POLL ARC'S OPERA. COMPANY

Taranaki Herald, Volume XLVII, Issue 11316, 7 September 1898, Page 2

POLL ARC'S OPERA. COMPANY

" THE GAY PARIsIENNE " In his most sanguine momenta— and he is justifiably confident where t'de New Plymouth public are concerned —Mr Pollard could hardly have anticipated suoh a flattering aud cordial reception as that accorded to his company in the lheatre Royal on Tuesday night. The building was packed in every part, stand* ing room being altriost an irapossiblity, And the enthusiasm displayed famished indubitable evidence of the grea'fc popularity of the performers. l< The Gay P^iisienne"— the opera staged —is dn questionably 1 musical comedy of much merit, and in selecting it for* the inithl performance the management made a felicitous choice. It h=id the all-impor-tant recommendation of being entirely new to the public, and its attractions had been heralded by such blusts r of» praise as. to more than ordinarily whet the appetite of theatre goers. Whether that appetite was thoroughly watiated or, not we are t ,hafdly prepared to ' say— some ; were' probably- disappointed— for when expectations are raised to Buch* a high, plane it"; Is' extremely difficult to dispassionately judge a ,wbrl£ 6a iU merit's, but there is no donbt 'that the performance was,all circumstances considered,' very creditable. ' Barely three weeks have elapsed since Mr Jv B. Watabii, servict-s as stage manager for the production of the piece were specially secured, landed in New Zealand, and that he has been able, in face of the extreme difficulty of the company baviDg to- play al,'a I ,' fresh opera each flight, to briug the performers' to "even'^tße 'abate d£ perfec'tion;exhibited on Tuesday night speaks glowingly, of thyir , all round ability.. There w^re, noticeable defects, of course, and the piece was inclined to drag, at jt.im.eßj jhut, the. .imperfections were, no.t, sufficiently, marked io detract to /any iejkge'ij|(; , from . the .enjoyment „ of,-, those present. -/The plot of the ' Gay, Parisienne' ia unusually fragile— even, for a,.mUßi°al comedy. ( It centre*, as already narrated in these columns. Tound the escapades o£a Mr EfyeneJier Houeycombe, M a shininglight,"* a man with dual lives ? the n,:an I wbd^is' goodness* and humility personified when under the exacting wing ,of his wife, and the man who ia prepared to go 'Uhe whole hog ' when' once the gites of j -.dissipation ar« open, and detection seems 4mprpbable. 'It is m the latter part that ■he) makes his first appearance. ■ -When going ithe pace in Paris he- makes' the acquaintance of • The Gay Pariaienue! 1-^1 -^ a. passionate, charm ia^;, 'vivacicus girl — .who succeeds ia getting him in her toils, sues him for breach of promise, aud lands him into a host' 'of 'complication! with' bis' wife and family. The argument'is elastic enough- to susttdnfthe amusing situations and incidents which run through the: work, and also provides several pegs on which to hang an additional comic item or t,vo. In the title part, the people of New Plymouth made the acquaintance' of Miss Gertie Campiou. , Miss Campion personated the character o£ the bright but somewhat naughty Parh lady charmingly,'ana made herself quite a favourite with the audience. Her acting was par-, [ticularly good. In the part where she induces Mr Honeycomb to tie ,up her bootlace, and by. her many apparently irtless little wiles succeeds in getting him into an -attitude which, to say the least 6 r f it, is compromising, and in which he 'ia ; 'di' covered by bis .irate, wife, she had an excellent chance, of displaying her abilities, and, the opportunity was not neglected. The conception of tbe character,, 'Save a few slight .lapses as regards the accent, was a true one. s»he is also the possessor o.f a sweet but not over strong voice, and' her singing-; secured fv>r her flattering, recognition at the hands, of \m audiencttr-10-the duet,. '.'Tweedledum and Tweedled^e,?; and the^sk.etcb, "First -Class] and ! Third r Class \ she, was highly sjccessful, but ! it.;waa in the introduced solo, ; " Susie Ue," a quaint negro melody, cosfcume with beautiiul limelight Effects, fhat .she excelled herself, and an emphatic- •encore' 'riesulied.' ' 'Miss "fllaud Beatty gave a very 'kcoep table impersonation!, of the part of % Mrs—Honeycomb, whos^peabe 8f Wind is distffrbeS "by-ff^r-husband's'qtiestioWatela-'protllivitiea.i Her acting wap'graceful and artistic,- and r What 1 little singihV she had' te m 6 r 'wag done wel l .< 9Asnßd'bh'XtheßervalQt)}'aii«s^May-'Be4ttyi bid: m extremely difficult part,"aDd the tttfanpejt & '- : i^ %Bi6B J? ifial;i f ' t^ioarig*n Jao^y; acquitted herself was a decided ' tribu to to her undoubted^ abilities^as ahjactr'ess. f T<he j character was- presented Ihrlnch r a natural and irresistibly funny light as to completely engage the attention of those pifjSent, who were kept- in a constant §nnm^rof;in|tT[iment while she haid the-, boards. Her ringing q&^^ister. .Mary'H High Top Note'" a' decided bit, L and I she was equally successful in the stag^^k'etiJh'iwith-'MriWa'tsoii', 'the iafcter^ item being vociferously encored. Miss Marion MitchelliHad • not much todo as Nora Boneycomb (the daughter) What little, however, she was called (np'oa'toperform was,:it is almost needless to fay, 4.d^ne wej| r both^her acting and siuging sowing- very- praiseworthy. Mr Alf. Stephens, was. ;oasj ii ,a 8 Mr- Ebenezer.' Honeycomb, and he suited the pare. The pourtr^ya}/wa9,,particukrly ■ clever, mas ri much as the chat ac ter required a good' deal of ''handling and versatility to make it the desired success. In that respect Mr , Stephens succeeded. As a clerical representative in the first act he seemed perfectly at home, and his scenes with the Gay Patisienne were remarkable for their naturalness aud careful attention to detail, while his demeanour when encased in a Highland costume,, and with the cold winds at Scboffenburgen whistling round his bare knees, was excruciatingly funny. He also assisted materially in tbe succes3 which attended the sketch, '! Fit sfc Class und Third Class." Mr Percy covered himself with honour by his repreaenta^ fcion of the excitaole Frenchman, with a heart,, which palpitated like "a fat baby rolling down a staircase.' It was a very heavy part, but Mr Percy's pronounced natural ability' stood him in good stead, and he deservedly merited the encomiums passed upon him./ Mr B. Fitts, who represented Tom Everlejgh,' the barrister, secured a hearty recall top his attractive singing of a solo in the first ac", aud Mr Watson, who took the part ar, a moment's notice on account df Mr Quealy's indisposition, otherwise the comedy could not have been put on, gave an . acceptable impersonation of Major Kossdyke ; the latter's song with chorus " The Butterfly Shooter^," being redemanded. The other main characters were— Hi ns. Mr-E. Nable; Algernon Dudie, MrE. Vaughan and Mabel, Miss Metcalfe. Several quartettes and duets were sung during the,' evening, and one or two dances were graceiully- performed. A full orchestra supplied the incidental music. "FATINITZA" will be produced to>«night. The piece gives wide scope for sceaic effedts, and as interpreted by the Pollards will doubtless prove one of the attractions of the Beason.