PRINCESS THEATRE.

Otago Witness, Issue 2398, 15 February 1900, Page 51

PRINCESS THEATRE.

-'A STRANGER IN NEW YORK.' 1

" A Stranger in New York " provided three hours of solid enjoyment at the Princess Theatre on Wednesday night for an audience which, despite very unseasonable weather, reached large proportions. Who or what the stranger in New York is we are not informed. The first we hear of him is as the occupant of "No. 09 at the Hoffman House, as the possessor of an abnormal appetite for strange liquid compounds, and as the disturber of the rest of all the other boarders in the hotel. When he is introduced io us in propria persona it is as a lonesome individual without a friend in New York. By the presentation to a yoixng spark of the town of a letter which he picks up in the hotel reception room he is accepted, under the belief that lie is the person indicated in the letter, into a meriry party which has made arrangements for a " racket " at a French ball in the evening. He becomes known to the members of the party as I. Collier Down, from Chicago and he forthwith takes charge of the whole con cern, and by his ready wit and inexhaustible resourcefulness keeps the fun constantly going. The play of 'A Stranger in New York" resolves itself into a spectacle of the revels iv whieti £hjg jjftri^, led hx fte aiysterious person

■whose rightful name is never disclosed, indulges. These are extremely laughable, the action is brisk, the fun unflagging, and the humour unforced. Need it be said that Mr Harry Conor represents the stranger? The part was speci ally written for him, and it bulks very largely in the production, of which Mr Conor is practically the life. It has been said of a popular orator of the present time that he could so ■descant upon a. broom-stick as to make the subject entertaining. Whether chat be so or not it is perfectly certain, from what we have seen of Mr Conor, that if he were not called upon to speak a, single line he could make the character he impersonates intensely amusing He had (the audience in roars of laughter last night with his quaint by-play and facial changes, and the humorous gravity he preserved throughout the performance was iriesistible. Incidental to the performance Mr Conor sang several &ongs, each of which was redemanded. His principal hit was made in " The languid man," which was extremely droll ; but in ■' When ye ain't got no money yo' needn't come round," in connection with which Miss Allone Crater gave an exhibition of American cakewalking, he also scored heavily, and " Walker's Dancing Class " and ' the Choir Boy " were also capitally anrasing. Miss Crater had less to do than in " A Trip to Chinatown," which was a pity; but as "the best fellow of 'em all " among the ladies of the pleasure-seeking party she played with sparkling vivacity and charming abandon. She had, unfortunately, not much singing^to do, but she contributed the solo m a very bright number, " Miss Gaiety," the company joining in a spirited dance, of which the effect was excellent. Miss Viola Gillette, tdR, more than confirmed the favourable impression she had created in the previous production, and her rendering of a very taking ballad, entitled " Row, row, low," was admirably effective. The singing and dancingwere, indeed, a fine ieature of " A Stranger in New York." Mr Arthur Pacie delighted the house with his two solos — " Hattie," a rattling number, and ' That's the time when 'No ' means ' Yes.' " For each of these, both of them very tastefully contributed, an encore had to be conceded. That was, however, the experience which each vocalist experienced after each number in the piece. Mr Wallace Brownlow's magnificent rendering of '' The Absent minded Beggar," the pecuniary response to which totted up to £2 2s 3Jd, and of another Kipling song, " The Road to Mandalay," were most pleasurable items in the peiformance. Mr Ward gave an artistic study of an octogenarian with a boy's heart, whoae description of himself "n the song " The gayest old sport in New York " took very well. The Misses M'Coy were associated with Mr Ward in an attractive dance in connection with this. With Mr Marion these two young ladies also gave a most effective dance, after which the audience was reluctant to part with them, a tieble recall being the result. Mr Browne's whistling, with the bird-like purity of his notes, was again greatly enjoyed, and his imitations of musical instruments were thoroughly appreciated. Mr Ber nard played the part of the original I. Collier Down with a good deal of success, and the other characters were all well filled. The production was excellently mounted, specially admirable being Mr Goatcher's &et in the secoad and last acts.

Mr Conor and the rest of " The Trip to Chinatown ' Company took their farewell of Dunedin on Thursday night, when " A Stranger in New York " was repeated.