The STAGE

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume IX, Issue 684, 16 April 1903, Page 10

The STAGE

[Br

Micus.]

BOOKINGS. Opera. House, Auckland : April 11 to May 23—Anderson’s Dramatic Company Jtpw 8 to 26—Geo. Musgrove’s “ Sweet Nell ” Company Jttne 27 to July 10—Harry Rickards Co. December 24 to January 24, 1904—McMahon’s Dramatic Company Hrs Majesty’s Theatre. Auckland Avril 13 to May 12—Anderson’s Dramatic Company Opera House, Wellington April 11 to May 2—J. C. Williamson Co. May 4 to 80—Hawtrey Comedy Company •, June 1 to 13—Rickards’ Company 1 June 17 to July 3—Musgrove Company July 11 to 25—J. C. Williamson September 9 to 29 —American Musical Comedy Company October 30 to November 13—J. C. Williamson Novembr 16 to 21—Willoughby-Geaeh omp my November 23 to December 12 —j. c. Williamson December 23 to January 23, 1904 —Anderson's Dramatic Company Theatre Royal. Christchurch April 11 to 25—Miss Fitzmaurice Gill’s Company April 27 to May 9—Musgrove Company Princess Theatre, Dunedin ' April 11 to 25—Musgrove Company May 1,2, and 4—Westminster Abbey Glee Company May 6 to 18—Rickards’ Company May 30 to June 13—McMahon’s Dramatic Company His Majesty’s, Dunedin. May 17 to 24—J. 0. Williamson’s Opera Company April 27 to May 7—Miss Fitzmaurice Gill’s Company August 6 to 15—J. C. Williamson November 4to 14—J. C. Williamson Opjcba House, Wanganui. April 11 to 18—Hawtrey Company June 6 to 10—Musgrove Company June 18 to 20—Rickards’ Company Opera House, Hawera. June 22—Rickards’Company Theatre {Royal, New Plymouth. June 24 and 25 —Richards’ Company June 29 and 30—J. C. Williamson November 27 and 28—Willoughby-Geaeh Company Dix’a Gaiety Co. nightly at the City Hall, Auckland and /heaths Royal, Wellington.

Managers and secretaries of theatres in New Zealand would do well to keep the list of booking that is published at the head of this column up to date. Unless the dates booked at the various theatres are sent regularly the object of the column is entirely useless. If posted regulahrly it would prove of great value to managers looking for dates in New Zealand, and would save much annoyance and waste of time. A post-card or wire to " Amicus,” “ Review,” Auckland, will receive prompt attention.

The following dates have been arranged by the Hawtrey Comedy Company Wanggnui, April 11 to April 18 ; Palmerston North, April 20 and 21 ; Napier, April 22 to 27 ; Hastings, April 28 and 29 ; Masterton, April 30, and May 1 ; Wellington, May 4 to May 30.

Thus says the “ Town and Country Journal ” about Miss Ethel Knight Mollison, who has been engaged by Mr J. C. Williamson to play the leading part in “ Are You a Mason.” Miss Mollison, who is a Canadian by birth, is a handsome woman, a little over the middle height, with a charming smile, and a gracious and vivacious manner. She is a great believer in hard work, and once she is in> harness finds little leisure for anything outside her profession, so is very glad to find that her season dpcs not open till early in April. She is a great lover of art, and studied for 1 two years at South Kensington. At the end of that time having, as she thought, discovered that, though an excellent copyist, she was never likely to do any original work in this department, she turned her attention to the stage, and found here scope for her creative abilities. Her career, though not a long one, has been very successful, for she displays that originality which, as she truly remarks, is the one thing which chiefly makes for success in small things and in great, or, as she quaintly but forcibly puts it, “It’s the new kind of cakes that make the success of an afternoon tea.”

The costly scenery and accessories of the famous play, “ Sweet Nell, of Old Drury,” in charge of a stall of mechanists, has arrived in New Zealand, and Mr Musgrove’s fine Company opened at the Princess’s Theatre on Easter Saturday. Miss Stewart brings with her a splendid repertoire of plays, so that New Zealanders may anticipate an enjoyalble season. The Sydney “ Bulletin,” recently commenting on the revival of “ Sweet Nell ” in Sydney, remarked that if was doubtful if three finer exponents of dramatic art would again be seen in Sydney than Miss Nellie Stewart, Messrs Harcourt-Beatty and Albert Gran.

