THEATRICAL NOTES.

Wanganui Herald, Volume XXXIX, Issue 11648, 28 August 1905, Page 5

THEATRICAL NOTES.

BY "THE SWEE."

Th« production of "My "Sweetheart" by the Wanganui Amateur Musical and Operatic Society has' been unavoidably postponed till the 14th and 15th Septemebr. This pretty little musical comedy is bound to help swell the funds of the Society, besides proving a most enjoyable performance in every way. As the music will be under .Mr Jas. Crichton's able direction, the success of the , piece ' from a musicaL, point of view is assured. ' " '"•

In all probability Williamson's Royal Comic Opera Company will, pay a visit to this colony next" year. Miss Tittell Brune has been receiving great praise for her clever acting in Auckland. His Majesty's Theatre there has been packed ever since the seat-on startedJ ' ' - : " The Knight : Jeffries Company ccm- ._ menced their West Australian reason at Perth on the 4th of this' -month, \itrn they were given a splendid reception. "A Message from* Mars" ,* was recently, revived in London. . ' ' ' '

Mark Hamburg Has signed , a contract to give 30 concerts'" in" South Africa, for which it is. said he will .receive, £4000? - '• The sale of Mrs Brown-Potter's effects,.-, at Bray Lodge, Maidenhead, realised close, on .£3OOO.

The Wellington. Amateurs, assisted By Miss Amy Murphy and Mr Frank t?raham, staged Cellier's .comic opera "I'orothy" for a season of six nights commencing last Thursday. The opera was splendidly staged and acted, v and drew large audiences each night. The net profit made on the performance amounts to jJIOO. . ,' George Stephenison, the well-knowjr theatrical manager, who is conducting the New' Zealand tour of Professor Andrews . of liquid air fame, will moat likely visit . Wanganui with this . clever . and remarkable triumph of chemical science. . Johnnie Sheridan employs 135 people in connection with the production, of "The "Earl and the Girl" at the Sydney Cri- , terion.

. Record nouses greeted that, clever combination West's Pictures and the Breecians during their season of Jive nights, in the Opera House ; here. The pictures are splendid, the beautiful colouring in some of them being magnificent.. The - Brescians are instrumentalists and singer* of a very high degree,, all-.their items being artistic and very '.entertaining. • The. company will no doubt be greeted, with bumper houses on their return "visit in November. . 4

The queue system adopted by the management proved a great success, there not being the pushing and crowding 1 there ' {generally is when a large 'crowd- are waiting to get in the stalls and pit:' " >"

It is said that Madame Patti'a voice has always been insured for JJBOOO against permanent accidental loss. '"'

"The next Australian contralto" is said to be Miss Ella Caspers, of Gbulburn,'a young lady not yet 17 years of age*. Mr Watkin Mills' opinion of her voice is that, it is a "glorious full contralto voice."" Miss .Casper's voice is also referred to as "of rare timbre, a pure contralto, not b£~ heavy calibre, but large, clear? and singu-. ]arly sympathetic." At present -the young lady is being trained by Sister Alexia at the Goulburn Convent •of Mercy. It has been whispered that a powerful syndicate is about to be* formed in Wellington for the purpose of building a» .up-to-date theatre. The capital is set down somewhere between .£30,000 and ,£40,000, and a site near Lambton Quaj\< .is in the promoters' eye. Mr Douglas Gerrard,. a .promising youngactor of the London stage, h'aer^been'-eitr. *'. gaged by Mr J. C. Williamson" for'dra-1" matic work in Australia. .Mr Gerrard counts among his numerous successes this "parts of Kara in Mr Tree's production, of. "The Darling of the Gods," Lancelot in " "Merely Mary Ann," and David Rossi in' "The Eternal City." ' ' The Melbourne season of Mias. Nance O'Neil and her company was remarkable ' for the amount of really hard work 'done < during the seven weeks .for which it lasted. No less than seven pieces were staged, namely, "Magda," "The Fires of St. John,", "The School for , Scandal," "Ingomar," "Trilby," and "Marie Antoinette." All of these necessitated on the part of the company a considerable amount of re-learning and polishing up characters, and as a consequence they practically spent their whole time in the theatre, either at rehearsing or performing.