SOUTHERN STAGE NOTES.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Issue 1307, 13 May 1915, Page 37

SOUTHERN STAGE NOTES.

(By

“Lorgnette.”)

WELLINGTON, May 10. The' Violet Dandies opened their Dominion tour in the Town Hall Concert Chamber last Wednesday evening. The programme was an excellently selected one, and served to display the versatility of this fine comb.nation. The Violet Dandies are in for a very successful season, judging from their first performance.

“Who’s the Lady?” is a farce that just suits the taste of the average Wellington playgoer to a nicety, and the five performances were hugely enjoyed. In such an excellent allround performance it would be invidious to pick out one or two artistes for special mention. All are firstclass, and I would strongly advise anyone with a fit of the “blues” to make a point of seeing “Who’s the Lady?” The last two nights of the season were devoted to productions of “The Chaperon” and “The Glad Eye,” and both performances were enjoyed by big audiences. If Messrs Smith and Hoskins continue to cater to the wan s of New Zealand playgoers as they have done during the Comedy Company’s tour, they are sure to merit success.

The dance recital given on May 1 in the Town Hall Concert Chamber by Miss Estelle Beere and her ch Id pupils was without doubt one of the most successful ever given in Wellington. Miss Beere is a most painstaking teacher, and the success which attended her efforts was manifestly displayed in the various dances interpreted. The programme, which was an exceptionally long one, included much solo dancing, dainty fancies illustrating the loves of the butterflies and the flowers, national dances and tableaux. It would take up too much space to enumerate each dance and the performers, but special mention must be made of 1 ttle Rona Chapman, a tiny tot of four years. She was down on the programme for three dances, viz., Graceful Dance, Ragtime and Tipperary, and her performance was a feature of the entertainment. Her efforts were enthusiastically applauded. Others that did extra fine work were Miss Nell Nathan, Miss Hazel Hardwicke, Miss Thurza Rodgers, Miss Zita Chapman, and M.ss Estelle Beere. Mrs. F. Montague acted as accompanist. That clever entertainer, Mr. Joseph Biascheck, opened a sxx nights’ season at the Grand Opera House last Saturday to a very large and appreciative audience.

Mr. Stanley Grant has booked a tour of the Dominion for Mr. E. J. Carroll, the dates of which will be filled by Mr. and Mrs. Graham Moffatt (of “Bunty Pulls the Strings” fame), in “A Scrape of the Pen.” The Royal Wellington Choral Society has postponed its performance of Mascagni’s opera, “Cavalleria Rust cana,” from May 28th to June Ist. The performance is to be given in the Town Hall with the following cast:—Santuzza, Miss Elsy Treweek (Mrs. Fred Collier), of Melbourne; Lola Mrs. Rosewarne; Lucia, Mrs. C. G. Alcorn (nee Miss Nixon), of Christchurch; Turrldu, Mr. Frank Graham; ATfio, Mr. Frank Charlton. During the indisposition of Mr. Herbert Bloy, Mr. H. Moschini is fulfilling the duties of conductor of the society.