Music and the Stage

Star (Christchurch), Issue 17346, 10 May 1924, Page 23

Music and the Stage

Tho Vanbrugh-Boucicault Company will leave Sydney for New Zealand at the end of the run of “ Aren’t Wo All,” m May. 41 The Tully Sisters ” are talented in more ways than one, and they have had some wonderful experiences during their professional tour. To quote their own remarks, they love music, and aim to make others do likewise. When they succeed, as they invariably do .they are happy. Their frocking on the stage is also a source of admiration to their audiences, especially, of course, the feminine portion. The Tully Sisters’ Jazz Band, under the Musgrove management, is novel, because it is composed of ladies only, and. a family of them at that. Mr 11. A. Shepard, under whose direction the famous '‘.Cong Tack Sam ” and company were presented to Dominion theatre goers, tvill shortly send another company of vaudeville acts, as played at the Tivoli theatres in Sydney and Melbourne. The new company will include Windsor, Edgar, and Keileway, a trio of musicians Th© Tully Sisters, a jazz band of four young ladies, Kesslova. a gypsy violinist, Clare Solly, contralto, and others. Mr Shepard lias associated with him in the management Mr I*. H. Wilson, well known in amusement circles, and Mr Walter Monk, lor manv years touring manager for J. C. Williamson, Ltd. The cause of n.usic in Auckland is undoubtedly rendered the poorer by the recent death of Miss Evelyn Wyman, the accomplished pianist (says the “New Zealand Herald”). Her brilliant performances, which must have been an inspiration to many a student, will be sadly missed from important Town Hall fixtures during the coming musical season. The late Miss Wyman’s art was many-sided, and her searching interpretations invariably satisfied the most fastidious. Her technique was unfailing, while she possessed that com raand of tone and colour which enable ! Tier io present the composer’s intentions with rare accuracy. Miss Wyman’s musical insight was markedly evident when she played some lengthy concerto from memory with the orchestra. At rehearsal, too. her adaptability was frequently shown by the manner in which she could recommence from any part of the score when it was found necessary to repeat some particularly awkward passage or movement. As a teacher. Miss Wyman was very successful, and counted among her pupils many who have obtained highest honours. She also possessed in a marked degree the faculty of perceiving just what it was possible for a student to achieve. To be successful in vaudeville, Australians find it advisable to travel now and then (says a Sydney paper). An instanco is Tom Armstrong, a popular comedian and dancer, who is back after an absence of some years. He lias made long tours in England and America on several occasions. M. Milan Yovanovitck Bratza, the Servian violinist- who will appear with Mr Charles Hackett, the American tenor, in a series of recitals in Australia and New Zealand, is twenty years of age. Tie gained his degree of Bachelor of Music in Vienna at th.s age of fourteen years. *• Members of the Oscar Asche Company desire payment for the time lost in travelling between cities and during rehearsals (said a recent message from Adelaide). Members delivered ru ultimatum to the management that unless the time lost between Adelaide and Perth and between Perth and Melbourne was paid they would not go to Perth. In reply, instructions were received from the firm of J. C. Williamson to cancel the Perth trip, and the company will return to Melbourne and will disband. Certain members v ill he retained for “The Skin Gan Te.” to b© produced in Melbourne this evening. Th© possibilities for Australian arts in vaudeville in Australia are displayed in the rise of the Big Four, an act which is one of th© chief features on the Tivoli bill. Melbourne. A little over twelve months ago the four artists—Cliff O’Keefe Harrv Grundeu, Charlie Perrin, and Frank Wignall joined, and put the act together, and th© Musgrove management was quick to realise that they had the makings of a first-class combination, with th© result that every encouragement was given them, and to-day they ar “ one of the best acts playing on the Tivoli circuit. Some of the essentials for the chorus and ballet, says Mr Dunn, oi the Axistralian Actors’s Federation, are youth, appearance, good figure, especially well formed legs, technical knowledge of dancing movements and a moderate singing voice. J„ addition to dancing said Mr I)unn, ballet ladies are sometimes required to sing and sometimes to perform acrobatic feats. Literally hundreds of movements had to be memoiised. Appearance was very necessary, because when engagements are being made the footlights are switched on to the full, and the girls who are applying for engagements are required to put. on practice dress, which consists of bloomers, stockings, ballet shoes and blouse. The lights show up the contour of the applicant’s face, the colour of her hair and the shape of her head. " • S- Percy, the Australian comedian, broadcasted a specially written tong entitled, “The Man wBo would Sing in his Bath.” using a 1000-guinea bathroom at the Savoy Hotel, equipped with a microphone, enabling the transmission ot realistic water splashing Ho explained that he was most anxious for his to he the first broadcast voice to reach Australia He took the opportunity of rehearsals to go into training, and shouted into the microphone. “The engineers were alarmel and rushed in. and said that I would burst the machine unless I was more careful,” he added. “I tlieieupon spoke from Bft away. T have heard of a man breaking a camera when he was photographed, but I did net think it possible to burst « broadcaster with a voice.” Mrs Cora Brown Potter, who tried to be La Tosca, used to crawl, scared ami sinuous, about the stage when preparing Scarpia’a lust costume (says a tr.»iter in the “ Bulletin Up in North Queensland public opinion boggled at this little ceremony, and on* eight a citizen protested. “After killin the Poor old bloke yer goin’ ter lay ’im out!” he yelled from the gallery, ami 1 applause. Mrs Potter was perturbed and sought counsel of Pet© Hughe*, business manage for the occasion 44 Yes,” said that oracle. won’t do up

