ENTERTAINMENTS.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1010, 28 December 1910, Page 6

ENTERTAINMENTS.

"THE DOLLAR 'PRINCESS." , To heat the'music of Leo Fall's charm■llig liglit opera, r "musical comedy or play, or whatever one may wish to designate Ihe Dollar .Princess," once is a feliglit. To h«ir it twice it is positively fascinating. The graces of its orchestration—the merry work for the bassoon, the haunting melodies, for. the oboe, and the pretty uso made of the.harp in many or the accompaniments— become inoro-ap-parent,, and-one becomes familiar with the puzzling changes.of time, and eccentric" intervals, which make for originality in the work. Its melodies arc delightful—many of them are not included in the original score, and may be interpolated numbers by other writers—but the musical taste and form throughout pjeases inordinately. ' Miss Florence Young sings her music with rase and breadth, and her "Olga, Alaska" song in Act I goes as does'no other number in ..the opera. Mr. Clayton as the cheeky bounder Freddy Fairi'ax; is quite good to look upon,-and his singing and acting is brightly debonnair. Mr. Bert Gilbert scores "as Harry I. Conder, the quaint American multi-millionaire, and gets recalled; three or four, tirrres for his."Foolish Questions" song. Miss Olive Godwin makes' a .dainty, if wilful, Dollar Prin-" cess,.aiid' Miss' Lottie Sergent frisks neat-ly-as Daisy. Condeiy.who believes in pla:tonic marriages. -Mr. Charles Albert is excellent, as Sir James, the .footman, but therS is.no one whose comedy is niore popular that Mr. W. S. Percv, who, as Bulger, is' extremely- humorous. The audience could do with more of Bulger than it: gets, especially lovers of tennis, to-whpni his antics on'the court outdo Wilding, Parker, Brookes, and Doust in their liveliest interludes. . The "orchestra is a--feature, and its control by Mr. Fritz Hart is all that it should be. i-"The' Dollar Princess" will be presented for the next four nights, arid will .

sbe followed on Monday nest by - the' '.'Waltz .Dream;"., A hew. farce comedy, .'.with',.m.usic, : "A Knight for .a Day,"- and a special revival of ' The Merry AVidowj" V ; ill'be/the", attractions for the. balance, of .the 18 nights season. '. Tho box plans 'vfpr, the remainder of the season will , -be ;open at the.Dresden on- Thursday next. ; V: ; : "thb waltz dream." Mr. J.' C. Williamson's New Comic Opera■ Company will produce, on Monday next their ! secorid musical; trunin card in "The Waltz Dream." Mr. Osca'r Strauss has, it is.said, written a charming and '-admirable' thing in. this play. ' For- the interpretation a particularly' strong cast has been selected. *>For the Princess and her. newly-made, .husband, Mr.' Reginald Roberts and Miss Florence should'be well placed, as they have some of the finest nirisic allotted to them. Miss Lottie ■ Sargent will-be Franzi, with whom Niki flirts, "on his -wedding night. Tho important comedy part 'of . Count Lothar will be played by Mr. Langford Kirby, an English factor of distinction, who will make his first appearance in the Dominion, Mr..Frank Greene, as Lieutenant . Morischi, and Mr. -Victor Prince, as the jovial Joachim,, complete a.cast;which, for ■ general 'excellence, it ■ would bo hard to • surpass,;. The box plans for the remainder vof tho season will be opened at the Dresden; on Thursday.'.. .;:'■.'■ " THEATRE,ROYAL. ' ' ' Another large audience greeted tho rise of .the curtain at the Theatre Royal last evening. The present programme abounds with good, items, and ,it. goes with a swing from start to. finish. Special mention is due to. Mr.-Alf. Holt, who comes from Chicago with a reputation as an impersonator aiid lhimic., Last night he proved what he was capable .of doing ; in the way' of whistling, and had to respond to many emphatic encores. Miss Nnda Morot again captivated her audience with her clevor patter and singing. "The Flying'Pcdros". and Martinette and Grossi repeated their perform- \ ances of ; the ' previous evening, and re- ' ceived ■ well-merited.. applause. • Tho various other members of the company acquitted themselves capably. The' , , programme will be repeated to-night and until further notice. ; : : HIS MAJESTY'S THEATRE/' I. 'Taking the verdict "on tho voices" one • of ; tne most ponular pictures in tho nttractive set put forward-by Messrs. Fuller and Sons at His" Majesty's Theatre, is "The. Herring -.Harvest '.at Yarmouth'.*.'■ The. picture,opens with a scene showing the; herring ■ fleet of steam trawlers arid luggers ploughing their way back to port iri'a tossing sea. Thence the spectator is taken through the whole industry, from the'discharging of the little silver freight, cleaning;. salting, and packing, until tho barrels of bloaters are; being reshipped consigned' to-irierchants. The dramatic pictures are strong,. and on the . comic side the. contributions are screamingly funny.-. The." programme .will be repeated this'evening ipr the last'time, an entirely new bill having been arranged for to-morrow evening. The new list will ■ include a representation of Cody's Wild West Show, ..with its attendant rough riding, etc. . ■ . ' : THE KING'S THEATRE. . . -The recention given the various pictures which, mate un the new programme at the . King's • Theatre left no room for doubt last.evening, as to what the opinion of .the'.'-audience , was. Altogether, the "bill of faro is one of exceptional merit, several remarkably good coloured films finding a high place iri, popular opinion. Under this heading, comes the appro-priate-timed 'nicture entitled "Christinas from the Birth of Christ to the Twentieth Century." The other outstanding coloured film, in which some beautiful .colour Wending is seen, is the legend of Semir:amis,;..Queen'of Babylon. Some strong dramatic situations! are disclosed as tho story nroceeds. The comic side of the programme'is, exceptionally good. ■'" ■ STAR PICTURES. There was a change : of programme at St. Thomas's Hall, Non-town, last evenin", and this was responsible for t\ wellfilled house. Tho series of pictures, which were all 1 new subjects, was of excellent quality, arid included many .dramatic, comic, and scenic films.- . In. the last;iamed some ' particularly flue specimens of the kine'iriatograph art were shown, and some of the "comics" were responsible for much 1 laughter. To-night the same nrogvamme will bo submitted, and it will bo, repeated'"throughout the week . until further notice.,. .V' FULLERS' PICTURES. There was • a".large attendance at the ..Town Hall last ■ evening, when a special picture entertainment was given by the Fuller Picture Company. The entertainment was a pronounced success, every item being heartily welcomed. The opening * picture, "A Trip up, Mont, Blanc," was a.-rugged scenic study of considerable merit.'.. "Fortune's Fool" was an exaggerated comedy,, in'which, a' disap'.

