The Lorgnette

Observer, Volume XXVI, Issue 44, 21 July 1906, Page 6

The Lorgnette

By Prompter,

COMING SHOWS 13th August to 18th August — " The Lady Typist." 20th August to 24th August— Edison's " America at Work " Pictures 25th August to 31st August.— Leslie Harris's Monologue Entertainments. Ist September to 29th September— MacMahon Dramatic Company. 7th September to 14th September — William Collier Dramatic Company. Ist October to 6th October —Westminster Glee Singers. Bth October to 17th October— Harry Rickards's Vaudeville Company. Bth October to 27th October — Tittell Brune Company. 20th October to Ist September— West's Pictures and the Breseians. 29th January ,to lbth February — Royal Comic Opera Company (pencilled in) 18th February to 9th March. — Waldron (" Squaw Man ") Dramatic Company.

THE second thriller in the present Anderson budget did credit to the lessee's reputation for firstclass sensational bills. " The Orphan Heiress '' may not have realised all the expectations raised by its prospectus in the way of side-splitting comedy, but for scarification of the nerves it was a gem of its kind. The sensations were laid on slab and thick. They centre around the determination of a certain nephew of a blind English peer to secure his uncle's title and fortune. For this purpose, with his sister's aid, he abducts the heiress, estranges her parents, gets a will made in his own favour in case she should not return, compasses the death of the two old people by "accidental" means, and then, when the girl returns to the family roof, runs the gamut of crime in the eftort either to get her out of the way or compel her to marry him. The trials of the heroine and her friends are only ended with the fall of the curtain, and the inevitable discomfiture of the villain.

The triumph of sensationalism happens when the gentlemanly villain pops the lovely heiress into the tigers' cage in a menagerie, because she has refused to give him her hand and moneybags. Just as you begin to hear the snap of the tigers' jaws the real lover of the trapped girl, with the ginger-headed comic man who has stood faithful to her in all her trials, appear and effect a gallant and exciting rescue. The idea is far-fetched enough, but as a stirring stage incident it was, as an enraptured youth among the gods remarked, " a bit of all right." The bloodcurdling screams of the seemingly doomed girl are still reverberating about the dome of the theatre.

If Harry Diver continues playing the schemer and plotter so persistently he will be in danger of forgetting what it is to be virtuous. In this instance his villain was as cool and calculating, and as polished and treacherous, as they are made — in melodrama. Miss Helene Burdette was the much harried young lady, pathetically winsome in her distresses. Her screaming act in the tiger's cage was a triumph of lung power. Stirling White made a touching characterisation of the sightless peer. Frank lleis and Maisie Maxwell, as comic servants opportunely on hand to assist in thwarting the plotters, got in some clever work on the lighter side. Dolly Strathmore, the villain's sister and abettor, and Max Clifton, another of the gang, were reasonably villainous on their own account, and there was a long series of minor characters. The uiountiug and stage accessories were commendable.

" The Mariners of Euglaud," which caiue upon the boards on Tuesday, contains all the odour of brine that its title suggests. Lord Nelson 7 himself is one of (he principal characters, and a

play written round Britain's greatest naval hero and Trafalgar could hardly be otherwise than successful, even if it lacked the fine tableaux and the splendid general mounting with which Mr Anderson has dressed it. The Trafalgar battle scene is done effectively, and an earlier attempt upon the hero's life on the cliffs of Dover by a spy in French pay is made a prominent incident. Ot course, the main story is oneof love and jealousy, and it is less improbable than usual. The historic setting is framework enough to enable the author to dispense with other sensational effect*. It is refreshing to see Harry Diver replace theltowns of villainy with the noble bearing of the nautical hero. His NeUon is one of the most impressive portraiture*, and be* falls and dies on the Victory picturesquely. In the cast there are naval officers of both the hero'c and the treacherous kind, sailors and their sweethearts, and numbers of other interesting characters. " The Mariners" is a breezy and healthy play, and should' run successfully to the end of the week. It will be followed by the Australian drama " Thunderbolt."

The star items on the Fuller bill at the Opera House just now are the clever imitations of celebrated actors by Garden Wilson, and the feats of a troupe of performing animals. The Bcope f of such impersonations as Mr Wilson undertakes is necessarily limited to those celebrities whose peculiarities are known to colonial audiences. Within these restrictions he gives a bright series of impersonations, true to the . features, the make-up, and the personel idiosyncracies of his "subjects." The little menagerie is the property of one Antonio, who himself acts as trainer and showman. His company consists of dogs and monkeys, all wellschooled acrobats, and apparently enthusiastic at the business. Their feats range from simple jumping and skipping to difficult tight-rope feats and concerted acrobatistn. There have been human performers who have done but little better. ■

There is also a new acquisition on the musical side of the programme, Val Newton, a basso of considerable power and vocal skill. One doesn't expect light humour from a basso, and Mr Newton's turn makes a solid plum in the succession of serio items that are the foundation ingredients of the present Fuller pudding. This week his songs are " Dearer than Life " and " The Skipper." The little Auckland boy N. Mudfoid confirms the good impression made by his precocious vocal promise of last week. Ida and Eva Brady are giving another acceptable selection of sentimental songs, chiefly, for the present, concerning their affection for their " mamma." Pearl Lovell, Elsiej ßates, Pearl Hellmricb, Kitty Delavale, and Phyllis Fay form a strong corps for the serio work, and Jack Uagan and Carl Collier are humorous in just their usual degree. Keoruits to the company on Saturday night will be the clever Mnsical Gardiners, the Golden Duo, the Driscolls, and Percy Lodge, impersonator of female characters.

