GREENROOM GOSSIP.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Issue 1166, 15 August 1912, Page 17

GREENROOM GOSSIP.

Only One Margaret Cooper. Clever Margaret Cooper, the brilliant English entertainer, is at once the hope and despair of every vocal competitor in competitions. They realise in her work all the good qualities that the judges look for —perfect •enunciation, expression, colour (temperament), and a wonderful sympathy between the piano accompaniment .and the voice. Now and again Miss •Cooper has been approached both in Wellington and in the South by those .anxious to follow in her footsteps, but as will be readily understood by all who have seen her, hers is hardly an art that can be taught by advice or by lesson. Nevertheless Miss Copper has thousands of imitators all over the world —we have, heard some of them in New Zealand—but there is •only one Margaret Cooper. That everybody admits, however sceptical they may be before seeing her. * « « * Breaking the Pantomime Record. Although “Sinbad the Sailor” ran for three mdhths in Melbourne, its last week’s takings were larger than for any previous pantomime, and it is estimated that it could easily have run on successfully for six months, but arrangements prevented this. * * * * 3 ‘Sinbad, the Sailor.” It would be a difficult task (commented the Melbourne “Leader”) to find a more efficient corps of dancers than that which graces the ballets and the ‘Sinbad the Sailor’ pantomime generally. From the point of view of appearance, as well as gracefulness and charm, this year’s little army of clever girls must surely be the pick of Australia. In fact, Mr T. Steyne, the producer of the pantomime, expressed the opinion that they could not be equalled in England or America. Mr Steyne has had a very wide experience in pantomime production,

so it is gratifying to quote his remarks (as a London producer) that ‘if the whole crowd of Sinbad girls were shipped to London or New York they would wipe the local chorus and ballet girls off the stage.’ ” & $ 4: Oscar Asche’s Enterprise. Rudolf Besier, one of the leading English playwrights, recently paid a high tribute to Mr Asche’s enterprise. “Much has been said now-a-days about the superiority of productions of Germans,’ said Mr Besier, in the course of an address, “but England need not now cede the supremacy of her stage craft to any nation under the sun. Now that Mr Oscar Asche has made the spirit of the East breathe upon the West in ‘Kismet,’ the undisputed sovereignty of the English stage as a medium for a perfect picture is even more strongly asserted than ever. Beyond a doubt Mr Asche caries with him that atmosphere of the stage, that sense of proportion and knowledge of just where to exaggerate slightly in order tc focus the attention of audiences, that is born in the soul of the fore-ordain-ed producer. ‘Kismet’ marks an

epoch on our English stage, for it has roused the sometime dormant imagination of our playgoers, and set the sela of universal approval on the art of the British stage producer.” * * * * Blanche Browne, “the Quaker Girl.” Of all the queer letters received by actresses, one of the queerest was received by Blanche Brown during the week. It was addressed to “Miss Blanche Browne, the Quaker Girl, Melbourne,” and the envelope bore the postmark of a New South "Wales country town. After stating that he had witnessed Miss Browne’s performance in Sydney recently, the writer went on: “We have had a good deal of gloom in our household for some time owing to a sad bereavement. I went down to Sydney. ‘The Quaker Girl’ was being played, and I went one night. I cannot tell you what an impression you made on my sad heart.. All the grief seemed to be lifted from me, and I felt that I had known you for years. You seemed to me as if you were my own daughter. I want you to come and visit us. I have a home that includes everything that could bring you comfort and pleasure, and we would all do everything we could to make your stay a pleasant one. I feel that your presence amongst us would bring into our home the sunshine it has long been lacking, and my own personal feelings of admiration and friendship for you are one of the reasons ilult dictate the writing of this letter.” Miss Brown was considerably moved