pointed lover sought in vain to end his' troubles by 'committing suicide. In the first placo the rejected swain is about lo shoot himself when somo boys steal his revolver. He then decided to drown himself, hut after elaborate preparation finds Hint the water in the lake is only a foot deep. Attempts at hanging and asphyxiation are also doomed to failure, and a happy climax is ultimately reached witli orange blossoms and wedding in the near distance. A series of travel films in China made an interesting study, andother attractive pictures wero "Tho Flower of the: Ranch," "First Love is Best," and "Mugwump's Baby." Tho greater portion of the second half of the programme was given'over to a repetition of the scries of pictures entitled, "Picturesque Sydney," which --"films were heartily applauded. Excellent music was , supplied by WoodsVorchestra. On New lear's Day another programme of pictures will be given at the Town Hall.

: PYROTECHNICS AND, PICTURES. The West's Pictures Syndicate havo long been known .as enterprising,, and las« nights idea ot giving, an open-air kineliiatdgraph entertainment and pyrotechnic dispay, received only . its reward when .Wellington amusement-seekers journeyed in largo numbers to. the Athletic Park, where display was to be given; On the picture side, the. screen showing ..the cricket contest, Australia v. Springboks, was received with interest, and when that world-nonular batsman Victor ; Trumper. lost his wicket by being run out, the regrets' of the crowd were fairly audible. The winter, game, football, was also'given attention on the screen, in the football match, Praha'n v. Essendon, and ■forward rush, passing movement, and ■tackle alike were wonderfully and clearly depicted.- Appropriate to the eeason was .ft.picture entitled" "A Xmas Legend," and its various phases excited the keenest of enjoyment. The fireworks were- very successfully handled—the sot nieces especially so—and, to add to .the enjoyment of what, has beeu one .or tho most ponu'lar of open-air entertainments in' Wei-- , lington, were nperom-iate musical items, well rendered by the Tramways Baud. ; QUEEN'S. PICTURES. At both the matinee and evening entertainments yesterday tho "Victoria Hall, Newtown, was well filled. The management catered for all tastos, there being dramatic, scenic, as well as comic, pictures in the programme. Tho series "will be repeated again this evening. : :.. WONDERLAND.;. . ' A largo number r of holiday-makers revelled.in the numerous joys, of Wonderland yesterday, when the attendants'* who hadichnrge of tho chute, the toboggan, the helter-skelter, and the miniature rail- !. way, were kept working steadily to meet the unfailing demand for these. attrac-. tions. The grounds are in capital order at present, mid one roust go a long way to find n prettier, spot than the beautifully arranged little fernery, which is a mass of luxuriant growth just now. The family -party .that cannot find sum-, cient enjoyment for one day in Wonderland must indeed be hard to please.' , ...•'. KARORI GARDENS. •, v An attractive holiday resort which has been largely availed of by picnic parties is tho Karori Gnrdens. In addition to the numerous , attractions . -which the gardens offer to the holiday-maker, they' have the further merit'of'being within easy tram distance of. the city. A water lily pond, tennis\and croquet courts, and swings: are ' hiniibered amongst' the most attractions' at- the Gardens. Every eonvenienco'-'.for. the picnicker is found .within tho,'Gardens,-.which, by the way, are open every day. ' ■■ . ' BELLEVUE.GARDENS. '':■.!.. A -.visit-to tho Belleyue Gardens, at tho Lower Hutf,'amply renays the short train journey. The gardens', which attracted a large number, of people on Monday and yester'day, were enthusiastically praised by city visitors, the b'cautifully-kent flower plots and shrubberies causing much admiration. Arrangements have been made by tho 'management to have a band in attendance on New Tear's Day.

MR. REGINALD ROBERTS, As . Lieutenant Niki in "A Wnltz Dream," to be presented by Mr. J. 'C.' Williamson's Now Comic Opera Co: on Monday next. . '■■ • ■ .