Greenroom Gossip

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume XVII, Issue 999, 29 April 1909, Page 17

Greenroom Gossip

By

“ Footlights.”

“THE QUEEN OF SONG.” Madame Melba, who was interviewed by a “ Sporting and Dramatic Review ” representative in Christchurch, is delighted with the reception accorded her, both in Dunedin and Christchurch. At the former place the huge Garrison Hall was crowded, the prices paid for seats being £1 Is., 10s. 6d., and ss. “ Pasquin,” of the “ Otago Witness,” states that the Saturday night’s audience was the most fashionable, well-dressed, and most expensively gowned audience he had ever seen in Dunedin. Madame Melba was delighted with the appreciation shown by these Dunedin music-lovers, who were no less appreciative of Madame herself. “ Local audiences (“ Pasquin” adds) are notoriously cold and undemonstrative. I know this from experience, and I have heard it time and again from artists and managers. But for once iin a way Dunedin forgot its traditions, and gave itself over to demonstrative appreciation, and applauded with refreshing abandon.” - * * * * A COMING SINGER. While in Dunedin, Miss Thompson, of Stewart Island, had the pleasure of singing before Madame Melba, who predicted for her a promising future. Madame says Miss Thompson has the most magnificent contralto voice she has yet heard. An old school friend told Madame Melba about her, and begged that, as a personal favour, she would hear her sing. “So” (said Madame, telling the story to a Press interviewer) “she came, and I prepared to hear the usual sort of lovely voice, but I can tell you that as she sang I began to open my eyes wider and wider. I applied all sorts of tests, tried her on long, sustained notes, everything, and her voice was glorious.” Miss Thompson, who, by the way, is both young and pretty, is quite untrained, so Madame Melba is arranging for her to go over to Melbourne within a few weeks, and will there herself give her lessons. * * * * MELBA’S LOCK OUT. Madame Melba stories are (says the “ Otago Witness ”) rife just now. Here is one: —On the night of the first concert in Dunedin the stage doorkeeper received strict injunctions to allow no one to pass through the sacred portals save Madame and her party. Just before eight o’clock a carriage drew up at the stage door. Madame Melba had arrived. An excited person opened the door, at the same time standing down to allow the diva to pass in. Before Madame could enter the door swung to, locking Madame Melba and a now much-perturbed official on the outside! A vigorous knocking failed to elicit any response from the inside for some time. Eventually a gentleman, well known in musical circles, hearing the noise from the auditorium, considerately opened the door. Imagine his surprise when he was severely rated. He had been mistaken for the doorkeeper! ♦ ♦ * * “THE MERRY WIDOW.” So successful has “ The Merry Widow ” proved, that now, over a fortnight after the Royal Comic Opera Co. arrived in Wellington, playgoers have (says Saturday’s “ Dominion ”) only seen the one opera. That will not be the case after this evening, as Paul Reuben’s bright musical comedy, “The Dairymaids,” is to be produced for the first time in New Zealand. . . Before the week is out “ The Girls of Gottenburg,” a bright musical comedy by Ivan Caryll, based on the Kopenick incident, will be produced by the Royal Comics. * * * ♦ HIS FIRST TRIE. Mr. Fred Aydon, who is at present in Dunedin with Mr. Harry Rickard’s Vaudeville Company, is making his first trip through the Dominion as a theatrical manager. Though born in Victoria, Mr. Aydon was for a number of years in commercial life in Nelson, N.Z., but for the past fifteen years he has been business manager for Mr. Harry Rickards in Melbourne. Mr. Aydon is looking forward with pleasurable anticipation to his tour through Maoriland. **. * * “ JACK AND JILL." “ Jack and Jill,” says a Melbourne correspondent, now holds the record for returns during Easter week, the present huge J. C. Williamson extravaganza having beaten “ HumptyDumpty,” last year’s pantomime, by a very substantial sum.

MISS ADA WABJO. Miss Ada Ward, the actress-evange-list, who is travelling under the auspices of the Salvation Army, iddressed two meetings in the Municipal Theatre, Invercargill, last week, her subject being, “ Can an Actress be a Christian? ” ♦ ♦ • Mt TWO EASTER RECORDS. Two records of 1000 seats booked before the curtain rose on the first night have been achieved for Easter Saturday openings, one for “ An Englishmans’ Home ” in Sydney, and the other by “ The Merry Widow ” in Wellington. * * * ♦ “AN ENGLISHMAN’S HOME.” Mr. Priestley Morrison, having produced “An Englishman’s Home ” in Sydney, has now gone to Adelaide in order to rehearse the Julius Knight Company in the same piece for their Westralian season, which is to commence at the beginning of next month. * * * ♦ THE MORAL OF THE PLAY. The necessity for adequate national self-defence is the lesson which Major du Maurier seeks to instil in the minds and hearts of the English-speaking race in his sensational play, “ An Englishman’s Home.” Exception has been taken to the play by a small proportion of the critics on the ground that he lauds and upholds the War Office and the British regulars at the expense of the Volunteer forces, which he treats in a slighting and satirical manner. It seems unfair to lay such stress on this point, because it is palpably only used incidentally as a means to bring before the public the necessity of having the men of the nation trained to thorough proficiency in the use of arms. It is the system at which the dramatist aims the blow, not at the individual members of the Volunteer corps, and the picture which he draws of the Brown family spending their time in sports and pastimes and sneering at the idea of any fellow giving his time to volunteering, which they style “ a mug’s game,” is not too attractive a one when taken as a sample of the unpreparedness rife in Great Britain. The Volunteer force is undoubtedly a caricature, but surely the

