“HIT THE DECK” OPENS TO-NIGHT AT THEATRE ROYAL.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18642, 20 December 1928, Page 7

“HIT THE DECK” OPENS TO-NIGHT AT THEATRE ROYAL.

To-night at the Theatre Royal, “Hit the Deck,” the latest J. C. Williamson musical comedy success, will succeed that sparkling play, “ The Girl Friend.” “ Hit the Deck,” has proyed a great attraction on both sides of the Atlantic, and is still going strong after many months in London and New York. It is described as a nautical musical comedy, having been adapted from “ Shore Leave,” by Herbert Osborne, book by Herbert Fields, music by Vincent Youmans. There are two acts and six scenes, and there figures a varied selection of characters, including missionaries, mandarins and other Chinese, sailors, and men from along the waterfront. The first scene is enacted at Looloo Martin’s Ship Coffee House, near the docks at Portsmouth, England. The second scene is at the Quay Steps, six months later, while the third scene is the quarterdeck of H.M.S. Inscrutable, three days later. Scene one of Act II is a seaport town in China, four months later still, scene two is the inside of a mandarin’s home, and the final scene is back at Looloo Martin’s Coffee House. The piece provides plenty of opportunity for scenic and spectacular effects, and a full taste of the sea. Some of the musical numbers are particularly fine, including the already famous “ Hallelujah,” which May Beatty, as the black mammy, sings with full vocal and instrumental backing. It is claimed that in London “ Hit the Deck ” provided a remarkable stimulus to recruiting for the Navy, and the call of “ Join the Navy—See the World,” which is. contained in one of the principal songS, was responded to by thousands of young men. Miss Annie Croft, who has so endeared herself to Christchurch audiences, has a part particularly suited to her charming personality, while Gus Bluett, Reginald Sharland and Leo Franklyn have congenial roles.