STAGE GOSSIP.

Otago Witness, Issue 3005, 18 October 1911, Page 69

STAGE GOSSIP.

The Gay Gordons played Oamaru on Monday right to a crowded, house. Mr Arthur Styan is organising a new dramatic company to tour during the summer season. Mr Haxcourt Beatty has gone to Adelaide to play high-class comedy sketches at the New King's Theatre. • . Miss Nance O'Neil shortly reappears m "The Lily" in Mew York, under the management of David Belasco. George Rignold, who has been recuperating in Brisbane, visits Melbourne this month on a holiday to the Bland Holts at Sorrento. , "Struck Oil." with Miss Maggie Moore and Mr H. R. Roberts in the leading parts, had a successful revival at the Kings Theatre, Melbourne. Miss Eastlake, who created the part of Nellie Denver in "The Silver King" with Wilson Barrett's company, died recently at the age of 56 years. .. . "The Spring Maid," a new musical comedy secured by J. C. Williamson (Ltd.), is a big draw in New York, and'is early to be introduced to London. One of the most delightful numbers m "Our Miss Gibbs" is "Moonstruck," a whimsical" phantasy sung by Miss Blanche Browne and a chorus of girls - dressed as Pierrots in the second act. The Ne\/ Zealand Times announces that Mr Theodore Tresise, of Wellington, who is at present m London, has been engaged by Oscar Hammerstein for his season of grand opera at the New London Opera House. Mr Oscar Asche ana Miss Lily Brayton hi ve reached the one hundred and fiftieth performance of "Kismet" at the Gariick Theatre, London. It is one of the plays they intend bringing to Australia for their next tour.

There baa been another revival in London of "The Blue Bird,"; which is to take flight to Australia next year, when the Williamson, Clarke, and Meynell firm will present Maeterlinck'® remarkable play with the original English company. Paderewskr is at present .touring South America, his dates providing for concerts in the Argentina, with ".Buenos Aires as his headquarters, till October 15. Upon, his return to Europe he will leave for South Africa to play there in January, February, March, and April of next year. Mdlle. Gaby Deslys, who wae said to have been "the friend of the ex-King of Portugal, has evidently risen in value as a musio-hall performer. Five ox sax years ago she wan earning 50fr a.week at a small Parisian hall. To-day she is reported to be drawing 4500d0l a *eek from a New York manager. Oscar Asobe. has booked the Garrick Theatre, London, for the run, of "Kismet" right up to the time he leaves for Australia well into next year. Mr Asche has refused a big offer to take the piece to America, as. his Australian tour will not allow of the trip "across the herring-pond." The applications of "first nighters" are now being reoeived in Melbourne for the Melba seaion of opera. The announced operas arc "La Traviata," "Lohengrin," 1 "Faust." ' "Othello," "Romeo and Juliet," "Rigoletto," "Carmen," "Aida," "La Bobeme." "Madame Butterfly," "Samson and Delilah," and "La Tosca."

A .letter reoeived from Miss Sybil Arundale by the last mail stated that she was spending the few weeks she bad in London before leaving for Australia, again to appear in "The Girl in the Train,'' with the' dressmakers. She was looking forward with the greatest of pleasure to being back in Australia again. She left London on the 16th ult.

Mr Lewis Waller has left London for New York to play the leading part of Boris Androysky in "The Garden of Allah." The piece is the dramatised version of Mr Robt. Hichens's famous boA, which has been made by Mme. de Navarro (Miss Mary Anderson) and the novelist, and will be produced at the Century Theatre, New York, on October 20.

