THEATRICAL TRUTHS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2250, 15 April 1897, Page 39

THEATRICAL TRUTHS.

(From Quiz.) Listen to the tale I'm going to tell you, It happened in a city far away, That long ago has bust up, So you needn't kick the dust up If I skip it's name and call it city A——. This city vised to like a little gaiety, Tho' as a rule it was a trifle deadIt could bo;i3t a cyclorama, And went in a bit for drama At a theatre, and we'll call the theatre Z— To that theatre came a dainty little dancer, Her name— l mean her Christian name— was May, Her prancing and her dancing Were excessively entrancing, And she paralysed the citiztns of A—^, Now amongst them was a la-di-dayoung Johnnie, For saf ety sake I'd better call him Fred, And that dancer danced so sweetly That she won his heart completely, And each night he went to see her at the Z— — . One night he went in search of introduction, And he somehow got Limself up on the stage, But, alas ! too long he'd tarried, For he found that May was married, And he tore his hair in agony and rage. As he Btood there, looking awfully- dejected, It happened that the manager came round, And he made that poor young chappie Look excessively unhappy When his carcase 'mid the scenery he found. Now some managers I know are very pleasant, But it's not so with the lessee of the Z— — ) He's a mannerless old Barbarian, Whom all A had quite a " dairy " on, ! Aud gome very nasty, horrid things he said.