STABAT MATER.

There was a packed audience at His Majesty’s Theatre on the evening of Good Friday to witness the representation of Rossini’s great work, as interpreted by Madame Tree and a selected company of ladies and gentlemen. The first part of the programme consisted of sacred solos. .Mr Rupert Mantel! gave a fine rendering Mendelssohn’s “It is Enough,” with ’cello obligato by Mr Charles Waud. Miss Maud Tobias, a, young Aucklander who has been trained by Madame Tree, made her debult in Gounod’s “ There is a Green Hill Far Away,” and created a very pleasing impression. Her voice is a promising mezzosoprano, and with further care and practice this young lady bids fair to make a name for herself. As an encore she gave

“ The Children’s' Home ’* in a very pleasing style. Madame Tree, who voice has recovered its full brilliancy, and forcibly recalls her many and great artistic triumphs on the grand opera stage in London and the colonies, sang Gounod s “Ave Maria ” with force and splendoulr. Madame Tree is a consummate artiste, and the reasons of health that induced her to make Auckland her temporary home are not to be regretted by those residents who are either amateurs or students of vocal music. Miss Doris Boult played the violin obligato to Hie ” Ave Maria ” with delicacy and taste. MiFrank Graham the talented English tenor, who has been for some time delighting audiences at the City Hall, contributed Mendelssohn’s “If With All Your Hearts." and Sir Wilfred Manning gave Sullivan's “ Thou Art Passing Hence My Brother."

both items being loudly applauded. Miss Doris Boult's two violin solos were welcome numbers, and showed that the young artiste is still improving her style. The ’’ Stabat Mater ” showed that much care had been taken in the preparation of the work. Mr Towsey conducted, and tdle Orchestra was under the skilful leadership of Mr A. Eady. The first soprano was taken by Madame Tree, whose talent in this direction has been abundantly shown by her singing in St. Patrick's Cathedral. On Friday night she surpassed all her previous efforts here. and her rendering of the “ Inflammatus " was nothing short of a revelation. Miss Tobias and Messrs Graham and Mantell formed an admirable support, and the choruses were most capably given. There was a perfect rain of bouquets, and the audience also testified its delight in various other wavs.

STEELE-PAYNE BELLRINGERS

There was a real holiday audience at the Opera House on Friday night, when the old favourite Steele-Payne Company gave the single entertainment that it is possible to have for some time, owing to the local places of amusement being engaged. Every part of the spacious theatre was crowded, and the whole performance was received with unmistakable delight. It is a little hard on the talented company to have to wear the fetters of a sacred concert, because their repertoire is essentially one of mirth and buoyancy, put, like the good artists they are, nothing in the shape of music comes amiss to them. Mr Steele, who as a laughter compeller has, in the language of Artemus Ward, few superiors and no equal, is the most painfully affected by the semi-Sab-bath conditions, and even he manages to let us know he is there. It is lucky that there are numerous concerted vocal numbers of a serious cast which possess the highest claims upon our sympathy, and such old favourite&i as “ Steal away to Jesus,” “ Nelly was a Lady,” “ Come where my Love lies Dreaming,” and the “ Vesper Hymn ” are sure of a cordial welcome in any place and circumstances. These were all rendered with grace and feeling, worthy of the best traditions of the Payne family. The selections on the