_ Sir Herbert Tree devoted particular attention to the weirdness and mystery of "Macbeth,"' which he reoently prod-Deed at His Majesty's Theatre. London—ho has devised ( n new way whereby the yasion of the eight kings and of Bariquo's ghost is presented in'a. roost impressive' manner. Sir Herbert has restored to the stage the Bathetic scene of the murder of Lady Maoduff. Mr Leslie Holland, who plays the Honourable Hnghi© Paerrepoint, "the amateur crook," with such success* in "Our Miss Gibbs," is from the Gaiety Theatre, London, where he has for the past four years been one of the leading comedians at that exclusive house. He first came into prominence by an astonishing performance of Baron Pouoff in " The Merry Widow" Hayati Hassid. "The Turkish Tom Thumb." who is to be Mayor of- Tiny Town throughout its Australian tour, is smaller m stature than the original Tom Thumb, who, with Minnie Warren and Commodore Nutt. created such a furore in this country in the long ago. Hayati's -father was a soldier in the Turkish a,rmy, and the son (who is now 5f5) is a, great patriot, and takes a keen interest in the present difficulty with Italy.

"The Chocolate Soldier" is going as strongly as ever at the Melbourne Theatre Royal, and the opera anapears to be good for many more weeks. In the handling of nume>ous companies and enterprises, however, arrangerients have to be made a long time ahead, and irrespective of the success of a particular production., and on the 28th inst., the night upon which Melba. opens at Her Majesty's Theatre, Melbourne, "The Chocolate Soldier" will be introduced to an audiciioe in Sydney.

H. B.' Irving is a stickler for accuracy in detail in his productions. Everything must be in keeping with the atmosphere and spirit of the piece, and to' achieve this end the famous actor 'will go to any .amount of trouble. This is seen in "Louis XI;" in which. Mr Irving has reduced historical accuracy to a fine art; so much, so, indeed, ihat he secured some magnificent old armour of the period, omd a number of swords and other weapons which have an interesting hi story and are of great value. . Hugard, the illusionist, who is now on tcux under Edwin Geech's management, was

giving his footing to kill entertainment at Bathurst a few weeks ago. After he had successfully—apparently—caught three bullets fired at hum by townspeople of good aim and reputation, he was surprised, on the eve of his departure from the town, to get a request from one of the party, whose reputation aa a marksman he hod besmirched, to know if an axe could be substituted for the firearms. Saturday, September 14, was to have been, the opening date of the successor to the long-lived "Arcadians" at the Shaftesbury Theatre, London. The new piece has a Japanese setting and location, and is written by A. M. Thomson and Robert Courtneidge, with musio by Lionel Monckton and Howard Talbot. Up to the time the mail left for Australia a suitable title for the play had rot yet been selected. The production will dulv be placed before Australian playgoers by the Williamson, Clarke, and Meynell management. The Lard Mayor of Sydney has recommended to the Finance Committee of the City Council a proposal by Mar William Anderson, to convert portion of the> Queen Victoria Markets into a first-class theatre, for the accommodation of 2300 persons. Mir Anderson's proposal is that the council should lease to; him for 21 yeans, with an «ptional extension for a further term of seven years, portion of the markets on which a sum, not exceeding £15,000 is to be spent in rebuilding, and Mr Anderson offers to pay a rental of £l4O a week for 21 years, and £l7O a week for the period of the renewal of the lease.

One notable fact that is likely to bei overlooked by the average amusement-goer in connection with the establishment of "Tiny Town" in Australia, is that every midget in the miniature city will be a talented artist. Hitherto Australia has seen midgets vdiose sole attraction has been their diminutive stature. Although the Tiny Town s men's average height is SOin, all are adepts in one line or another. GomanodoTe Nutt used to sing little, songs, but his performance is put into the shade by Hayati Hassad, who sings hi no less than seven languages, and has even mastered Harry Lauder's songs in French. "Lohengrin," . staged at Her Majesty's, Sydney, took the'Melba Grand Opera Company into the heavier music of Wagner, and once, again demonstrated the remarkable versatility of the organisation. The cast included Madame Korblewicz-Wayda as Elsa, and Countess Cisneros as Ortruda. It is an interesting fact that these artists sang the roles together- at Covent Garden, and again at the Metropolitan • Opera House in New York. The name-part was taken by Signor Zeni, and the King by Edmund Burke, both well known in Europe in these roles. Mr Burke had previously sung the rolb in Einglish, French, and German. On this occasion it was in Italian. Sagnor Ccaiidi&ni had already sung Telramonde over 100 times in Europe.