Greenroom Gossip.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume XVIII, Issue 1044, 10 March 1910, Page 17

Greenroom Gossip.

MISS JULIA GIFFORD. “The outstanding feature” of the entertainment presented by Rickards’ Vaudeville Company on the concluding night. (Saturday) of its Wellington season, was. according to “The Dominion,’ the really artistic singing of Miss Julia Gifford, who rose to a great height cf vocal excellence in the colorature waltz song “Se Saran Rose,” in which she displayed a method of production and tonal qualities not suspected earlier in the season. Miss Gifford is one of the artistes billed tp appear in Auckland during the Richard’s season opening at His Majesty’s on Monday next. **. * * THE BESSES O’ TH 1 BARN. The Besses o’ th’ Barn Band is still making good in the South. Its farewell concerts in the King Edward Barracks, Christchurch, at Wainoni, and at Lancaster Park drew great crowds on Saturday, Sunday and Monday. the final concert at Lancaster Park, on Monday night being especially well attended. The Wellington season, which it is announced will be “strictly limited to four nights and one matinee,” commences on Wednesday, March 16th.

FULLER’S VAUDEVILLE SHOW. Vaudeville is in full swing at Messrs Fuller and Sons’ Theatre Royal, Wellington, where Deave’s Manikins, Mr. Frank Yorke, Mr. Chas. Thorsby, Gertie Johns, the Martin Sisters, Bella Perman, Beattie McDonald, Pearl Smail and Bartlett, are drawing crowds nightly. At the Christchurch Opera House the same firm’s Empire Vaudeville Company is also doing good ■business. The company includes Jack Russell, Ward Lear, the Klimos, the Lewis Sisters, Cecile Stephano, Ethel Preston, Scott Bros., Nellie Leslie, Nina Gonzales, Joe Rex and Bobbie Burns. • , • * * ENDURAKCS PIANIST’S CHALLENGE Mr. Edward Travis, who played the piano for 60 hours 20 minutes at Westport, writes from that town (says

Monday’s “Dominion”) that Goldsmidt, the American “endurance pianist,” who has played for 60 hours continuously, has accepted his challenge to play him “to a finish” in San Francisco in May this year. Incidentally, Mr. Travis mentions that his condition is impecunious, and suggests that, perhaps, there are those in Wellington who would assist him in reaching the goal of his ambition.

“ MARRIED TO THE WRONG MAN.” Mr. Geo. Marlow’s Dramatic Company, which is to appear in Auckland at Easter in “Married to the Wrong Man,” is having a most successful season in Brisbane, the local papers, “The Courier,” “The Daily Mail” and the “Telegraph” giving it highly favourable notices. Says the “Telegraph”: “The play’s title sounds much like the appropriate name of a farce, but the play itself is unabashed, unrestrained melodrama, as the audience (which crowded the theatre in every part) found to its evident delight. Financially it was a record house at the prices. Mr. Marlow has collected a company of capable and zealous players, who showed themselves eager to extract from the play all its excitement and all its humour. The plot is deeply stirring, uniformly melodramatic. There never was a more persecuted heroine than Ruth, noi’ a more manly and timely hero than Jack Gladwin, and the villianies of old Jasper Skinner and his soldier son (known in the army as Captain Deering) would make other melodramatic vallains blush for their own mildness.” * * » + ENGLISH PANTOMIME. The “Stage” gives its annual summary of English pantomimes. Taking 90 productions in London and the provinces as representative of the whole, the most popular theme is found to be “Cinderella,” with “Babes in the Wood” second, and “Dick Whittington” third. The percentages for the five most popular subjects are: —“Cinderella,” 15.5; “Babes in the Wood,” 13.3; “Dick Whittington,” 11.1; “Aladdin,” 8.8; “Robinson Crusoe,” 7.7. The most popular themes for pantomimes based on the average for the past 18 years are “Cinderella,” “Aladdin,” “Dick Whittington,” “Robinson Crusoe,” and “Babes in the Wood,” in the order given. * V * « AN AMUSING INCIDENT. A rather amusing incident occurred at the first-night performance of “The Merchant of Venice,” at the Theatre Royal, Melbourne. The Prince of Morocco is announced, who is a suitor for the hand of Portia. The latter observes, according co the text, “While we shut the gate on the wooer another knocks at the door.” The long season of “Othello” has just finished, and when Miss Brayton unconsciously substituted the word “Moor,” and made it “While we shut the gate upon the Moor another knocks at the door,” the audience were greatly amused; but Miss Brayton wondered what the merriment was caused by. It was not only an incident of some humour, but a rather queer coincidence. • * ♦ « “A WALTZ DREAM.” In “A Waltz Dream,” in which the Royal Comic Opera Company is doing fine business, the colouring is Continental. The brilliant uniforms of the men are suggestive of military Europe. There are lively women whose conversation has the sparkle of the Latin mind and whose constumes have that foreign note which stands for smartness in the feminine mind. One Of the features of the light opera is the ladies’ orchestra in the restaurant garden, where dreamy waltzes are discoursed. The famous kiss in “A Waltz Dream” has a musical accompaniment which runs into 13 bars. The conductor at Her Majesty’s, Sydney, Mr. MacCunn, is supposed to allow 35 seconds for the kiss. ♦ » * “ THE WALTZ DREAM.” The season of the Royal Comic Opera Company in Sydney is writes a correspondent drawing to a close in a blaze of triumph, the last week’s being devoted to the presentation of “ The Waltz Dream” which has proved such a tremendous success and drawn crowded and enthusiastic audiences ever since its opening night. The receipts each evening have remained at a steady level and altogether the Strauss opera has quite come up to expectations and takes its place beside “ The Merry Widow ” as a popular musical success. The Company bid farewell to Sydney on March 16 and proceed by train to Adelaide where

