MATRICAL AND MUSICAL NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 3338, 6 March 1918, Page 46

MATRICAL AND MUSICAL NOTES.

By Pasquih.

Tuesday, March 5. The clairvoyant turn put on at the Princess Theatre by Sergeant Copeland and his little boy is not embellished with any extraneous trappings. A bare stage, a blindfolded boy seated on a chair, the father in the orciiestral stalls being handed articles from the audience for the boy to describe, the little chap describing every question accurately and promptly—it is an act of bare essentials. It is also a mysterious performance, but no one who has seen it would suggest that there is any possibility of collusion. It is a clever performance, but is not now, as the act was introduced by Heller, the magician, many years, ago, when he appeared in Hudson's Masonic Hall, in Moray place.

Those who have recollections of the harmonics sung here by the original Fisk Jubilee Singers' will learn with pleasure that an off-shoot, as it were, of the Singers Company will make its first appearance in New Zealand, at the Burns Hall on Saturday next. The Singers have just concluded a successful season at the Melbourne Auditorium, and have come direct to Dunedin to open its New Zealand tour. Their repertoire includes choruses, glees, quartets, plantation melodies, coon songs, and ragtime ditties. It is many years sinco the Singers appeared "here, and although most of the original members of the company have left it, excellent substitutes have been found, and local lovers of music can confidently anticipate a musical treat. The season will last seven nights. Our' well-known fellow townsman and theatrical agent, Mr W. A. Low, who has just recovered from a very serious nervous attack, was to leave Wellington to-day for a comprehensive health tour of the Fiji and Samoan Islands. Mr Low expected to bo absent from the Dominion for about tbreo months.

The Royal Comic Opera Company is to be reorganised for a special tour of New Zealand. The principals will include Florence Young-, Reginald Roberts, Gladys Moncrieff, Phil Smith, and others. The repertoire will include "Mr Manhattan," "The R«d Window," and "Oh, Oh, Delphine." The latter will be given its firet Australasian production, and Mr George Highland is being specially brought from America to produce it. New Zealand will thereforo havo the distinction of a real firstfc-night production of this notable musical play, which has been enormously successful in England, America, and on the Continent The tour will open at Easter in Wellington, according to present arrangements. M'ss Ada Reeve and her company will pay, a return visit to Dunedin. They will open in Dunedin about the 10th April. Lucie Linda, Talleur Andrews, and Kennedy Allan will bo again with Miss Reeve "The Easiest Way," with Miss Muriel Starr in the leading role, has proved a, great success in Melbourne. "Peter Pan" is to ne revived in Melbourne with Miss Kathleno Mac Donnell in the role of the boy who wouldn't grow up. The Vogue Ballet in the J. C. Williamson pantomime "Dick Whittington" haa

