THEATRICAL AND MUSICAL NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 3005, 18 October 1911, Page 68

THEATRICAL AND MUSICAL NOTES.

By Pasquis

Tuesday, October 17. T.he long-expected "Gay Gordons" Comic Opera Company arrived in Dumedin from Oamaru at midday, and this (Tuesday) evening commence a season at His Majesty's Theatre, opening in "The Gray Gordons." Much has been written concerning this musical play, but the half was never told. At the conclusion of the run of "The Gay Gordons" at His Majesty's Theatre the company will stage "Sergeant Brue," a musical comedy on different lines from "The Gordons.". The music, by_ Liza Lehmann, the well-known composer, is pretty and full cf allures, the dialogue crisp a-nd sparkling, and the whole show full of charm and delight. The much-heralded "Our Miss Gibbs" will soon shed the light of her presence upon us, and we may bo expected to rejoice, with exceeding great joy. Mr Charles tßerkefoy,. the touring manager and herald-irt-chief, advises me from Christehurch that he will arrive in Dunedin. shortly to arrange for the opening of the season, which, by the way, is only for seven nights, commencing on Thursday, November 16. The- friends of Miss Lottie Sergeant will regret to hoar that on top of her bad nervous breakdown, for which she was ordered a rest-cure at Leura, in the Blue, Mountains, she has been suffering from a serious

attack of pleurisy, and is still confined to J her bed. The. news of the death of tho veteran actor Mr Stirling Whyte, which occurred at Broken Hill, was received with sir. care regret by his .many friends in the theatrical profession, and by tho present and past generation of theatre-goers. Mr Whyte, who was bo.ru in Ayrshire, Scotland, in 1837, came to Australia in! the seventies, and .he was for imanry years associated with George Rignold, at Her Majesty's Theatre, Sydney, and afterwards with Holloway and Anderson, "03d men" parts were always his specialty, and playgoers of those times -will remember the great hit he made as Jarvis in the "Lights o' London." Afterwards he joined Holloway and Anderson's company, and on the retirement of Mr Anderson he was engaged for nine y»ura with William Anderson. At the time of his d<.ath he was touring with the George Movlowo Company, so that he was practically in harness to the end, for his illness was only of a few days' duration. Mr Whyte's upright character and genial disposition made him friends wherever he we mi, and in the nrofession it was a saying that the name* of Stirling admirably fitted both the man and the actor. The 60 ladies who appear in the big J. C. Williamson production of "Our Miss Giibbs" to be seen here shortly, are said to be the handsomest chorus ladies in the Southern Hemisphere—"the pick of the bunch." They wore selected from the whole of the combined Williamson organisations, tho survival of the fittest, with the result thait "Our Miss Gibhs" stands supreme as the festival of the adoration and glorification of "Girl." Miss Ivy Schilling, who with Mr Fred Leslie will bo seen in the sensational Danse du Vaurien in the forthcoming J. C. Williamson production of "Our Miss Gibbs," is one of Sydney's most daring and expert lady surfers. Towards tho end of last season Miss Schilling achieved a gallant rescue, brinsrinT in through a heavy sea one of the most accomplished members of the Manly Club, who was drowning, being suddenly seized with cramp. Miss Schilling recently won the first prize for the beauty competition, "The Sirens of the Surf," from something like 1500 competitors. We get our amusements very cheaply in New Zealand, and thefact is not generally recognised or appreciated (writes friend "Prompter," who has recently returned from a trip to London). A Williamson company comes across from Australia and produces a musical work such as "Madame Butterfly" or same other piece, thaft has captured the Old World, and notwithstanding the enormous expense to the promoters, Dominionites are. not asked to pay more ; for admission than 5s or 6s to the cirole or | reserved stalls, 3s or 2s 6d to the ordinary i stalls, and Is, or in very rare instances 2s, |to the pit or gallery. Now for the same ! class of production Londoners have to pay much more to obtain seats from which an equally good view of a play or opera can be obtained. And I doubt whether rents are any higher in London or whether the artists are paid higher salaries, amd it is quite certain that the all-round expenses are lower in London. Take a work like "The Arcadians." It ran for about three years at the Shaftesbury Theatre, London, and contained no more players and sing*rs than are to be seen and heard in any one of Mr Williamson's pantomime companies. There were no steamer fares to pay a.nd no railway fares; in fact, it will be realised ; thait expenses were at a minimum. There 1 was nothing more to pay for than any company in New Zealand has to when it has settled down in one of the towns, such as Auckland, Wellington, Ohristohurch, or Dunedin, for a fortnight's season. Yet this was the soale of charges at the Shaftesbury I Theatre: —Private boxes, £4 4s, £3 3s, and £2 12s 6d; 7s 6d and 6s; upper circle, 5s and 4s; pit, 2s 6d; amphitheatre, Is 6d; gallery, Is. Added to which one has to pay for his programme, a mere advertising sheet in -which the cast of players may be found. Miss May Beatty and her husband, Mr Edward Lauri, are working hard in England, and during the forthcoming pantomime season will bo very busy. They will have an interest in no fewer than five pantomimes. Three of these are "Dick Whittington" and the other two "Aladdin" and "Cinderella." Miss Beatty and Edward i Lauri will appear in "Diok" in London, I with Mr Lauri s daughter, Cecily, playing the fairy cat "Cinderella" at Birmingj ham will be played by Miss Sara Hyman, a niece of Miss Nellie Stewart, and the principal boy will _b& Miss Olive Moore, a sister of Miss Carrie Moore.