they will catch the steamer for West Australia being due to open in Perth in “The Merry Widow ” on Easter Saturday. . * » « THE COMIC OPERA COMPANY. J. C. Williamson’s new comic opera company is now bringing its highly successful season in New Zealand to a conclusion with a visit to the South Island, where the same gratifying conditions of much appreciation and many crowded houses which have obtained throughout their tour, are their portion. They are due to open at Her Majesty’s Theatre, Melbourne, on Easter Saturday (March 26) with a revival of “ The Country Girl” preceding their production of “The Dollar Princess?’ ( K * ♦ * MISS NELLIE STEWART. “ What Every Woman Knows” in which Miss Nellie Stewart will be welcomed back to the Melbourne Princess Theatre on Easter Saturday will (says my Melbourne correspondent) mark another new departure in histrionics for that idolised actress. For Barrie’s most delightful comedy depends for none of its charm upon the colour of costume or the gorgeousness of mounting which characterised “Sweet Nell of old Drury” or “Sweet Kitty Bellairs.” It is modern in its setting, its scenes are the familiar interiors of every day life, its people such as we meet from day to day and its dialogue in our own speech touched perhaps with a trifle of Scotch accent which by the way Miss Stewart, thorough in all she does, is now diligently acquiring from a Glasgow lady who is giving her the very tone and inflection that her fellow townspeople would use. * * * ♦ SAILED FOB MELBOURNE,, A cable from London states that Madame Calve, the famous soprano, who has been engaged by Messrs. J. and N. Tait to give 30 operatic concerts in Australia and New Zealand, sailed for Melbourne on the 4 th inst. • ♦ » * A COSTLY WOBK. It is said that “The Arcadians,” the opening piece of the Clarke and Meynell New Comic Opera Co., at the Theatre Royal, Melbourne, at Easter, will be the most expensive musical play ever put on the Australian stage. The scenery comprises cloth after cloth of cut-out flower and tree work. The dresses are exceedingly costly, and the whole stage has to be built up to resemble a grassy and rocky gully, with a crystal stream of water gushing through a cleft. The lawn

