“NIGHTS OF JOY”

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 837, 4 December 1929, Page 16

“NIGHTS OF JOY”

HAPPY GERALD SHOW AT ST. JAMES MANY BRIGHT IDEAS The joy germs have been released at St. James Theatre. Jim Gerald let them go when he instituted his seven-night change programme called “Nights of Joy,” at the “Commonsense Theatre” last evening. The new show is filled with bright ideas, and provides a long menu of variety vaudeville, switching from item to item with remarkable speed in stage transformation. Gerald calls himself the Nuisance. but for one possessing such a title his audience is amazingly pleased to see him.

In “Nights of Joy,” Jim Gerald has a great deal of the comedy work to perform, and last evening he set the ball rolling with a few alcoholic gyrations after the reunion dinner of the old regiment, and later brought tears of laughter as the silly youth who simply will not be tempted into bad ways. His pet hobby was collecting birds’ eggs, but when Linda Foy, the little lady with the wicked eye, began to vamp him, you’d be surprised at the effect she produced—and its climax. Tom Hale does a lot with Gerald, and between them they make a fine mess of the aristocratic garden party, which ultimately turns out to be a private lunatic asylum—just when the two scoundrels had set the stage for the big robbery coup. As businessmen they are not exactly a success, but for comedy they take the honours this "week.

Happily balanced, “Nights of Joy” includes some of the best dancing and vocal numbers which the well-known members of the Gerald Company have yet performed. Mercia Elliott gave a little of “It Takes a Good Woman to Ho That,” with appropriate settings, Lily C-oburn sang of sure-fire vamps in “Flamin’ Mamie,” Linda Foy took a pleasant turn in a picturesque Romany scene as the finale to the first half of the programme, and Essie Jennings appeared here and there in a nicely selected vocal part. As a rollicking maid of the sea she gave a breezy whiff of the ozone. Letty Craydon, as usual, produced something bright and led the Twinklers in an appropriate ballet. The men, too, did their parts with great credit. Howard Hall, as the Count at the garden fete, and Reg Hawthorne, in some popular song and burlesque, were prominently billed. The dancing remains a feature of the Gerald repertoire. Olivette, the vivacious little acrobatic dancer, is at her best, and commands big applause nightly. Joan Graham also is in good form, and dances rythmically with Ronny Shand—commonly billed as “the half-fare” or the “Spec,” on account of his diminutive appearance. The Twinklers, the swift-moving ballet, are always there. Frocked with taste and originality, they are ever ready to support the principals with clever steps and new ensembles. Most of them show their ability to take a solo part in song and dance as well. “Nights of Joy” is happily named. There is always something to laugh at and something to appreciate. This change is billed for a week.