STAGELAND.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume L, Issue 12145, 7 September 1908, Page 3

STAGELAND.

.Mb- I OPERA HOUSE BOOKINGS. September 9 and 10.— J. C. Williamson, "Humpty Dumpty." Sepfember 14.—Royal Picture Syndicata September 17 and 18.—Royal Military Band of Great Britain. September 21—Royal Picture Syndicate September 24—D.H.S. Entertainment The Royal Pictures Syndicate, who • have been giving weekly entertain- » ments in Wellington during the past - nine months, have decided to make a circuit embracing AVellington, Palmerston, Feilding, Marton, Wanganui, Pa- - tea and New Plymouth. They gave their first "show" at the Opera' Houso on Thursday evening, when a very '- large house was delighted. In view of the small prices and the excellence of .. the pictures, it :s safe to predict that the Opera House will be packed on tlVe - occasion o£ each entertainment. ; "Humpty Dumpty" will be the great attraction at the Opera House this j week. There was a great rush to .book seats on Friday morning. An old London Gaiety favourite, Edmund Payne, relates a pathetic story. "The proudest and one of the saddest incidents of my life, "he says, "both happened within fifteen minutes of each other. I was the original Miggles in '•The Shop Girl," made a big "hit," but after two weeks' run was stricken down with typhoid, and remained on nay back for seventeen months. I returned to the Gaiety to play the same part. The house was packed, and on 3 my first entrance the whole audience rose and shouted and cheered and wav f ed their handkerchiefs for five minutes. I stood in the centre of the stage with j tears of joy streaming down my face. That was my proudest moment, fifteen , minutes later I was dancing with the i late Miss Katie Seymour, and broke my leg." i 'Daisy Wood, another of Marie Lloyd's r sisters, is to visit America in the near future. She is having a special reper- . toire of songs prepared for her. It is stated that Miss Mabelle Morgan, principal "boy" with the Humpty Dumpty Pantomime Company, leaves for England at the termination of her , present engagement, to fill a similar role in a London pantomime. Mr Charlie Taylor, of the well-known I Taylor-Carrington Theatrical combination, who recently disbanded his dramatic company to take on a picture show, is, we understand, shortly to abandon his new project and return to drama. A wealthy syndicate is said c to have purchased Mr Taylor's plant, 1 which is a particularly good one. >f Mr Alfred King, for many years, -, musical director of the old Pollard [- Company, died the other day in Kal- -- goorlie. Of late years Mr King had [- \ settled down in Kalgoorlie as a teacher of singing and pianoforte, and also took a great interest in amateur theatricals. The deceased wjjs always a prime fav[m ourite with the members of the Pollard Company. Miss Margaret Anglm's first Melbourne appearance at Her Majesty's j Theatre, last Saturday evening, Aug. ' 22nd) was undoubtedly a triumph; As y Marise Voysin, the erring woman in ._ Beriiiteiu's modern drama, "The-Tbief," the young American star kept her ins j mense audience spellbound as in the second act particularly she passed _ through scene after scene of intense emotional feeling which caused them to burst iiito storms ,of applause as soon *" as the tension was slackened. At the end of the pjerformance the house resounded with heai-ty calls, and both the talented young actress, Mr G. S. Titheradgo (who, of course, received the heartiest of greetings), and the rest of _ the clever company, including Mr "" Henty Kolker, received well merited ap- > p^ause. "The Merry Widow" has been fascinating playgoers in Adelaide for the last two weeks where the Lehar masootte has been playing to crowded and appreciative houses. To-day (Saturday, Aug. 29tt.)> the company leave the South Australian capital by trail for Sydney r where they join the steamer for Bris-. bane, being due to opan ty- *ne: latter • city on Friday next. V Mrs Aiine Marshall was the first professional actress in England. She acted in "Othello" in December, 1660. Mr Frank Thornton, the well-known actor, 6aid good-bye to New Zealand audiences at the conclusion of the performance of "The Private Secretary", at His Majesty's Theatre, Auckland,^ on. Saturday evening, it being his intention to retire from the stage after his coming seasons in Sydney and Melbourne. In request to calls for a speech, Mr Thornton said it was now 22 years since ho first visited New Zealand, and his first appearance was in the character

which ho had pjayed that evening, viz., "Rev Robert Spalding." Since then he ha<l visited the Dominion fivo times. " Peter Pan " bid farewell to Melbourne players on Friday of last week (August 21st), and after a night >n Geelong (Saturday, August 22nd) opened at the Sydney Theatre Royal on Wednesday last (August 26th). At the conclusion of their highly gratifying Brisbane season next week the Kingston-Brotigh Company will begin their Queensland provincial tour visiting the coastal towns on the way northward to Townsvillo and Charters Towers. After a very successful three months season at the Sydney Theatre Royal, where they scored two distinct successes with " The Prince of Pilsen" and "The Red Mill," the company responsible or those two musical comedies will open at the Princess' Theatre, Melbourne, this evening, in " The Red Mill," which with its quaint Dutch setting and specially capable interpreters, including Mr John Ford; Mr Chas. Lod er, Mr Geo. Whitehead,- "Mr Edmund Sherras, Mr Fred Leslie and Miss Fanny Dango, Hiss Olive Godwin, and Miss Alma Barber, promises to be a very favourite attraction with! "Melbourne playgoers. The homours and vagaries of the folk of the " Cabbage Patch " are forming food fo laughter and enjoyment at Her Majesty's Theatre, Sydney, where " Mrs Wiggs" and her associates have been cordially received. Mr G. S. Titheradge considers Australia a very delightful place after some of his experiences in America, where a theatrical life is somewhat on the same plane as slavery. The popular "Tith" had been engaged by a prominent actor manager who began his rehearsals at about nine in the morning and continued them till it was almost time fco prepare for the evening's performance without any pause for, mid-day luncheon. This state of affairs did not appeal to Mr Titheradge, who after waiting in vain for the signal to adjourn for lunch, calmly walked up to the star and said he was going out to get something to eat. The man in authority gasped with amazement, and so did the members of the companyj and while they were gasping " Tith" went on his way rejoicing. The same thing happened two or three times in succession, and then a reform came about in the shape of a notice on the call board to the effect that there would be an interval for luncheon, which won for (Mr Titheradge the never-ending gratitude of his fellow artists.