on the Ascot Racecourse, showing portion of the crowded grandstand, and a conservatory in which a mass of flowers is seen, are two of the sets. AN ACTOR OF HEREDITY. David James, who appeared in Melbourne as the principal comedian in the George Willowby Co.’s production of “ The Night of the Party,” at the Princess’s Theatre, may be said to be an actor of heredity. His father, the creator of Perkin Middlewick the butterman, in “Our Boys,” was the most famous comedian of the English stage. David James, junr., was an actor almost from birth. At a very early age he trod the boards, and in later years had the unique experience of appearing in the same play with his father, sometimes, too, acting as his understudy. Old David James left at his death over £200,000, including 60,000 to charities. The comedian’s private name is David James Belasco. He is a cousin of David Belasco, the famous American playwright, producer, and manager. * • * * CARING FOB THE CHILDREN. Mr. J. M. Campbell of the “Aladdin” Pantomime Company evidently finds that the greatest pleasure results from making others happy and on that principle he celebrated his birthday recently by treating all the children in the big show to a trip to Aspendale where they thoroughly enjoyed themselves dashing in and out of the sea, making sand castles and doing ample justice to the feast of good things so lavishly provided for them by their host. Nor were they behindhand in practically showing their goodwill and esteem towards the popular comedian, and their birthday gift to him took the form of a handsome silver backed brush on which was inscribed the words: “To our dear mother from all her children.” The “kiddies” had reverted to the “Jack and Jill” year when Mr. Campbell figured as the Widow Cobble and had his work cut out to look after the big family who romped round the old shoe. “THE HITS OF HEB CAREER.’' According to the American press, Mis Helen Lowell, who will be remembered out here for her incomparable impersonation of Miss Hazy, in “Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch,” has made the hit of her career in a production called “The Lottery Man,” in New York. When one remembers the really excellent rendering she gave of the spineless spinister, one wonders if her recent characterisation

of the woebegone “companion” in the new piece can possibly outrival that of her Australian presentation. HENRY KOLKER’S ENTHUSIASM. Henry Kolker, the popular leading man with the Margaret Anglin Company when they were out in Australia some little time ago, has evidently gone back to America with a warm corner in his heart for this part of the world. Duing a recent tour with Madame Nazimova he was interviewed by a representative of the “Kansas City Post” and gave expression to an enthusiastic opinion of Australia and Australians in terms of warm appreciation. He began by saying that he had never known a more open hearted, hospitable set of people than the Australians. They were not in such a hurry as the Americans, and they take their time to enjoy their amusements. Then he dwelt on the fact that the actors out here are regarded as artists and are given the entree to any special functions which may be in progress during their stay in the respective cities. As regarding the stage itself Mr. Kolker considers that it is not so well developed as in America, but it is closer to the people, and the artists receive a consideration and courtesy seldom extended to them in America. • * » » “ TAKEN A STRONG HOLD.” The new American emotional actress, Miss Katherine Grey, who has been appearing in Sydney in “ The Lion and the Mouse” has (says my Sydney correspondent) decidedly taken a strong hold on the affections of the Sydney playgoing public. Although her face with its large, soft brown eyes and sensitive mouth, is of a serious type when in repose, it will suddenly dimple with the merriest of laughter when her sense of humour is aroused, and in this particular connection Miss Grey says she always thanks Heaven for her Irish grandmother. Amongst the treasures, which adorn her room, is Billiken, whilch smiles encouragingly at her, and she explains, when looking at him, “He makes me laugh and that’s one of the chief things in life.” « ♦ * # MISS GREY'S OFINION. ■ Considering the wide experience Miss Grey has had as a dramatic artist in the big centres and through the States of America, her opinion regarding the stage is worth listening to. To begin with she thinks that a play ought always to be ennobling. “One ought not to go to the theatre

to see horrible, sordid things acted, that make one feel miserable for days. A play can be very strong and yet not given over wholly to sordid proceedings.” Comparing Sarah Barnhardt and Duse, Miss Grey said: “Of all the great artists I have seen, Duse moves me most. Sarah Bernhardt—the divine Sarah—is, of course, a marvel, and all the time I am saying to myself what genius! What a golden voice! But I am moved in the same way as I am when watching Duse. With Bernhardt I hold my breath in wonder, but I can see as it were, the wheels working, I know how they work. With Duse I can see nothing, I can only feel. That is what I call the greatest art of all.”