here, will it?” Then he hacl an inspiration. “Cut it out.” he advised “jus’ stick him.” “And after that?” asked C'ora. “ A (Ter ye’ve stuck him '* 3us* sneak off.” And thereafter she just stuck him and sneaked off. Miss Kmelic Polini, the actress, who figured recently in the Equity Court in Sydney in an action to obtain the guardianship of her child, was a pas tenger by the Tahiti, which arrived in ’Wellington last week. M-ss Polini is on her way to England via the Cnitea States on a holiday visit. “ l am going to lmve a long, long holiday. and then I am coming back to work out here.” declared Miss Polini to a Press representative. Ft was also her intention to later pursue nor stage career in America. The actes.s is eagerly looking forward to her visit in relatives m England, whom she lias not seen for some years. It was in America where Miss' Polini was originally engaged by the Tait firm to come to Australia, and she has remained a warm favourite with Australian and New Zealand audiences ever since. I" tillers have been running vaudeville in New Zealand for twenty-five years (writes “To Pan a ” in “Smith’s Meekly ”). They kicked off at the Alhambra Theatre. Dunedin, although prior to that time the family had travelled a miorama. which was a glorified name for magic lantern. The late John Fuller sang old English ballads with the show ; Ben was advance agent ami general utility man . and John, jun., operated the machine which screened pictures under the title, “Through Ireland in a Jaunting Car,” and while the mechanism cooled off filled in with a comic song or two. Daughters Hettio and Lydia, now settled in New Zealand, raised their voices in popular songs of the times. The advent of the show' in a town was announced per medium of a greyhound, which trotted the streets bearing the legend on its cover, “ Fullers’ Miorama To-night.” Fred Bluett, graduating from amateur ranks, was programmed with the first Fuller vaudevillians in Dunedin. On odd occasions lie still does a turn with the old firm.

“My greatest worry in England,” J Sir Benjamin Fuller told a correspond cut of the Sydney “ Sun ” “ is to shoo away English artists anxious to renew their acquaintance with Australian shows and Australian sunshine. ’

“There is.” he says, “a cry that variety is dead, but the fact is that more people are employed in the entertainment industry than ever before. It is difficult to find an unoccupied theatre ! in the whole of England. Look at this eighty or a hundred revue companies playing in eighty or a hundred variety theatres. In pre-war days the bill used to consist at the outside of fifteen people, some getting tremendous, the thirty people, paid average salaries. I; is better for the business generally, al though perhaps not so good for the individual artist. The individual artist cries out naturally that there is not the same demand for variety acts. But, do they recognise that they killed the goose that laid the golden egg? To-day the revue is, perhaps, at its apex, though appearances indicate that it will not lose its popularity for a very long while. Variety is not dead. It has only changed its form, and there are not so many high salaries as before.” “ John Drink water.” says a London writer, " cannot be stopped. After doing Abraham Lincoln, Mary Stuart, Oliver Cromwell, and Robert E. Lee, on the stage, he is now finishing Robert Burns, with incidental music by Frederick Austin.” Bernard Shaw was recently asked why he had written a play about Joan of Arc. “ To save her from Drink water,” he answered. On the authority of M. Stier, liei conductor, the Lonaon “ Daily Telegraph ” says that Mdlle Pavlova, the dancer, is likely to tour Australia in 192-5. Anna Pavlova was trained ac tlu- Imperial Ballet School in Petrograd. She made her first appearance in London at the Palace Theatre in 1919. when, assisted by Michael Morkkin. she scored an immediate success in “Le Cygne,” “I.as Papfillons ” and made successful appearances both in Paris and New YorTc. For some years she appeared regularly at the Palace in London. Recently, Pavlova has given seasons at Drury Lane and the Queen’s Hall, London.