playwright meant it to emphasise a system of incompetency in much the same way as Charles Dickens caricatured or exaggerated the traits of many of his characters in order to rivet the public mind and attention more closely on the human failings which he sought to hold up to censure. ♦ » * ♦ THE GALLERY GIBES’ WELCOME. That “ the gallery girls ” have been looking forward for some time with eager anticipation to the return of Nellie Stewart is proved by the fact that for some time past a number of them have been “ saving up ” in order that for the first week of her season they might attend the theatre and extend her a right royal welcome. And “ the gallery girls ” were not alone in this respect, if one may judge by the enthusiasm which is being displayed by patrons to all parts of the theatre each night. And not only do they give Miss Stewart the very warmest of welcome, but they also express their approval of the piece in which she plays so prominent a part, as well as the talented company which supports her. * * * ♦ AUSTRALIANS IN THE STATES. Mr. George Tallis writes me from Melbourne: —“An interesting letter from Will F. Barnes to J. C. Williamson contains the following items of news about Australians in the United States: Annette Kellerman is appearing in vaudeville, and quite taking her audiences by storm. Bert Levy is in the same class of business, and like Miss Kellerman is a top liner. Hilda Spong is at present travelling with a dramatic sketch on a variety circuit. Fred Rivenhall has adopted the music hall stage, and in receipt of a fine salary. George Majeroni is with the Shuberts as principal baritone, while his brother Mario has been engaged for the third season by Charles Frohman to support John Drew. Paul Scardon, who is with the Shuberts, has built himself a fine house at New Jersey, and has adopted the hobby of breeding prize English bulldogs.” * * * * AN UNDERGRADUATE'S CAREER. Mr. Gregan McMahon, who has many excellent roles to his credit, was (writes my Melbourne correspondent) seized with the desire to join the ranks of the theatrical profession while he was at the Sydney University, to which was attached a dramatic society. He began his University career brilliantly with a first-class in classics, but as the glamour of the stage grew upon him his ardour for the deeper studies waned, and his

second year resulted in a mere pass. He finally obtained his B.A. degree, but only after two tries. Then he. gave himself up to the work which he had voluntarily chosen, and obtained his first professional engagement in 1900 with ne Broughs, with whom he toured Australia, India, and China, appearing in “ The Liars,” “ Niobe,” “ Dandy Dick,” “ The Amazon,” etc. In 1901 Charles Hawtrey prevailed upon Mr. Brough to let him have Mr. McMahon, and he appeared as the Selfish Man in “ A Message from Mars ” for over 250 times. He will also be remembered in “ Tom, Dick, and Harry,” another piece produced at that time by the Hawtrey Company. Other plays in which he has taken part are “Little Lord Fauntleroy,” “ Dandy Dick ” (which he produced), “The J.P.,” “ There and Back,” “ Dr. Wake’s Patient,” “ The Walls of Jericho,” “ Quality Street,” and numerous other equally well-known productions. It was while with the BroughFleming Company that Mr. McMahon got a splendid chance of showing what he could do during the lengthened illness ot the late Mr. Herbert Fleming, when he scored distinct successes as Jack Frobisher in “ The Walls of Jericho,” Dicky Hook in “ What Would a Gentleman Do?” etc. In 1907 he joined the J. C. Williamson forces, and is still doing splendid work under that management. * # ♦ * A SATISFYING PLAY. In “ The Hypocrites,” now playing at the Criterion Theatre, says “ Sydney Fair Play,” each artist is so particularly happy in his or her role that thu parts appear as though specially created for individual members. Miss Edith Deverell, the ingenue, is natural and dainty. Miss Gladys Harvey in an extremely difficult part wins the hearts of the audience at once. Miss Emily Fitzroy as arch-hypocritess avails herself of her opportunity for some fine acting. Mr. Harcourt-Beatty is an ideal curate and denouncer of hypocrisy, whilst Mr. Tom Cannon, his vicar, who enjoys what he calls heavenly devilled quail, is splendid. As the hypocritical cloaks are all removed in the last act and honesty conies into her own, one leaves the theatre thoroughly satisfied.

MUSICAL COMEDY IN PEBTH. “ The Prince of Pilsen ” met with a great reception at the hands of Perth playgoers, and, indeed, every performance, not only of the musical comedy, but also of “ The Red Min " and ‘ The Belle of New York,” are experiencing the same satisiactory appreciation. * ♦ ♦ * THE PBINTEB SUPPLIED THEM. Said the knight of the paste-brush: “ No, nearly all the theatrical bill-post-ing is done nowadays by the big firms, an’ if the theatres don’t supply ’em with the proper stuff, no snide sheets go on the hoardin’s. But, lor’, I remember years ago workin’ for a tourin’ company whose manager was a fair marvel! He gave me some of the finest picter stuff you ever saw, but tellin’ me to be ‘lavish, my boy; lavish, but discreet.’ As there were not two picters alike, I simply ‘ had ’ to be discreet. Hence, at Bendigo, where we were going to play our pirated version of ‘ Charley’s Aunt,’ I put up these as the nearest approach to the right thing that I had in stock: — “ (1) Horse hanging in space, attached to parachute. (2) Several awful make-ups of comic singers. (3) Wreck off Point Lonsdale. (4) Horrorstricken squire discovering Mary Ann and the bobby in the kitchen. (5) Hand-to-hand engagement between cowboys and Indians. (6) The finish for the Melbourne Cup. “ After that effort I asked my boss how he s had bagged this cargo of colour, and he breathed into my ear, ‘ My boy, I send to every colour printer for samples, with a view to business, and they all send me a few.” « * * * A NEW DEVICE. A Mr. J. Leak, of Danville, U.S.A., has just disposed of his rights, in a patent device which will make it unnecessary for operators to rewind films. Instead of rewinding, it is stated all the operator has to do is to restart his machine, and set the picture going again. The report states further that Thos. A. Edison was the purchaser of the American rights for a sum of £2OOO.