caught the Melbourne theatre-going public. It is dainty, quaint, and effective. Tho pantomime is to be staged in Adelaido at the close of the Melbourne season. Misses Nellie and Elsie Black, of the "Musical All Blacks," are at present p-ay-ing in India with the Frederick Shipman Company. They, played in Japan, and then paid return visits to Shanghai, Hongkong, and Canton. They then visited Singapore and the Malay States, returning to Calcutta. Both arc reported to bo in excellent health and enjoying the tour. Tho San Francisco Chronicle, late in January, stated that, "When he returns to his nativo heath from. America, Harry Lauder has announced that ho will confine his activities to work for the soldiers so long as tho war may last, and to the alleviation of the condition of the injured survivors afterwards. Thereafter ho will pass his time upon the estate which he lately purchased in Scotland, and the stage will see him no more." Kelly and Drake, a couple of high-class song-and-danco artists who were showing at tho Princess Theatre, were to have opened at the Christchurch Opera House on Friday night, but they missed the north train at Dunedin. Thereupon the veteran tenor and head of tho Fuller firm, Mr John Fuller,- sen., who left Dunedin for Christchurch on Wednesday, stepped into tho breach and contributed a couple of old favourites—"Come into the garden, Maud" and "Good night, beloved"—with all his old-time sweetness of tone. The audience gave Mr Fuller an enthusiastic reception, and was loth to let him go. Auckland will get its first view of a submarine under water on March 30, when the Fullers will present tho record-breaking "Seven Days' Leave," now in its second year in London. Allan Wilkie is to play its captain hero—a fine part, which runs the whole gamut of the emotions. In "The Story of the Roeary," the other piece to be included in the Wilkie repertoire, the star will also be a soldier. In the latter play, by the way, the heroine is next door to_ a nun; but in "Seven Days' Leave'' she is a sportive young aristocrat with all the_ talents of a Fanny Durack, and her swim to give the German submarine its bogus signal to ascend provides one of 'the thrills of the piece. Jack O'Sullivan, of the well-known Pollard family, i* at present touring in the Far East with the Court Cards. This combination of artists, headed by Edgar Warwick, has been well received both in China and Japan." While in Tokio Mr O'Sullivan writes that he went to the Empire Theatre, which he describes as the best he _ has _ even seen, and there witnessed three Japanese dramas. He was muoh struck with the.productions, and with the manner in which 'the female roles wera- sustained by male actors. Revolving sets are used on tho stage, and there is, consequently, no waiting for scenic changes. Mr O'Sullivan says that he went into the theatre at 3.30 p.m. and did not come out -again until 10.30 p.m., having afternoon tea and dinner on the premises. In the last week of December there was running in the West End of London tho following:—Four dramas, seven comedies, nine musical plays, seven pantomimes and fairy plays, six revues, and six farces. Madame Amy Sherwin { • with her ladies' choir, was giving a series of recitals in London at the end of December, the great attraction being Madame's gifted pupil Stella Carol, who had not sung in London £or two years. Her voice is said to have developed to a remarkable degree. Miss Mario Lohr, who is the latest recruit to tho small, distinguished group of actresses in management, has secured the Globe Theatre in London, and was to open with a comedy of modern life with a serious interest, entitled "Lcve in a Cottage.*' Miss Edna May,, who 'took the part of "Tha Belle of New York" on its first production in the United States, has lost her husband, Mr Oscar Lewisohn, who died recently. It is understood ho left the whole of his fortune, amounting to nearly a million and a-quarte.', to his wife. In" a recent speech at a dinner at the O.P. Club/ London, Sir Thomas Beecham remarked that grand opera was by no means established in London. The people loved music and wasted more of it, but the State declined to interest itself. If London would really encourage a central musical establishment, in five years or so all tho larger towns would follow the example. London was going shortly to lose tho opportunity of being the first to establish a permanent organisation, and he considered it a disgrace. Peter Dawson, the well-known baritone, who is not unknown in Dunedin, enlisted the other day in Brisbane. He has been granted leave of absence until the expiration of his contracts with Harry Rickards's Tivoli Theatres (Ltd.). Mr Dawson at present heads the bill at the Melbourne Tivoli. How many years ago is it since patrons of the Dunedin Princess Theatre saw that clever girl Miss Maud Beatty as the handsome, dashing Paul Jones, in the play of that name presented by the Pollard Juvenile Opera Company? Many of the boys and girls of the old company have gained fame in their profession, and are now playing in all parte of the world: others have bidden farewell to tho footlights—a number of the. girl juveniles have since married and settled down. —one or two of the male members are playing a sterner part in the big war, and the man with the scythe has taken his toll of both the girls and boys. All this to introduce the fact that Miss Maud Beattv has secured an engagement with the J. C. Williamson Company, and will shortly return to Australasia after an absence in England and America of many years. She has passed! through manv. trials since she left New Zealand, amongst them being the death of her husband: but theatregoers will bo glad to see the old-time favourite on the New Zealand boards again. As yet. the terms of her contract are unknown, but it is almost certain thnt she will be reserved for ono of J. C. Williamson's best musical comedies.

WELLINGTON WING WHISPERS. By. Peter Pan. March 1. Dear " Pasquin,"—Charles Berkeley is here, and is busy with his typewriters turning out yards of copy in which to tell us all about the Royal Conr'o Opera Co., which, after all, is to provide Wellington with its hisr Eastor attraction. _ The Comics are to play " Oh ! Oh ! Delphine " (for the first time in Australasia, which makes lis even with Dunedin over the first production of "The Onlv Girl"), "The Pink Lady." "The Red Widow, and "Mr Manhattan." This hunch of pieoes should serve to keep us well amused during and over the coming holidays.

The" Fisk Jubilee Singers are due here shortly, and the clever band of songsters

open their New Zealand tour in Dunedin on the 9th. Mr R. S. Douglas Macaul, who is in advance, leaves here to-night for your city to arrange the preliminaries. Jack Waller's "Look Who's Here !" Company is running merrily along at the Grand Opera House. The "Fourth Dose" is duo to be administered to-morrow night. Fuller's Dramatic Co.. headed by Allan Willue, will be in Auckland for Easter. PRINCESS THEATRE. The Princess Theatre on tho' 4th held an audience that fell very littlo short of completely filling it. It was the regular Monday evening's change of programme that was the particular attraction, and the new lot of matter quite justified tho evident desire to see , it. The company had not undergone any material change, but tho items were fresh, bright, and amusing. Marzon and Florence again exhibited their wonderful powers as equilibrists, and performed somo very daring feats with neatness and dexterity. Ernest Pitcher kept ins audience in a continuous state of laughter. The instrumental numbers given by 'this member of the comP?ny met with very flattering-' recognition. ' M'Lean _ and Lee presented a one-act comedy, in which Mr M'Lean appeared as a discarded lover, and Miss Lee as the faithless sweetheart. The unconscious reprisals that Dick visits upon Dolly took a very novel form, and wero provocative of very much merriment. Dolly's '' identity is fortunately discovered before Dick actually carries his threats into execution. Jones and Haines, who were hero sometime ago, made their re-appearance in one of their njusical specialties. Both are good_ pianists, and are clever comedy, entertainers. Mr Jones's burlesque on some of the world's noted pianoforte players,was very funny, and he sang several comic ditties with satisfactory results. Of course, the part that is looked forward to by a very large section of the audience is the revue. Mr Tom Haverly and his musical farce players produced "Murphy Marooned," which proved highly amusing. The ladies of the company appear to advantage. There is plenty of singing and dancing, and "Murphy Marooned" ought to become popular.