A musical treat is coming to New Zealand (says a Wellington paper). Ou May 13 three great artists arrive in this city : —Lenghi-Cellini, operatictenor from Covent Garden; Zac-ha rewitsch, a famous Polish violinist; and Maestro Conte Uietro Cimara, sole pianist and accompanist. Thanks to the enthusiasm of Sir Frederick Bridge, we are to hoar sooner or later a revised version of Charles Dickens’s early opera, “The Village Coquettes ” (says a London paper). The only existing copies of the score of this almost forgotten piece perished in a theatre fire at Edinburgh I in 1830. Last year, says Sir Frederick, when on. a fishing holiday in Scotland, finding that lie could not catch fish, he took out the play to se© if he could catch some tunes instead.

Students of the Trinity College of music are now rehearsing some of these efforts, which, with the rescued scores of some of Hie .original songs, will complete the piece. Windsor, Edgar and Keileway, who are comilng to New Zealand shortly with the Musgrove Vaudeville, as three musicians, are not merely players of the fiddle. Two of them are Trinity College players and ex-musical directors of West End orchestras. With them comes Mr Keileway, brother to Mr Cecil Keileway, already known in the Dominion. Mr fvellewav has an excellent voice, ancl when lie starred in “ Round in 60 ’’ for the recent nine months’ run in London, ho showed London that one might be a frolicsome musical comedy star and still be a great singer. Al-

s-ieSfuis puu put on a light, amusing comedy turn, full of fun. it is 6taged with concert platform qualities.

“ FLUTTERS ” IN THEATRES BUSINESS MEN WHO TAKE A RISK At present theatres happen to be almost unprocurable in London—which is not at first sight easy to explain. Theatrical business for the last many months, says a writer in the “Daily Chronicle,” has been normal—neither disastrous nor brilliant. J.t has been almost completely ordinary. And yet there is so great a rush for the possession of theatres that some of them are hooked production after production ahead. There is a reason for this, and the ! reason is as follows: Theatrical speculation, risky to the last degree, is still ; extraordinarily attractive. The people | it attracts nowadays are largely busi- i ness men with many other interests and a little capital to spare. It represents a “flutter”—and a ''flutter” that is not going to cost much compared with really big financial dealings and in which they stand to discover a gold mine. The running of a play at an average fairly economical theatre is £IOOO a week. An average theatre, filled to capacity, will draw in £ISOO a week. The entire expense of starting a production (rent in advance, initial salaries, scenery, dresses, advertising, etc.) together with the initial capital required, is £3OOO. That is to say, a big business man, to whom £3OOO is a trifle, can for this neglible sum set himself up in management. He thinks he has a play that will be a success. His ‘ flutter ” may go entirely wrong and he may lose exactly £3OOO. But if it goes right, for weeks, and months, and maybe for years, he may be drawing interest to the tune of about £.500 a week—or 800 per cent on his outlay! The writer says, “ I am talking of the quite inexpensive play, a comedy or a farce, without elaborate dresses or scenery, and with a fairly small cast. The theatre will not be His Majesty’s or Drury Lane. The play will not he a vast spectacle like ‘ Chu Chin Chow.’ But ‘ Tons of Money ’ is such a play, and this ran for over two years. A ‘Tons of Money’ occurs once in a decade. No one, not even the

most experienced band, can tell ex* actly what will be a success when ifc comes to be played. The £SOO a week profit needs every seat in the theatre to be filled at all performances, practically an impossibility for many weeks together. And, as often as not. a play that seemed so brilliant in reading, and even in rehearsal, will not, when it comes to be produced, draw a sixpence. ; ‘lt is all immense fun, for the glamour of the theatre is on the business man ; and a coup on the stock exchange seems dull in comparison. The only figure that does not occur to him is that, as 150 plays are produced a year, and as *' Tons of Money * occurs only once in ten years, the chances are more than a thousand to one against him. But what does it matter? Ho himself knows it is only a flutter.”