hand bells, “ Sweet Chiming Bells/* 5 " Sweet By and Bye,” “ Ben Bolt,” and Others were delightfully rendered, and in each instance an imperative encore ha dtQ be acceded to. Miss Maude Payne received an ovation on her reappearance after nine years' absence, and in her brilliant violin solo " Home, Sweet Home ” she showed that her hand had lost, none of its cunning. tn the second part she contributed a pathetic vocal solo, “ Joe and Me,” for which she was also loudly applauded. Miss Agnes Rahilly, a new member of the company, created a - favourable impression, both as a singer of dramatic ballads and as a reciter, and she came in for unmistakable encores. Miss Kate Maher gave Sing. () ye Angels ” with much expresr •sion, and -Mr -James Williams sang " Rocked in the Cradle of the Deep ” in his usual effective style, responding to a recall with the favourite “ Asleep in the Deep." The remaining items on a rich arid varied programme were selections on the sleigh bells (“ He Wipes the Tear ”) by Miss Lizzie Payne, glassophone selections by Mr Steele, and selections on the mandolin, banjo, and guitarra by the ladies of the company. At the close Mr Steele, in thanking the audience, said he hoped to be able to return to Auckland in about a month’s time and give a short season of secular music, an announcement which was received with loud cheers.

HIS MAJESTY’S THEATRE.

" THE WORST WOMAN IN LONDON.” The Anderson Company have come back to us with an abundance of fresh novelties, and the lovers of the very latest fashion in melodrama should feel gratified. It is characteristic of the managemeot of the Anderson Companies that what it undertakes to do it does with absolute thoroughness. If Shakespere were the vogue, which he is not, Mr Anderson would give us a mise en scene that would transport us to the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, body and mind ; if he took up the romantic drama he would make us half believe in' the existence of chivalry and the supernatural ; but dealing as he does with the present day demanc for the sensational, he offers Us dramas in which we have a microcosm of the world of London, with its wealth,, its misery, its brilliant flashes of splendour, and its infinite depths of darkness. In the extraordinary compression Of incident and distillation of sentiment demanded by the exigencies of the theatre, the “ unities,” so dear to the soul of Nicholas Nickleby’s genteel patrons, have to go by the board. Some people may think that the probabilities have to follow, but it has to be remembered that stage characters, to be effective, even in ordinary drama; or comedy, must be types rather than individualisations. That every trait of character depicted in such a melodrama as that of “ The Worst Woman in London ” has its counterpart in real life is daily attested by the reports in the columns of the newspapers. Only, to save time and to concentrate the interest, the playwright

wraps up half-a-dozen characters of similar kind in one personality, 'rhe method was a favourite one with Dickens, and a knowledge of this supplies the answer to the charge of exaggeration so frequently brought against him. “ The Worst Woman ” is a fair specimen, of the most successful of recent productions. It is but right to say at the outset, that the “book” is inferior to both the mounting and the acting. It is placed on the stage with a regard to every eetail that makes for the general effect in a manner (hat can only be described as marvellous. Expense seems to have been the last thing thought of, and some of the sets■ ,are among the very finest we have seen. The interiors are exceedingly rich, and the out-of-door scenes, such as that in Hyde Park, with its accessories of moving motor car, and barouche and jpair of real horses, seemed to be better than the dramatic incidents which they served to make so thoroughly realistic. The revolving scene in the last act, by means of which the audience are permitted to view, in rapid succession th'e inside of a burning house, and its exterior (from the adjacent housetops) was a triumph of mechanical skill. Even the “ carpenter's scenes ” were admirably effective, and one or two were pretty in the extreme. The acting, too, maintained a fair level of excellence. Of the plot it is not necessary to sav much in detail. It is the old story, in a newsetting, of youthful folly and repentance, of an Undeserved Nemesis: of (rial.-, sor-

row, and poverty, ending, as usual, in happiness. The evil genius in this case is an adventuress, Prances Verc, and she has a gentlemanusher in crime of the name of" Ryle. She plans the ruin of the virtuous hero, one. Jack Felton, his fiancee Ruth Milford, and the father of the latter, all for the purpose of making money. Poor Jack had once been her lover, and at her instance had, as he believed, killed another man. She plays upon this to procure his expulsion from Milford’s house, and then marries the old man. When the latter finds her out in turn she murders him, fixing the guilt on the person supposed to have been slain by Pelton,, but who turns' up at the wrong moment. This man, Armstrong, is arrested but escapes, and reappears once more in the nick of time to stab Prances, and so close that amiable young person’s earthly pilgrimage. But between the two incidents Frances and Lyle have set lire to Jack’s house, while Ruth (now his wife) is in it, and

