STAGELAND

Sun (Christchurch), Volume I, Issue 97, 30 May 1914, Page 3

STAGELAND

THEATRE ROYAL BOOKINGS. Juno 1 to 16— J. C. Williamson Company. Jnn« 19 »nd 20—Canterbury Collega Students' Association. The chorus of " Ziegf eld \s . Follies' '■ is-reported to have gone on strike at the Princess ..Theatre in Montreal,' Canada/ recently, because Jose Collins, the prima donna, waved a British flag at. a certain moment in the play's story when the Stars and Stripes should have been unfurled. The strike is said to have been settled by Ziegfeld himself , issuing an order that Miss Collins should use the American flag on her own account.

Miss Florence Young, one of the best known leading ladies of Australasia, has'been engaged to be one of the company which, has been organised to tour South Africa with '' The Girl in the Taxi'.' and ''The Girl in the Film'."

As a consequence of this engagement, Miss Young was tendered a farewell on the last night of 7 ' Dorothy I' ' in Melbourne. » " ~'..'■' - : - ,■'";, . ~ .

Mr Hugh J. Ward, of J. C. son, Ltd., has been engaging,actors and attractions >"-< for ' Australia; * -He has arranged • for the production of the following plays:—"The Land .; of Proy&imght aiitl PaidFor;■•»>- ''.The << Under.Cover," "The Story of The Bosary,'" and "The Life.guardsman.'' He has also 'secured a riumber of musical- comedies,/.which, include : " The Girl.frpm Utah," "The Marriage Market,' >,; ' l After the Girl,'' "The Pearl CHfl, : " and '/The Girl in the Taxi. \ '_,' In, "addifton",- 'Mr/Ward has negotiated the rights' v of a .niimber ..of American farce comedies. JOf these,' " The Land of Promise'' is by W. Somerset Maughan, and was produced in New Ybrk-by .Charles Frohman on December. 25, with Miss, Billie Burke in the lead.

A cable message reports that Madame Nordica has bequeathed her collection of gems to her husband and sisters. Madame Nordica wore some' exquisite jewels at her concerts over here.'. Some idea of their value may be gleaned

from the statement that she left £15,000 worth of -gems in. the AucklandSafe Deposit during a flying visit to Itotorua. Exchanges state that Mme. Sarah Bernhardt has announced that , she starts this year upon a tour of the Unite'd States, Australia,. Russia, and Englana. The famous; actress will open in New York in October. These paragraphs are quoted, from the Auckland '' Sporting and Dramatic Beview:"— Sir Herbert Tree. told ~the guests'at" ;i dinner to Cyril Maude that in his time he had refused five plays which later made fortunes for rtheir produe-. ers. The plays .were *'Peter Pan,' ,'. "Kismet," "Diplomacy,'.' i'Thfe Pri-. soner of Zenda," and "If I were King."

Now, if Dunedin can give a reading of ',-.' King Henry "V\,"why should not Christehurch?

~ Mr Granvijle Barker is trying, to raise £25,000 in London; for a permanent le'p'ertbry theatre. He wants' 1000 men to subscribe £25 each, and, by reports, he is-likely to continue wanting them. ■ * •','■.*■■■

The Julius Knight Dramatic Company will commence a • toiir of South ■•'Aiist ralia and West Australia ; shortly.- The actor-manager - will make a feature of "A Eoyal Divorce."

The following, are the New. Zealand dates for the-, Harry Lauder tour:— Auckland,. July 18' to 25; Wellington, August ; 3' and 4; -Napier, 'August ; -5 and? 6; Ciii'istchurcK' August ' S to 15; Dimedin, August 17 to 22- Invercargill, August 24 and 25; Timaru, August 26; thence, to' Sydney by the outgoing boat from ; Wellington. "

"• Nancy Stewart seems to be J finding the same way to Australian audiences' hearts' that her mother did. The gal-, lery.girls gave her a round on the first night of "Sealed Orders." She appeared as' a flower girl, and the basket on her arm was sufficient to awaken memories of " Sweet Nell."

1 Miss Ada Reeve is. the highest-paid ■artist that has ever appeared upon the , .. Bickards circuit.. It is. stated that .'heir salary-is £350.a week. ■: Pirst : class fare» ..:. to and frdin England for herseff, 4»er husband,., her- musicaiV conductor, -a«4'; • her maid, :>cause, the: actual<cost :pf-her-.-.,.„ ; services to mount up, considerably above : this figure. The -company : which,. sup-. * ports - her is composed of highly-paid . » artists. ~ The venture fully justified it- j sidf, .however, _as 'soon as Miss Ree^ve. v cpehed in Melbourne. t)n -;her ' V' tight she broke tire record, for -the" :Mel- *»■ bourne Tiyoli by a few pounds, while cu.her second, appearance shelettered her own record by £3O. ..--..• ..;•'.<; From latest London advices, J3orne<*j. ' > Gardiner, the Wellington whistler,>wa» ; appearing at the Pavilion,' v?hichv a|>- =' '*■>' pears to teach us that colonial success spells English success. . . , , .1 . L

-.Prom the Sydney "Referee":—J. C Williamson, Ltd.f intend-making ]usj6 ,.bf .* ■<. ; their Sydney theatres in tiie 'day time■'• by giving picture shows—a good ;• ness idea, since the theatres are other.-' ;'-.. wise idle each dayin ihe week, .the 7. afternoons of Saturday and '■*}■ excepted.—Miss Elsie Spain?'' Miss 6er-" '.' trudc Glynn, Mr Field /Fisher, and Mt j Derek Hudson, all prominent;,; English musical comedy have; axnyed 3'n v '"" s " Sydney for rehearsal of <v "Gij^sy/iib,ye. s 'f.'; ; "^r

The Quinlan Opeia Company will set out again f England next Sep—tember, after visiting Birmingham and . Liverpool, and will open at Montreal in October. It is interesting to note v that there Mr* Quinlan has a guarantee filial of £SOOO for a four weeks' season. - 'The ~ company will visit Toronto, Buffalo, He- v trbit, Cleveland, Minneapolis, _St. Paul, . Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver, Seattle, San Francisco, "Tae*o&h», " " and Portland. Thence they go to A«p-- - tralia, where* at Melbourne they 'are" due to open in May, 3915. Thenceon to South Africa in all probability, the'a Home. The additions to the repertory will include:—"Parsifal," "The Love of Thiee Kings," and <'Tiefland.'' Mr '" s Quinlan is so obsessed,by his idea of opera in our isrnguage that he is -anxious to add an opera by a native composer to his repertpry, if onlv: one of sufficiently wide inteiest and musical value can~be - fo"und.

The Brennan- Fuller circuit- has been ' l extended to Chinas and, "Jafram, —*■- says the Wellington ".Post/" Other 1 extensions are to* be made. Mr John Fuller, juu., now on his way to America, will conclude arrangements with one of the big firms there for the Fullei -Brennan artists to work a eir--cuit there, thus making a chain right round the world. The firm is understood to have in mind new theatres in Sydney, Bnsban*, Ballarat, and digo, and most likely in Christehurch. . News as to home invariably comes from away.

An exchange states thatitheSAastral-^,V ian and New Zealand the late £: Wilson Barrett's drauia, .^The' - iV Hammer'' have just b«en ae^uir^d ;;; George Willoughby, hid.) 16.years after v ■ the date of the .-original production;in London. ■•■■.. The piece was revived Mr W. V. Garrod in July, 1911, and been touring ever since. ■■^.:- y "'