by the tone of the letter but, needless to say, found it impossible to accept the invitation. * • * * A Popular Play. It is claimed that no play presented in Australia during the past ten years has anything like realised the same measure of success as “Nobody’s Daughter,” produced by the Plimmer-Denniston Company. It is a thoroughly human play, and deals with events met with in everyday life throughout the world. There is no problem attached to it. It is a plain unvarnished story, hence its immense popularity. The success achieved by the work in every town where it has been played is nothing short of phenomenal. In towns like Ballarat, Bendigo, Geelong, Broken Hill, which are generally looked upon with doubt by theatrical managers of large organisations, “Nobody’s Daughter” created quite a furore. Nine weeks were devoted to this play at the Palace Theatre, Sydney, seven weeks at the Princess Theatre, Meloourn, two weeks each in Adelaide, Brisbane, and Perth. In fact no play of recent years has appealed to the

theatre-going public like “Nobody’s Daughter.” The Auckland season opens on October 14. * ♦ » ♦ The Little Things That Count. “It is really the little things that count,” remarked Mr. Beaumont Smith, the managing director of Tiny Town. “Or,” he continued, “it was the little things that counted most with me when I was chasing through Europe after a number of diminutive individuals to people my miniature village. To find these mites of humanity I travelled in all over 10,000 miles on sea and land, and will o’ the wisps were nothing to them. It was a case of hide and seek —and the seeking was one of the hardest jobs of my life. I first saw this remarkable show in 1909, when on a trip to Europe. The little people had established a village just outside Paris, in the Bois de Boulogne, and there were about 200 inhabitants, but the management had acted unwisely. It had mixed up dwarfs and midgets indiscriminately, and some of the former were horrible to look upon, big headed, short legged, mis-shapen specimens that contrasted dreadfully with the perfectly developed midgets. The people I have are exactly miniature men and women without a blemish.” ♦ # * * The Belle Cromes. The Belle Crome Company have just concluded a two nights’ successful season at the Thames with their bright little performance. The company has been considerably strength-

ened, and gives an entertainement that for quality and variety could not be surpassed. Miss Belle Grome is as popular as she is versatile, which is saying a good deal, and as songstress and instrumentalist she has been adding to her laurels all along the line. A talented organisation, they deserve all success. * * * * Picture Shows and Theatres. That the legitimate theatres in Australia suffer greatly from the competition of the picture houses is the opinion of Mr Geo. Marlow, as expressed to a representative of the London “Era.” “Every small suburb,” he went on to say, “has two or three moving picture gardens or canvas-covered theatres, and in order to get patronage in some of the poorer districts the greengrocers and tradesmen in general give away coupons with their wares. In one suburb in Sydney children obtain admission when they have not the necessary penny on presentation of an empty bottle. Of course, the empty bottle has a commercial value. The bottlegatherer in one suburb has added other people’s yards to his own, and runs his picture show right next to his storage yard, thereby saving the expense of gathering empties, as the youngsters bring them for admission.” * * * * A Combined Theatre and Restaurant. Sydney is shortly to have an important addition to the list of existing theatres in a structure to be known as The Pavilion, which is to be erected forthwith on a site in Bayswater Road, Darlinghurst, fronting the Hotel Mansions. The originator of this new enterprise is Mr George Musgrove, who has perfected his plans for establishing a combined theatre and restaurant, with the idea of enabling visitors to enjoy refreshments while looking on at the performances. The main hall of the structure will be equipped as an immense dining-room, furnished with small round tables and comfortable armchairs. At the end of the hall will be the stage, dressing-room, and accessory offices. The theatre will be fully equipped for staging any kind of play, but it is the intention of the management to produce refined vaudeville mainly, that being regarded as the form of entertainment most suitable for a theatre restaurant.

Madame Bernhardt is 67 years of age, and yet she is to-day a remarkable figure in the world’s theatricals, the admired of the French nation, and a tremendous drawing card whenever she appears. It is said that the famous French woman took about 150,000 dollars away with her after paying all her personal debts when she closed her last engagement in America. Mary, Mary, quite contrary, Why are you sneezing so When Woods’ Great Peppermint Cure is here, And bids your cold to go? Go get a spoon and take a dose, And smile once more at me; With the redness gone from your little nose, And your eyes from the hot tears free.