OPERA HOUSE HAS BRIGHT PROGRAMME.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18546, 21 August 1928, Page 7

OPERA HOUSE HAS BRIGHT PROGRAMME.

The opening of another week sees George Ward and his Snapshot Revue Company, now giving delightful entertainments at Fullers’ New Opera

■ House, at the very height of their form. , The programme this week is fifty-fifty of vaudeville and revue, and in both departures this talented assembly keep the stream of mirth flowing at a merry pace. George Ward himself, endowed by nature to be a funny man. gives his • companions a lead which is irresistible, and they follow in a manner that never fails to gain the whole-hearted plaudits of the audience. There is undoubtedly something which is not quite apparent that is necessary for a company to succeed at mirth making, and the art--1 ist.s now entertaining at Fullers’ have the elusive quality to a marked degree, with the result that their efforts go a little farther than would ordinarily be the case. They never allow anything to drag, yet they always get all that is possible from their ideas. Never from the time the curtain goes up till the audience reluctantly watches its final descent is there a dull moment in any of their shows. George Ward himself was in his element last evening. He took a large share of the burden of carrying on the show, and it is unnecessary to say that he succeeded. “ Hermie ” is a figure which the audience will always laugh at, and his natural comedy is enhanced with a genuine ability that is not too often met with. Charles Sherman acts opposite him in a number of the sketches, as in the revue, and his work is very good, and Al Maurice, the recent and diminutive addition to the personnel, gets laughs that no other could manage. Gus Dawson, Harry Abdy and Howard Hall all take good parts well. The feminine members of the company all shone last evening. Alma Vidor gets lost most touchingly with Al Maurice, and Jean Keith and Kathlyn Ward, with the aid of a piano which was skilfully played by Kathlyn, gave an item that was very popular Dave Meredith and his band have a selection of rhythmic dance music that went very well, and they had the assistance of the rest of the company. Their numbers were very bright, and it must certainly be said that their ideas of brightness coincide with what is wanted. The second half of the programme was devoted to a revue, which told the . sad tale of a young man. about to 1 marry a girl whose parents had great ideas of what was wanted in the ancestry line, who suddenly found that his parents had increased in quantity and decreased in quality. Just as he is about to meet the father of his girl, his mother, supposed to be a widow,

tells him that she has married an undertaker. Then the “ dead ” husband turns up, and close on his heels comes a lady of dusky hue who claims to be his wife. The situations arise quickly and they are very funny. The plot is made to go a long way, and the musical numbers and dances with which it is helped along are of the snappy nature which makes the greate_sh hit with an audience out for amusement. George Ward, Al Maurice, Charles Sherman, Alma Vidor, Curley Sherwood and Colleen Hope take the main parts, and their work is well up to the high standard that they have set in their previous appearances. It is really a rollicking show from beginning to end, and goes with a most commendable swing. It should keep the Opera House full for the rest of the week.