GREENROOM GOSSIP.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Issue 1429, 13 September 1917, Page 32

GREENROOM GOSSIP.

Already preparations are being made at Her Majesty’s, Melbourne, for the big annual J. C. Williamson pantomime, which this Christmas is to be based upon the attractive subject of “Dick Whitt.ngton.” In England, Mr. Clyde Meynell, and in America Mr. Hugh J. Ward, are selecting the best attractions it is possible to secure for the big extravaganza. At Her Majesty’s, the producer, Charles A Wenman, is making the preliminary preparations for rhe production. The cast will conta n some surprises.

The last English mail brought a letter from that popular actor Julius Knight. Australian playgoers have teen wondering as to what had become of Mr. Knight, who, it was stated some time ago, intended to produce “A Royal Divorce” -n New York, with himself as Napoleon. In his letter Mr. Knight stated that he had been on a visit to his people in Scotland, and that he intended to “do his bit” by helping to gather the harvest. Subsequently he will engage in other useful war work. It is understood that Mr. Knight has not relinquished his intention of produc ng “A Royal Divorce” in New York, and that his intentions will be given effect to when a favourable opportunity presents itself.

Mr. Ronald Riley, whose last theatrical engagement in New Zealand was as leading man for the Bran-don-Cremer New Dramatic Company, has gone over to Australia to take the heavy lead for one of the Fuller dramatic companies.

Fred H. Graham, a comedian wellknown here some years ago, first with J. C. Williamson and then with Fuller companies, has ben engaged for the New York season of a new musical play, “Tell It To Jane.”

Howard White and Evelyn Scotney, the talented concert artists, who have been brought out from Amer.ca by Messrs. J. and N. Tait, have teen charming huge audiences in Australia At last the Taits have secured concert people of high scand ng who are not above singing good popular songs.

It is not widely known outside the inner theatrical circle of New York managers that when Winchell Smith and John Hazzard’s sterling new play, “Turn to the Right,” shortly to be seen in New Zealand, was first tried out (i.e., played in one or two small towns in the provinces before being produced in New York) the title of the play was “Like Mother Made.” Th s was owing to the predominence in the play of the sweet old lady character, Mrs. Blascom, and in particular it has an application to a famous scene in the play where she makes and bakes a cake before the eyes of the audience. On mature consideration, however, it was thought that the title might not hit the public as the authors intended, so they renamed it “Turn to the Right” for New York.

Charle Chaplin’s salary is said to work out at 806,250 dollars a year, or about £161,000 Douglas Fairbanks gets some £200,000, and Mary Pickford a mere £lOO,OOO per annum.

In the new Majestic Theatre, recently opened in Sydney by the Fuller Proprietary, the management introduce an innovation in the seating arrangements, by which every seat in the auditorium is numbered. The patron buys at the ticket box the number entitling him to a seat, and that seat is available for him, no matter how Tate he comes.

“A Smashing Good Play” is the heading of one leading New York paper, when making its init’al reference. to “Turn to the Right,” the new play that Messrs. J. and N Tait are introducing to Wellington playgoers eariy next month. “It has the freshness that breezed through ‘The Fortune Hunter,’ the freshness of hopeful, honest, erring, ambitious young men and women. Also it has the clean, sane moral that Mr. Smith sends his audiences home with so often,” wrote the critic of the paper (the “Evening Journal”).

John Philip Sousa (the March King), now lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps, has received permisison from the Government to take a marine band to the trenches in France. He is at work composing a series of special marches and mus c for the occasion of the entry of American troops in the fighting line.

During his recent visit to the United States, Sir Herbert Tree acted for the kinema in Los Angeles, one of the plays being “Macbeth.” Recounting his experiences, he said, “A troop of cowboys fired a salute with revolvers over my head when I arrived, and a small boy—l afterwards learned that he was a kinema ‘star’ — put out his hand and cried, ‘Welcome, Sir Tree.’ ‘The world has nothing on me,’ he said when I asked him if things went well with him.” Sir Herbert had a real turn for epigrams and aphorisms. In his book, “The English Stage,” he said, “Do not give the people what they want; give them what you want them to want, and in time they’ll want it.”