IN PERSONAL TOUCH.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Issue 1370, 27 July 1916, Page 32

IN PERSONAL TOUCH.

“Peg o’ My Heart,” which is being staged under the J. and N. Tait direction at the King’s Theatre, Melbourne, made nearly a quarter of a million . dollars for its author and producer during its first year in America. It was altogether a surprising result considering that the comedy-drama had only achieved a moderate success on its original presentation at Los Angeles, California. But the first season’s success of the piece in America was no brief flash of prosperity, “Peg” has continued to earn enormous profits for all financially concerned in its fortunes. It ran for over 600 nights in New York, and is now well on its way to its eight hundredth performance in London. Also its Sydney season, just concluded, was extended to fourteen weeks of over a hundred performances, owing to the popular demand for seats. According to recent advices “Peg o’ My Heart” was still being presented on tour by nine companies in America and six in England. Miss Dorothy Cumming, the handsome young Australian who made good with J. C. Williamson, Ltd., in several dramatic plays, has left for America to try her luck there. Miss Bertha Ballenger, another promising Australian actress, has accompanied her. $ * * * A rather interesting fact in connection with “The Story of the Rosary,” the drama J. C. Williamson, Ltd., have acquired for production in Australia, is that after a lengthy run in England, American managers awakened to the attractiveness of the drama and its money-making possibilities, and competed eagerly for the rights of production in the United States. Walter Howard received so many offers that he was able not only to pick the highest bid but to also make his own terms as regards the production. The stipulation was made

by the author that he should produce the play in America, select his own artists, and that the amount spent in putting on the play should be such as to give it an elaborate spectacular presentation. These were agreed to, and the result was an enormous success throughout America. Even Boston, the “City of Culture,” welcomed “The Story of the Rosary” with packed houses.

Added to her other gifts, Miss Dorothy Brunton has a remarkably retentive memory that makes the learning of a new song or role a very easy thing for her. The afternoon before the full-dress rehearsal of “Tonight’s the Night” at Her Majesty's, Melbourne, Mr. Hugh J. Ward handed to Miss Brunton a new song, “Monterey,” he wished included in the Gaiety piece. Miss Brunton played it over that afternoon, and fixed the earhaunting melody firmly in her mind. That night, after the show, she learnt the words. The next morning, prior to the full-dress rehearsal, she sang it over for Victor Champion, the musical director, and when Mr. Ward asked her whether she could do the number at the rehearsal she smilingly replied that she thought so. Miss Brunton did “Monterey” without a ilaw in words or melody, and at che firstnight performance it was one of the sensational successes of the evening, receiving six encores. “The. less I study a part the quicker I remember it,” says Miss Brunton. “I generally tackle it at the last minute —say, three or four days before the final rehearsal. I never seem to have the slightest difficulty in committing it to memory, nor do I ever forget it.l find it merely a matter of mental concentration.” * ♦ ♦ * Carter, the. magician, who played New Zealand* a few years ago, is leaving the stage (so the New York “Dramatic Mirror” states) to practise law. * * * * Mr. St. Ledger, the young pianist who first gained popularity in Sydney as a member of che Mme. Melba concert company, has volunteered for active service. He will join the A.M.C. * * * * Paul Dufault has a number of new songs—7s to 100 —which he is interpreting to Australian audiences. They include numbers by Cadman, Bruno Huhn (composer of “Invictus”). Sydney Horner, and other composers of the modern American school. He also has many fine new songs by English writers.

Mr. Harcourt Beatty is serving in France —a corporal in the Volunteer Army.

“A number of times during my career,” said Sir Herbert Tree the other day, “Shakespeare has saved me from bankruptcy. The English public seem to prefer me in hi 3 roles, but just now they have enough that is serious to think about without going to the theatre for it That is why I am here.”

Mr. Charlie Taylor and Miss Ell t Carrington, it is stated, have taken over the management of Fuller’s Hotel, Melbourne.

When Mr. George Marlow was asked what he thought of the prospects of the Gonsalez Italian opera company he said: “An assured sue cess. How do I know? By the large number of applications I have had for free tickets.”

M.ss Gladys Moncrieff, the brilliant young Australian, who made her name in Gilbert and Sull.van Operas, is at present at Her Majesty s Theatre’ Johannesburg, South Africa.

M.ss May Beatty (cf IV liar J memories) at latest advices was appearing prominently in a new musical production entitled, “Tae Miller’s Daughters,” at the London Opera House. The p.ece was written and composed L y Paul A. Rubens and Miss Beatty’s 1 art as Lady St. Mallory gives the popu.ar New Zealand actress abundant chance to display her charm of vivacity.