As a product of entirely colonial voice- training, Miss Amy Murphy, of Dunedin, who gave her first Auckland concert at the Choral Hall on Monday, is a singer of whom the colony may justly be proud. She is the owner of a fresh and pure-toned soprauo voice, of remarkable range, and enU in ir able in its evenness all through the registers, her enunciation is generally distinct, save for the tiniest suspicion of a lisp, and she has a charming stage presence. That Miss Murphy is in the front rank of the resident colonial sopranos admits of no question. Whether she will ever make a great artist in the «ense of a Melba, a Crosaley, or a Sherwin, is another matter. Frankly, she seems to lack the necessary temperament. Her emotional efforts at Monday's concerts — Tosti's "Goodbye," for instance — were her least successful. But as an exponent of ballads and the lighter classes of music, Miss Murphy is one of the most delightful vocalists who have visited us.

The one fault to be found with Tuesday's programme waa the amount of work undertaken by the concert-giver. With programme items and encores Miss Murphy was responsible for fourteen songs. Now, fourteen songs within the space of two hours would be too great a tax upon any voice, and it waa not surprising that towards the end of the concert Miss Murphy's voice showed signs of weariness, and that her enunciation, till tlien almost perfect, also suffered. Artistically, her most successful item was the wellknown " Ernani" aria, which opened the conceit. Here the voice was heard in almost its full range, and with splendid flexibility, the ornate runs and trills being negotiated with the utmost ease. The success of this brilliant effort was heartily recognised, and in response to the encore Miss Murphy gave her next best eftort, the Swinging Song from Lisa Lehmann's «• l)ai>y Chain " Cycle. Uut of the rest of the long programme, we would name as the gems several small lyrics—" The Cuckoo " (Lehmann), "The Princess" (Heinricks), a lovely madrigal by Nevin, " One Spring Morning," and the " Overheard in the Lane " item from a new Lehmann cycle, " The Life of a Kose." Valuable assistance in the concert was given by Miss Millicent Heywood, pianist : Mr Stuart Maclean, cellist : and Mr J. M. Clark, who recited " Jean Goello's Yarn." Another concert is to be held at the Choral Hall to-ni«ht (Thursday).

The Howard Brothers, of eerie thought-reading renown, are returning to New Zealand for the Christchurch Exhibition.

Marion Crawford, the novelist, lias pronounced Miss Maud Williamson's stage version of the book "In the Palace of the King," which sue played in New Zealand two or three yearn ago under the title " In Old Madrid," to be the best dramatisation of the work that he has read. Miss Williamson has secured to herself the English copyright of the play.

The repertoire of the Royal Comic Opera Company for the tour of New Zealand which is to begin at Wellington on Boxing Night will comprise " The Orchid," " The Cingalee," the Girl from Kay's," " I he Little Michus," "Kitty Grey," and possibly "The Spring Chicken."

Julius Knight has cabled to J. C. Williamson that as soon as he arrived in London his services were secured by Beerbohm Tree to support Miss Ellen Terry in an elaborate Shakespearian production which will shortly be staged at Her Majesty's Theatre there.

Alfred Woods and Maud Williamson (Mrs Woods) were not many weeks in England before they took to the boards. They are at present associated with Charles Cartwright in a tour of the provinces with his A del phi production " Dan'l Peggplty," which will fill up their time till the northern autumn. Mr Woods's performance as Ham Peggotty is very favourably noticed by the press. The plans of Mr and Mrs Woods from the end of the year are as yet indefinite. They have had two offers of inducement to return to America. It is nior? likely, however, that they will tour the English provinces with their own playsi Another possibility is that Mr Cartwright (the original " Village Priest " in Australia) will join forces with them for a tour of the colonies at no distant date.

Fuller's vaudeville company have had the entertainment field of Wellington to themselves for the last fortnight. The Williamson Opera Company, however, break in upon the city this week for their return season with "Veronique," "Utopia," and " Princess Ida."

Charles Maeinahon, of the firm which has catered with conspicuous success for lovers of melodrama in the last year or two, has hied him to Sydney to secure fresh blood for the new company about to be organised.

Meynell and Gunn are bringing to the colonies an English company which will appear at Melbourne in Cup week, in a play entitled "The Little Strangers." Afterdoing Melbourne and Sydney, the company will come on to New Zealand, opening its tour of this colony at Wellington in December.

" The Fatal Wedding" has proved such a successful card to Messrs Meyne!! and Gunn in New Zealand that they have arranged for a return season, which will begin at Dunedin about December, and will cover towns which they are not visiting on the present tour.

Ada Reeve, comedienne, is said to have received a fee of £5000 for her nine weeks' season at Johannesburg.

The Corrick Family of Entertainers are just now " doing " South Australia.

Reported that Auguste Van Biene, of "Broken Melody" fame, issuing George Musgrove in the New York courts for £vd,(H)O damages for breach of contract.

The late Richard Seddon is already an asset of the entertainer. Southern slides illustrating incidents in his career are being shown on the West Coast, where, of course, they are specially appreciated.

Grace Fftlotta, of the Willoughby Ward Company, is writing a novel, to be called " A Viennese Romance," which will shortly be published in Australia. The authoress is a native of Vienna.

"Dot" Boucicaulfc was at latest advices appearing as the amateur detective Bedford at the London Comedy in a dramatisation of Homing's " RalHeSj the Cracksman."

Charles Carter, the Blenheim boy who left the Pollards to become a grand opera artist in England, has indeed progressed. The London Times is the last paper in the world to lavish compliments where they are not merited, and this is what it said of him the other day in urging that he ought to be given a chance in high Wagnerian music : — " It seems absurd that, while the managers of Covent Garden scour Germany for tenors who, when they come, are not fit to be listened to, so good an artist as Mr Carter should not have been found out and specially trained for the arduous work."