THEATRICAL AND MUSICAL NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2257, 3 June 1897, Page 39

THEATRICAL AND MUSICAL NOTES.

Br Pasquin.

Tuesday, June 1. • , • The child mimic, Phyllis Perrier, starts a short country tour, opening at Kaitangata and Balolutba next Saturday and Monday nights, and following with Milton, Lawrence, and Mosgiel. The Perriers, being numerically a email combination, are thus enabled to give the residents in the country districts a taste of the game interesting novelty that has met with such success in the cities of New Zealaud and Australia, and they are usually awarded amply for their enterprise by full and appreciative houses, and my circle of friends in the country may certainly go far before they will get such another night's amusement or meet such an interesting child as Phyllis Perrier. The little girl has made many friends in Donedin, proviug herself nob only remarkably clever, but winning the hearts of all by her natural, unaffected ways and warm-heartedness. • . • The matinee given in the City Hall on Saturday afternoon by Phyllis Perrier was fairly well atteuded. the doubtful appeirance of the weather being quite a sufficient cause to account for there nob being a larger audience. The programme was mainly on the lines of those given in evenings during the week, and was heartily enjoyed by the children amongst those preseut. • . • Although exceedingly cold weather prevailed on Saturday night there was a very fair attendance at the Garrison Hall, when another myrioramic entertainment was given by the Fuller Company, assisted by some local amateurs. • . • " The Firm " have decided to send a specialty company through New Zealand on a flying tour. Only the centres will be visited, and the season in each town will be limited to six nights. The tour begins at Auckland, aud the Dueedin dates are July 12 to July 17. • . • Mr W. J. M'Lauchlin, formerly of Dunedin, and a brother of Mr A. M'Lauchlin, of the Napier Telegraph Office, is under a six' months' engagement to the London Gaiety Company as principal tenor, and is now in South Africa. His stage name is Keith Macklin. • . • A private letter received in Christchurch report? that Mr Bland Holt plays in Melbourne till July 23. Then he goes to Brisbane for a month, afterwards sailing for New Zealand. The tour will cemmenae in Dunedin on September 25. The writer states that Mr Chris Simonsen, for so long manager for Mr Holt, is running a livery stable business in Melbourne. • . • Mr R. B. Bannister, the New Zealand representative for Messrs Williamson and Mmgrove, has received, ifc is stated, a cabla message from the firm inptrecting him to grant no more licenses to New Zealand amateurs to perform any of the operas of which they hold the rights. It is understood that permission will not be granted on auy terms whatever. The firm has taken this decided stand in consequence of the failure of amateur societies to comply with a request .to charge a higher price for admission to their performances. The effect of the locii societies charging a lower rate for admission than th« professional companies has been that the firm's firs.t-class and expensive companies have suffered in the competition with the local performers. • . • Miss Roland Watts-Phillips, of the George Rignold Company, sends me' the following interesting note: — "Dear Pasquin, — I have been reading 'Bis's 1 sketch in your last issue, in which the writer mentions the production of. the ' Lights o' London ' by Messrs MscMahon and Leitch's company in New Zealand. The original compauy was sent by" Mr George Rig- ! nold some 12 years ago, uuder direction of I Messrs Mac Donald, Carey, and Walton. Mr I Rignold himself was unable to come, as he went to London to manage a* London theatre. The late Frank Cateß was Harold, and I took the part .of (the original in Australia* and New Zealand) Be«s. The la-e J. R Greviile was in the character of Jarvia, Flora .Austead, Mrs Jarvis ; Alice Wooldridge, Cliakespeare Jarvis ; W. G. Carey, Scth Preene ; Harry Walton. Clifford Armytage ; Eaiily Fitzroy, Hetty Preene. The play was a huge success. We toured for » length of tjmo New Zealand with only that drama aud - 'Youth.' Nowaday* the public seem mors bla*6, and require constant chauge, and the manager finds it often diffienlt to keep pace with the 'rush' that seems to pervade • both work and ple*anre lately. — I am, &c, Roland Watts-Phillips." • . * A coircidence pointed out in the Sydney Bulletin : Ten years ago there were twoyouDg jewellers named Jack Edwmrdsand DickSceates in business together in Auckland (Maoriland). They were both fine singers, sang in amateur opera together, went on the stage professionally at the same time, and a mouth or bo back they both died on the same day. • . • " Tommy Atkins " was flret sung by Mr Arnold, giving the ditby a jovial character. He remitted it to Mr George Edwardes for use in "A G»iety Girl," and long after, having been abroad iv the meant : me, had the carious experience of hearing it sung in the supersentimental method of Mr Hajdn Coffin. ' . ■ The death of Mr Shiel Barry removes an actor whose name is inseparably connected with oue part, that of Gaspnrd iv " Les Cloches de Corneville." He waa a dramatic impersonator of many other parts, and occasionally Been in pantomimes, though of late years his success has ber»n mainly provincial. ■.• Priucess Maud (Princess Charles of Drnmark) has been amusing herself play-writicg, it appears, since she took up her tbodo in Scandinavia, and a little piece of hers in one act is shortly to be produced by Miss Ellen Terry. • . * Melbourne Punch thus tells tbe tale of the last of Mrs Potter and Mr Bellew in Melbourne : — "On Friday night Mrs Potter aud Mr Bellew concluded one of the most brilliant seasons on record at the Princess Theatre with • Romeo and Juliet.' The house w^s crowded from floor to ceiling, and there was infcenso enthusiasm throughout, the stars being callc-d and recalled more times than can readily be counted. The floral gifts must have cost a small fortune. As an instance of the enormous popularity in ; which Mrs Potter is held by Melbourne theatregoers, some 500 people waited until 15 minutes midnight at the stage door to catch another glimpse of the beautiful face of this ' great artist «ts she passed to her cab. -This was the signal for another great demonstration, the

crowd surging round kissing her cloak and asking for a flower. In spite of an arduous night's work, Mrs Potter was equal to the occasion, and with that wonderful charm of manner entirely her own presented flowers to everybody whe could get near enough to receive this little memento. Finally the cab drove off, followed in its course by fully 200 people. Many of Mrs Potter's and Mr Bellew's girlish admirers carried on their enthusiasm for the ' Romeo and Juliet' of lust Friday evening to the ar'uista in the garieh light of Saturday afternoon at Spencer s'reet. But even the most blindly mashed could not fail to feel the difference between the ideal Romeo of the balcony scene ard the elderly bufc well-tailored gentleman ■whom an excited crowd of women on Saturday afternoon first decorated with lovely boutonuieres, and then begged him co many times for • ' just a single flower ' that he departed by the express with a collection of stalks on his coat which looked like a necklace of shark's teeth on a Fijian belle. Mrs Potter might have been a queen, so regal was her bearing as she, too, cast blooms from a half-guinea bouquet to the adoring multitude. The lady who presented the artist with the bouquet said nothing, but looked volumes at the flower sndtchers. Amongst the most gushful girls who hovered about the beauteous Kyrle was the pretty fisncee of a dignified widower, who was with her on the previous evening at the last appearance of Mrs Potter and Mr Bellew, but unfortunately had an engagement on Saturday far away from Spencer street." • . • Before very long Madame Surah Bernhardt will permit London, at the Adelphi, to judge the merits of M. Sardou's new play, " Spiritisme," produced the other night at the Renaissance in Paris. The verdict is that it has some clever tricks of stage-craft and an original theme, bufc will hardly enhnnca the reputation of the author of " Fedora."