Jack’ away performing at a circus. Ruth, after a desperate struggle, escapes by sliding down a telephone wire into her beloved Jack’s arms, and Prances follows, only to be finished < I'f in the manner already described. 'I his is only the merest outline of a story chock full of HambuOyant life, and embroidered with more than the usual complement of creepy horrors. The principal roles were most efficiently filled. Miss. Helen Burdette seemed to have, sunk her identity in that of Frances Vere, and played with a powerful earnest-

ness that at times held the audience thrilled. Miss Ida Gresham, as the innocent and much-tried heroine, acted with much grace, and Miss 'Towers, in the part of Matilda Barker, the privileged servant of the Milford’s, on the look-out for a husband (which she gets) was a huge favourite with the hteral-minded put ions of the plav all over the house. Mr Harry Pliimner did all that the author requires of hinj without perceptible strain. Ihe dialogue of melodrama sounds a little trite on the lips of this fine actor—who only recently so capably filled the part of Sherlock Holmes—but he was none, the less welcome on that account. Jack is a manly hero, and Mr Plimmer knows howto fill up that sort of order. Mr Harry Diver is another capable actor, and he was perhaps better fitted with the character of the mephistophelian rascal Vincent Lyle, whose sense of humour just, falls short of being able to keep him honest. Mr Hawthorne made a proficient (•ileus proprietor, and displayed his ability to keep the laughter department brimful and overflowing,, in concert with Miss Towers. Mr? St antord played the maniac Armstrong with quite admirable restraint, a remark, that does not apply to Mr George Chalmers' representation of Frances Vere’s bibulous father. Such fooling may be clever, bu't it is not edifying. 'The minor parts were all capably filled.

'The unseen artists who did the hard graft behind are also deserving of a special word of praise. 'The orchestra, too, under Madame Ceschina, contributed to the general excellence of the performance. 'I he theatre on the holiday nights was severely taxed to hold the audience. Every inch of standing-room was requisitioned, and the patrons were not only literally as thick, as peas, but evidently filled with genuine delight from the rising of the curtain to its final fall. I predict for the company a phenomenal Season.

“THE MARINERS OF ENGLAND.”

'The Anderson Company will play “ The Worst Woman " until and including Friday night, and on Saturday will be staged for the first time in Auckland, the) fine drama from the pen of the late Robert Buchanan, dealing with the life and death of the gallant Nelson. This play, in interest and literary merit, rank's with sUdh productions as “ 'The Silver King ” and “ The Lights 1 o’ London,” the theatregoers may confidently prepare themselves for an artistic surprise.

DIX’S GAIETY COMPANY.

'The City Hall has had its due quota of the unusually large influx <>f visitors and holiday makers generally, and the programme presented has met with very heartv acceptance. 'The humorous sallies of Mr Frank Yorke, the sweet singing of Mr Frank Graham and Mis's 1 Emmie Smith, and the excellent turns of the Sisters Smith, Professor Schmidson (the one man orchestra), Sherwin (the mad musician), Miss Ida Rosslyn, and little Vera Kearn« make UP a programme that is full of variety and go.”

S'I’AGE DOOR NOTES

'['he Anderson Company have had packed houses every night. 'I he scenery and mechanical effects in ‘‘ 'The Worst Woman in London ” rival the 'highest flights of Bland Holt. 'I he Dix season of four years closes this w eel?.

'I he “ theatre hat ” nuisance is one of the inevitable results of “ popular prices ” in the dress circle. # * ♦ * Mr Edward Sass and his wife (Mias Emma Gwynne) so well known in the colonies, are now appearing in London. In a letter to Miss Bronton) of the Hawtrey Company, they express a desire to be remembered to all old friends in thia colony. • * * * It is very probable that the Westminster Abbey Concert Company will give an extended season in Auckland on their return from' the South. » * * * A new waltz, written by Mr F. H. Stokes., pianist with the Hawtrey Comedy Company, entitled “ Eventide,” is causing a deal of favourable comment. The air is tuneful and catchy, and when played by the Hawtrey orchestra was received with appiause. ' . .