GREENROOM GOSSIP.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Issue 1163, 25 July 1912, Page 17

GREENROOM GOSSIP.

“Sinbad, the Sailor.” When “Siii'bad, the Sailor,” terminates its season in Sydney, it will have' completed a run of 86 nights. Brisbane, Toc-woomba, and Newcastle will be played before the gorgeous pantomime goes to New Zealand. “Sinbad” has proved one of the biggest successes ever experienced by a J. C. Williamson pantomime. X *• * The Fragrance of “Kismet.” “One can detect a member of the Oscar Asche-Lily Brayton Company in Sydney by sense cf smell,” says a newspaper writer in that city. “They simply pervade the vicinity with incense. Their clothes through a long association with ‘Kismet’ have become impregnated with the perfume. Mr Asche is steadily scenting the population of Sydney. In the Darlinghurst tram one night during the week a man was sitting beside two ladies who had been to one of the music halls. One of them, whom he apparently knew, looked at him curiously, and remarked: ‘How nice you smell!’ ‘Yes,’ he replied, ‘I have been to Kismet.’ ”

All Fine Artists. A feature of the Asche-Brayton Company, soon to tour New Zealand, is the fact that all its members are experienced artists with fine records. No other company but the Asche-: Brayton organisation has been able to boast of so many of its members having been associated with the leading stars of the profession, such as Irving, Sir Herbert Tree, Forbes Robertson, F. R. Benson, Sir George Alexander, the Kendalls, Mrs Patrick Campbell and others. Most of the members of the company have brilliant records which would be envied by even the star of a first-class company. » » * • Moving On. The J. C. Williamson production of “Nightbirds,” despite its pronounced success, has to get a move on from, the Criterion Theatre, Sydney, to make way for the advent of the American comedy company which is to open on August 3 in “Get Rich Quick Wallingford,” one of the brightest and snappiest of American farcecomedies. Fred. Niblo and Josephine Cohan, who are the “mainspring,” as it were, of the piece, have already arrived in Sydney. Miss Cohan is a sister of the celebrated George Cohan, the millionaire author-actor-manager, who controls four theatres.

A Strange Anomaly.

It seems an anomaly that a man who invents a stage effect for pantomime cr vaudeville business can patent it, while the producer of a play has no legal rights to his creative work. “Kismet,” now being played at Sydney Theatre Royal, is a notable instance cf the injustice of this. It is everywhere admitted that the novel and beautiful staging has contributed greatly to its success. The first essential, as Mr Asche recognised was that the play should have the Oriental atmosphere and he worked to this end with surprisingly artistic results. The bazaar scene, which those who know the East thought so realistic, was just barely mentioned in Knoblauch’s script. “How do you stand in regard to that?” Mr Asche was asked during the week. “Everything I put into the play,” he answered, “becomes at once the property of the author.” Seeing that replicas of Mr Asche’s production of “Kismet” are being played in New York, Paris, Berlin, Vienna, Milan, and St. Petersburg ,it seems as if there should be something coming to him out of all the money “Kismet” is earning in those cities. Knoblauch, Mr Asche estimates, will draw

fully £lOO,OOO in royalties on the play from different parts of the world. * * * * ‘ Ben Hur” a Money-maker. The J. C. Williamson production of “Ben Hur” is putting up records in New Zealand, and is drawing packed houses everywhere. Since the fire at Her Majesty’s Theatre, Sydney, years ago, preventing Mr. J. C. Williamson from realising his project of presenting this play on a great spectacular scale, for the run. was cut short at the beginning, he. has been keen on having another “go” at it. The enormous success the production has achieved has borne out his views as to the play’s immense possibilities in Australasia. It has proved one of the biggest money-makers J. C. Williamson has ever had. * * # * A Master of Mandolin. Not the least notable artist with the Margaret Cooper Company now in New Zealand is Signor Manzoni, a mandolinist of remarkable technique and execution. This distinguished musician is. an Italian, and studied at Milan, where his uncommon gifts brought him unexpected fame and honours. He is not only practised on the mandolin and violin, but went to Seocik, the illustrious teacher of Kubelik, to become a master of fingering. Seocik at first laughed at the

young man’s pretensions, but when the youth played on the mandolin one of the master’s most difficult violin exercises, the great' man was. impressed and took him as a pupil forthwith. ... A Wonderful Singer. . . Madame Elenora de Cisneros has in her Melbourne season created the same enthusiasm and appreciation as that Which caused the directors of her Australasian tour (Messrs. Portus and Talbot, Ltd.) to extend the Sydney season from one week to two. Her glorious singing as a prima donna in the Melba Grand Opera Company has already placed her high in the estimation: of the public in both cities. Her magnificent work on the concert platform where she is, forced to rely entirely upon her voice for her effects has placed her higher than ever. Madame de Cisneros is presenting programmes full of interesting features of a range and a variety such as no previous concert artist has ever offered the public. * * * * A Musical Treat in Store. Mme., de Cisneros will probably sing here some at least of the delicious ballads with which she has been charming Sydney—among them, the beautiful Irish ballads which have been rescued from forgetfulness by the efforts of collectors during the past hundred years. Some of them were preserved only by being written down from the singing of famous old Irish harpers. Modern French and German songs, with an endless variety of English ballads, ancient and modern, are added to the surprising extent of Mme. de Cisneros’ concert tour. Details of her visit to this city, which is under the management of the new and successful firm of Portus and Talbot Ltd., will be announced shortly. The great singer is supported by M. Paul Dafault (tenor) and Mr. James Liebling. ■p * * — A Violent Strain. Strong as Mr. Oscar Asche is physically and mentally, his acting in “Othello” leaves him exhausted and disturbed after the performance (writes our Melbourne correspondent) and it takes some time before he is able to resume his normal composure and state of mind. No actor of his temperament could fail to be affected by the violent strain mentally and the strenuous phases of the Moor’s character he has to depict. The death scene in the last act leaves him thoroughly exhausted. Miss Brayton, too, comes through the ordeal strongly affected. * * « * Tom Thumb in Tiny Town. Pasha Hayati Hassid was born in Salonica (Europe Turkey) on January 19th, 1852. He was the youngest of twelve children, his parents, brothers and sisters being of normal size. Although he has not grown since the age of four, he is not deformed in any way. His height is 30 inches, and he weighs 341 b. He is extremely intelligent, speaking fluently eight languages, viz., French, German, Arabic, Spanish, Turkish, Greek, Italian, and English. He first visited Cairo (Egypt). From there he went to France, visiting Marseilles, Lyons, Dijon, and all the larger towns of the Republic. Eventually He went to Paris, where he immediately secured excellent theatrical engagements. He was the smallest man ever seen in Europe, and he was the sensation of seasons at the Follies Bergere and the Odeon. * * * * A Popular Band of Artists. The favourites of the popular J. C. Williamson Royal Comic Opera Company were given a warm welcome back to Melbourne, when they appeared in the first production in that city of “The Quaker Girl.” There surely was never a better nor more popular band of musical comedy artists in Australia during the last few years than the company which has made such a big hit in “Our Miss Gibbs” and “The Quaker Girl.” They are- artists not only of ability and charm, but also personality. And this latter possession counts for a great deal with Australian audiences.