In the first production of "A Fool There Was" Mabel Trevor will have an entirely opposite part to that in which she has been appearing in "The Woman in tbi Case." She will be seen in the-strange rc!e of the Vampire of the most remarkable creations that ever emanated . from a playwright's brain. It _is a weird, uncanny role, with a suggestion of the mysterious, unhuman powers of a creature of another world. There is all the element of subtle fascination-in the woman, however, whioh accounts for the hold she obtains over the man whose downfall forms one of the., most striking motifs ever made the subject of a play. Be she devil or woman, she is yet a, character that only the master mind of a genius could have created. Mabel Trevor has already-- shown playgoers her qualities as a tragic actress, and as tJhe Vampire Woman she will have a part that -will provide her with further opportunities for the display of her wonderful powers. Speaking with regard to the character of Claire Forster, which she enacts so capably in "The Woman ' in the Case," Elinor Foster, who was brought out to appear in this role, sand to the News-letter: "These sort of parts are supposed to be unpopular with the people. I cannot see why they are so. There is a finer dramatic material in a part like Claire Forster than in a dozen of the 'present' characters that ■have a happy ending simultaneous with the fall of the curtain. I regard Claire Forster as a primeval woman in modern, form. She represents all the savage instincts in woman. At the same time, she draws to some extent individual sympathy. In the motif of the play both Claire Forster and Margaret Rolfe are on the same level. Each is fighting or the one object—the love or a man." The >. Dunedin Operatic and Musical Society is working hard in connection with their forthcoming production of Cellier's charming comic opera "Dorothy." The latest addition to the cast is the Waimate Hunt Club's huntsman with the full pack of hounds, who will make a first appearance in Dunedin in the finale to the second act. Apropos of this now celebrated hunting scene, it may be interesting to know that it was not included in the original score of the opera,, but was composed, rehearsed, and sung on the second night of the production in London. Owing to the death of her father, Miss

Vida Waters has been reluctantly compelled to forgo the part ol Lydia in "Dorothy. ' Miss Cicely Gard'ner, who has been the understudy, will essay the character, while Miss Howie-Stuart will play Miss Card - ner's part of Phyllis. The funds accruing from the production are to be given towards the building fund of the Oargill Road Free Kindergarten, and already reports are to hand of a phenomenal sale of tickets. New Zealand playgoers will be glad to learn that Mr H. B. Irving is to shortly enter upon a comprehensive tour of the Dominion. The famous actor and his wife (Miss Dorothea Baird) will he supported by the whole of their London company, and the pieces will be staged exactly as in Sydney and Melbourne. The most notable plays in the repertoire will be presented. Playgoers in New Zealand will be able to witness the performances of an actor whose advent in this part of the world had been looked forward to for years, and who is now in the prime of his powers. Mr Irving and his company will appear in Adelaide before entering upon the New Zealand tour.

