' "Under the Spell." Sergeant Plock B. Marachel Harpigon J. B Pattersort Simon Fred Cambourne Timothy Will Clemow Roger ... „ .Limes Byrne •Maggie B-*saie Colv>lle Old Lady Fitzinaurice Gill Clairette Isabel Stuart Sydney shows, 23/1/97 :—" True Irish Hearts" stt Lvcuum, "Tommy Atkins" at tha Royal, ".Sinbacl the Sailor" (.second edition) at Her Majesty's, " A Woman's il»a&on " ac the Criterion, Goati-her's Variety Coinp.iuy at thu Palace, Kidcards's Variety Coiupauv a« the Tivoit". , Melbourne bh<->ws. S)/l/97 :— " Mat«a" at tho Princess, "For England" vi the Hoy *l. " Adven- ■ tures of Miss Brown " at the Bijou, llickards's Variety Company at the Opera Hondo, " Not ' Guilty " at Her Majesty's (late Alexandra). | Alf Lawton's All Nations Company, now in their fifth week at Brisbane Gaiety, includes the Sisters Mayfield (who since their trip through Maoriland som* months back haye acquired the "questionable accomplishment" of turning C*therinn wheel*), Eileen Leslie, Nellie Ridgeway, Professor Barton, Andy Martin, DanTracey, and Mons Emil La-ceru. Florence Young's marriage vrith the new-chum admirer is now said to be "off," while her engagement with an Auckland medico is "verymuyh oif." I " Charles F. M'Carthy might justly claim to be as fine a female impersonator as any actor who has visited Australia for many years."— Ex. May Pollard's glittering Btagc jewels are a feature of " Matsa." The.s'e are her own personal props— a present from her brother in ladia— and Miss May feels worth at le3st a million sterling when she appears with 'em all on. — Bulletin. Charles Godfrey acted a* best nun at John C. Leete's marriage to Miss Juanita Alvorado (prefesaionally known as Nita Clark-, a Sydney Tivoli ballad singrr), daughter of Juan Alvorado, burgeon, of (ivy's Hospital, London. ..."Miss Frances Ro«s ha3littla hi3trionic talent." —Melbourne Champion. Mons. Emil Lazern is b*ck from Londing, and made a successful re-appearance in Australia with Alf Lawton's All Nations Company at Brisbane Gaiety latt week. Dan Barry at the c-.nclusion of his Queensland tour intends visiting MaoriUnd. On the last nieht of hia Brisbane season Dan returned thanks for thenatronage accorded to his co»fr»»y during the

eu*on Hi? remaiks worn of the U"ial sc'v so-'l ana taffy order of moss inan&guy, nn f l vrieulw referred to Brisbane as the most beautiful city iv the colonios, sarcastic, tittars went round the theatre. One of the "ijods" ironically asked Daniel to "Pull his leg," another told Dan to " Get off his foot," and another ejaculated "Dicken." Queensland Sportsman believes that Dan's private opinion of Brisbane is that it is a " dead " little hole. One thing the Sportsman is grateful for is that he did not produce "East Lyune," alias "The Wo men's Weep," during his Brisbane season. Nat Goodwin on his arrival in San Francisco from Australia was interviewed. Most of the interview is taken up with a discussion about Mr Goodwin's domestic infelicities and the progress of a divorce case in which he is concerned. The flippant reporter thus describes Mr Goodwin's appearance: — "Goodwin is the same gay, irresponsible, carrot- topped fellow that he was when be went away. His matrimonial prnburrassmeuls | have not aged hi:.i iv the icust." Of bis thu^i : veal I fii.nerience in Australia Nat Goodwin &jys :— ■ "O.»r artistic, success in Australia was phenomenal. We didn't lose any money — in fact, we ; made a little; and our last night was an ovation. You c&u sing to theie people, you can dance to them, but for heavon's sake don't talk to them. They are insular. They don't understand American humour, and they don't want to. The critics give U9 fulsome praiae, but I might as well have posted the -name' John Jonea' as my own, for they'd never heard of such a person. Flattering, j wasn't it? Their papers do^ not publish much ' American news." Mr Goodwin is writing a book which is autobiographical in tone, and will be entitled " A Shock of Auburn Hair." " Ob, I have to write it," he said, " though I hate tbe labour ; but I'm defending-myself. It's my only chanco to get even." One of the mosc effective act 3in "For England," Bland Holt's latest production, is act i, in v/bich a fox hunt is introduced, hound 3 and hunters (mounted, among which .are several j ladies) taking hedges, hurdles, and water-jumps with reckless disregard for life and limb, winding up with a most picturesque tableaux "the death." Another striking scene is the fight : between the Boers and the British trooxjs, horse- | men and foot engaging in deadly conflict with a '< fidelity to detail that is actually startling in its realism. Of tho ten scenes in Suttan Vane's fouiact melodrama "W. B. Spong is responsible for live and John Brunt'in for two. Charles Marlowe's aud Robert Buchanan's threeact farcical comedy, " The Strange Adventures of Miss Brown," is a_ delightful bit of fooling, and though smacking in parts of one or two previous productions, has as much originality a* the modern melodramas, which are nearly all built on the foundation of the old-timers. Mr Frank Thornten's assumption of the new woman is a mirthprovoking travesty, and provocative of any amount of amusement ; and tbe situations are weir* worked-up to a climax that ends satisfactorily, which, if bordering on the improbable, attains the object of the authors and actors in furnishing two hours and a-half's genuine healthy fun, to which the ladies and gentlemen who suppoit the principals add excellent artistic assistance. Connie and Ina "Pollard," in Calcutta with the Pollard Juvenile Opera Company, are daughters of Major Milne, mechanist at Melbourne Royal. " A Woman's Reason," by C. H. Brookfield and F. G. Phillips, was produced for the first time in Australia by tho Brough Comedy Company on Saturday, January 23. — Ynurs truly, Poverty Point, January 29. Bis.