It is proposed to found in New York a playhouse to be known as the Lol brook Blinn theatre, the scope of which w.ll be, briefly, to establish an intimate playhouse, where Mr. Blinn will produce and participate in the production of seriously serious and ceriousiy comic plays of unquestioned literary and dramatic worth, and to contribute many droll and oddly quaint ideas that will mark it as disvinctive.y original, affording a relief ii om the usual run or orthodox theatrical enterprises of the present day.

Mr. William Mikkelson, who recently’ J acteA as manager for the ‘‘Cherniavsky trio in NeW ! Zealand, has given up the management of the National Theatre, Launceston, to join the A.I.F. Mr. Mikkelson enlisted in January as a private, and is now Platoon Sergeant of No. 1 Platoon A Company in Tasmania’s Own Battalion. This battalion is a very fine body of 1100 men, all Tasmanians, and it is stated is the first complete Tasmanian battalion to sail from those shores. Mr. Mikkelson has the cordial wishes of numerous New Zealanders whom he met in the theatrical phase of his career.

Mr. Sydney James, of the Royal Stroders, has teen giving a Sydney pressman some of their experiences during their New Zealand tour. “We were playing at Hastings,” says Mr. James, “and at one performance there was a big roll up of Maoris, who, we heard, had come to hear the mysterious talk and to see the strange unearthly antics of my dummy ventriloquial figure. They all sat in the front row with their mouths gaping wide open while this particular part of the show was on, and when the dummy began to sing their eyes rolled and there were lots of guttural remarks proceeding back and forth along the line. I could see that two or three of the Maoris were quite perturbed about it all. They apparently thought that some supernatural influence was at work. But the climax came when at a tense moment I suddenly made the figure let out a blood-thirsty screech, followed by a long Maori curse I had learned for the occasion. One old chief in the front of the house, who must have had a lot of sins on his conscience, jumped from his seat with a yell and scuttled out of the hall. They say he hasn’t stopped running yet.”

“I believe that the stage is a place of greater danger to young men than to young women. This is a surprising statement, you think? I defend it, by saying that the actor is liable to fritter away his time. He plays a few hours a day and for the remainder of the day he ‘rests.’ He doesn’t need so much rest. He needs work and study, and if he doesn’t have them there will be a rapid disintegration of his character. There was never a truer adage than that concerning idleness and the location of the devil’s workshop. But girls can find and do . find more to do. They nearly all sew. They read and study.” —Edith Wynne Matthison, in “Theatre Magazine.”

Sir Johnston Forbes-Robertson, who returned to London on May 6, after an American tour., stated that he would not again be seen on the regular stage. “I have taken my farewell of the stage,” he remarked to an interviewer, “and my last performance was indeed the last for me.”

In the course of the Shakespeare tercentenary celebrations at Stratford on Avon, a bust in the Memorial Building of Lewis Waller as Brutus was unveiled by Madame de Navarro, famous on the stage, alike for her beauty and ability, as Miss Mary Anderson. The bust, the work of Onslow Ford. R.A., was subscribed for by the dead actor’s friends,and represented him in the character which he admired most in Shakespeare’s gallery.

Someone asked Charles H. Workman, who was recently playing his old part of Dick Wayne in “High Jinks” at Melbourne Her Majesty’s, what was the most excit'ng experience that had ever happened to him. “I have never — as far as I can recollect —had an exciting experience,” replied Mr. Workman, “but I can tell you of a most terrifying cne—the most terrible that can happen to an artist— I once ‘dried up’ in my part. It was —strange to say—in ‘The Chocolate Soldier’ in London- in which I created the role of Bumerli. More remarkable, too, was it that I had been playing in ‘The Chocolate Soldier’ more than six months when it happened. It was in the scene where I am relating to Nadina, Popoff, and Aurelia the extent of my worldly possessions, enumerating the miscellaneous collection of goods I have in stock at my big department store. When I sat down- pocktbook in hand, to read but the list, my mind suddenly became a perfect blank. For the life of me I could not remember a single item, whether it was a piano or an elephant and I looked blankly ahead for what seemed at least five minutes, whilst my tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth, and a cold perspiration burst out on my forehead. Then Popoff realised what had ’happened, and slipped in with: ‘Well- what have you got—any hats, for example?’ He saved the situation, which had really only taken about five seconds to develop, and gave me a start.”