I The cabled announcement from London of the death of Mr Harry Richards, the well-known theatrical manager, will come as a surprise to most, and with regret to us all. Though Mr Rickards was a man well up in years, he was withal so sound constitutionally that no thought of his sudden death was entertained. He had gone to London some months ago in comwith his wife to be present at the marriage of his daughter, and while there was negotiating for artists for his numer : ous vaudeville houses in Australia. Tho name of Harry Rickards, while well known in New Zealand, was household in Australia, where ho spent the full years of his life. In his early career he was a vaudeville performer of much merit, and excellent in songs of a descriptive character, . but specialised in coster ditties, several of which he made famous. "Knocked 'em in the Old Kent Road" was one of these, and one which he sang with great success in the Princess Theatre many years ago. Although several vaudeville companies have toured New Zealand of late years under the name of Rickards' Vaudeville Co.'s, they were only so titled by vir; tue of the fact that the artists were under engagement to Mr Harry Rickards; frequently the companies Were under entirely different management on New Zealand tours. Mr Rickards did not pay many visits to New Zealand, the last one, to my recollection, being about 15 years ago, when he appeared in several of his coster and character impersonations at the Princess Theatre. Ho had not appeared in public for many years, devoting himself exclusively to the management of his theatres in Sydney, Melbourne, and Adelaide. He imported many world's stars to Australia and New Zealand, to which he paid big salaries, and was the first vaudeville manager in Australasia |o go in for direct importation of artists from England, America, and the Continent. The arrival in Melbourne of some of the principals of "The Swiss Express" Company, which is to open in Melbourne under the Williamson, Clarke, and Meynell regime, is a practical indication of the closeness of the "laughing season" soon to be initiated. Three of the prominent members of the company arrived from London by the Orsova, these being Miss Conmie Rmerald, Miss Edith Jeffries, and Miss Molly Geary. Altogether the London contingent will total about 16 people, and a troupe of -dancers will be included in the attractions of the performance. « ' A cable received from Andreas Zeynord, manager of the Midget Circus, which is to be one of the main attractions of Tiny Town when it tours Australia, corcanencing October 21, states that the little people bad a great send-off when they left Genoa on September 12. Among those to bid they good-bye was the' famous . Mrs Tom Thumb, who was in. Australia 30 years ago. She is now the Countess Magri, having married again.. She regretted that her age —she is over 70 —made it inadvisable for her to make the long voyage. The new Drurv Lane drama, which is to be presented to the publio a fortnight hence, promises to outrival even that splendid sneotacu'jar production,. "The Whip," which drew all London to Old Drury, and ran for months on end. "The Hope" is the name of the new p'ay, and, like its predecessor, it is a sporting melodrama full O'f sensations and scenic effects. Lavish expenditure to obtain these effects has always been the rule at Drury Lane, but "The Hope" will cost nearly twice as much to stage as any of its predecessors. Nightly the heroine will' win her way to wealth and happiness by way of an Indian State ball, a polo (match, an earthquake, and finally a great Derby scene, in which the horses . will gallop from the back of the stage towards the audience, pulling up in time to avoid the orchestra. The authors of the new play are Messrs Cecil Raleigh and Henry Hamilton, who- were responsible for "The Whip." They have again made a racehorse the agent for uniting the hero and heroine in the last act." The plot is not particularly new j but plot at Drury Lane counts for little so long as scenio effects and stage management are up to Lane standard.' The second act takes place in India, when a State ball at Dewan Khos provides a magnificent picture. The Delhi Durbar is introduced, and one scene will represent the Mall at Delhi with its brilliant social panorama. Towards the close of this act a poilo match will be played. Part of the act is supposed to take place in Italy, where an earthquake occurs and plays havoc with an hotel, where some of the principal characters are staying. But the great sensation o fthe Derby is reserved

for the last scene of all, in which the horses will sweep round Tatteniham" Corner and career tdwards the footligflnts l , bringing wealth and happiness to the two principal characters. All told, the company for "The Hope" will niuimlber nearly 150, and will certainly be the most expensive and sensational theatrical production ever seen in, or out of London. The manager of a picture show at Ashburton has purchased a miniature searchlight apparatus, the object of which will prove disconcerting to those who misbehave themselves at animated picture entertainments. In the event of whistling or misbehaviour occurring in the theatre, the searchlight can be turned on at a moment's notice and the guilty person or persons detected. The general behaviour of those that attend picture entertainments, howevar, (says the Mail) is fairly good. Still another new picture theatre Is being

built in Auckland, making the eleventh place of entertainment of the kind in the

city. The new theatre is to take th« place of the od Newton Foresters' Hall, just alongside the Naval and Family Hotel, which standi at the junction of Pitt street

and Karangahape road. The work of converting the old hall into an up-to-dato house of amusement is proceeding apace, the electricians, carpenters, and painters having already effected a remarkable change in the interior of the Iboiilding. A wellknown local firm is financing the venture, and the theatre is to be used for the purpose of a continuous all-day picture show. The work is being expedited in order to have the opening of the new place of entertainment fixed for Labour Day. The interior design of the building is being altered so as to present a very artistic appearance, and there will be seating accommodation for 800 people. It is to be called the Palace Theatre.