The Johnnie looked extremely dfocpiicettecT, And hastily did cart himself a-.Yn*y i Upon that night he ponders, And nowadays ho wanders Disconsolate about the streets of A . Dear Bis,— The girls of Maoriland are following the example set by Mrs Globe-Brown-Potter-Trotter of parting the hair on one sido. — Jiblet Gullivan, Bsq. Elsie Adair's Vaudeville Company of Entertainers (direct from New York), en route round the world via China, Japan, and India, opened its Australian tour at Adelaide Bijou, April 3. The show includes Miss Elsie Adair, a serpentine dancer of repute ; Hugh J. Emmet t, a clever ventriloquist and violinist, whom the Orient press term Emmettthe Great ; Mdlle Vivienne Dagmar, a chanteux eccentric with English aud American reputation ; Percy Clifton, Mi-s Marion Heatb, Mr William Hoffman, Mr Lionel Willis, aud Mr Walter B. Vanderlip, busines manager. Alfred Dampier aud Company are in Westralia. Mies Julia Merton and Lachlan M'Gowan left the company in Adelaide and returned to Melbourne. Marie Saqui sails for London on April ]0. The Australian team— Delohery, Oraydon, and Holland,— through Maoriland laßt year, have been in partnership 10 years. Miss Regiua Nagel, who warbled "Ben Bolt" in " Trilb*'," is the principal attraction at Coolgardie Mechanic*' Institute, now under the management of King Hedley. "Why is it that managers have such a strong disinclination to include mimics among their " variety" people? In London Miss Cissy Loftus aud one or two other imitators are among the higher-salaried stars of the music hall and the extravaganza ; aud though we may have no Cissy Loftuses iv this country, we certainly have several remarkably good mimics. Mr Albert Whelan, who is at Sydney Lyceum, gives the most faithful imitations of actors and musical instruments. Better mimicry than Mr Garden Wilson's of the "Trilby" Company, from Svengall's laugh to Little Billee's unboyish protestations, could scarcely be done. And Mr Frank Hawthorn is a capital phonograph of actors whom every Australian playgoer has heard. None of these clever young gentlemen over aeeni to get eugugements of anj permanency, however, though whenever they d-> casually get a chance to play at a matinee benefit they invariably prove very popular. Hither than them, managers will engage dull players and purveyors of moth-eaten jokes ti'orn the Knglish provinces The ordinary vsriety I'ntcrtairtwent becomes los^ and less popular for want of some <speck of variety in it. No •'or,)>b tho serio comic: ladies, whom Miss Maggie Moore « e<\ >o .ies'cyibo at "ch?ouic serios, ' th« black-faced come'liiw n who resurrect the joke 3 our gruuJ?>itheii> heard, 'tit infants, the artist with a sons '>rul d*nci: provocative of yawning, and the rost of the ordinary "variety" eompiny stre well enough in their way ; but it will not [>i- toned good policy, perhaps, to hand the whole stage over to them. An occasional flash of novelty tuoh as a " turn " by a e'ever imitator would brighten up the bill •md possibly keep ft number of people awake. — Telegraph. \ Mr O. I*. Weefcinacfct w.ih tendered a conipliireutary teatiinonJaJ 1 nmf.inte at Sydney. sth. Among thoaij who sonlributed to tho bill were tho members of Williamson aud Musgrovo'.s " Ma'iAa" Con\pany, KiclK.tt.Vs Palace and Tivoli (JomponieF, Frank Th Anton's Company, and a! host of uninical tmd dramatic talent. OhaTl'.>3 Godfrey clo^ei his Australian tour at Sydney on the 3rd, on. which date he received 11 j b».4t-a-bit. j At Sj-riney Tivoli on on thp 3rd, Charles God- ] fiey (through Maoriland IS%), ir.hnny Cclema.n, > E'lward GranvilK Fred Duncan, Bert Bradley, ] Charles W. CokUI (through Muorilaiul in 18i)3), \ Popu aud ttayle*, IJarry Fit.iinaurice (through j JTacrilauU in 18P6), Alice Conway and Edward Ciarke, Le&lie Brcs. (through Mnovilaiul with Hugo), Alias Rae Ouvrtm (through with Frank Claik 1«91). Ada Baker (through with Charles Godfrey), Alice Leamar (in Maoiiiaurl with the Lounem-Couyers (Uiety Oonwany 18i)3>, Amy lJewnurat, and Minnie Goepel. Lyla Thompson ("the girl with the Lavender Kay twar.g"), Tom Edwards, and Sam Wilson ("the Welsh Karp"), who word through Maoriland with Hamilton and TjJriwards's Vaudevilles iv 1894, fill in Sunday with the Maacofcte Variety Comcmy af; Coogee Aqiurium. Why <ioo3 not thrs Tivoli management annihilate Alice Leamar if she does not show morn discrhaiuation in the selection of her qonga? Somo I of them would even shock the ear of a hardened ciitic. — Arrow. Writing ou tho same subject a correspondent says :— " I should like to draw your ! attention, and ako that of the general public, to tho demoralising-— in fact, I may say insulting — tone of soino of the songs sung in one or two of our leading theatre*, especially those relating to Govemhie'.it appointments. You would think that the managers could fiud some other subject to areuw the public than by ieaaiag them to despi:<e decent, respectable pi of esiion?, by oilly, ribald son*?, with uetther sense nor truth in theia." Syduay bills, 3/4/07 : "Mat&a," at Her Majesty'?; "!Sw«et Lavewler," at tbe Giititricu; llickcrJs'a Varieties at P^lacnand Tivali. 'I wo Sydney tlieatrof,, the Koyal nnd the Lyceum, gave up the struggle va*hev suddenly at the cad of last weet. Svestmivcoit, ex-man.iger of the Royal, &ets aa influential benefit ther.j next Monday af'^eiuoun (April 5) ; Bracy, tbtj Lyceum cx-raanager, dossu'fc get anything in pfe.rticuli.1 1 . The experience 'if the last two jcjk shows clearly that Sydney can't keep four theatre.-! and two variety Miowfl sjoing at oucj ; out of ths six, it gem-rally happens that two arc utterly hopeless, aud on a or two nm-e are doing very moderate business, whilo one, and only one, is booming. Tv.o theatiei* uevir hooui vjvilently at Liic samn ttmr.- now; tho hi^t-irial isn't available. Sornatimes there iin't any lioom at all, i,c the femblaiica of one. V/ju-ther the theatrical fco^t that hiie bf-en stoiidily settliu;: down ou Sydney for tho iast fi#e yeara is litpl ectviag harder or whether i', i« as hard as it is Hkety to be is an unaoivable question. M-«n while a lot of public "yrapAthy and very JiUle pnLlv: coiti goes with Hracy, -wyhose piec-tss wov* '.vell-s' a^etl, »vcllplayed, and in ev^ry v^ay deaorvin^ of snnporfi. though somehow tho 'uppoxt consistently otaycii awajr. The Itoyal id expected to open again shortly unde; new mauaewvnent, but no news of any new lessee for tho Lyceum in to hand. -Bulletin. Melbourne phows, 3/i/97 : " Prisonsr of Zsniln," Princess; "A Woman's Reviuge 1 ' (Holt Company), Royal ; BrvTugh Con-.piriy, at Bijou ; Rickard&'s Variety Company, Ope*"* Hou3O. A Maoriland correspondent writes to a Sydney paper as follows :— '' Edwin G^acli, juu. (his ff the golden locks), now managing Oar) Hertz's Maoriland tour, shortly, so it is rumouiei?, eevera his connection with the theatrical profession, and intends to settle with his brother (who iu^enaA practising at the law) in Westralia. I have th'j rumour on the best authority, but I don't believe it (not the authority, but the rumour)."— Youra tiuly, t Bis. Poverty Point.