"THE BELLE OF BRITTANY."

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1184, 20 July 1911, Page 6

"THE BELLE OF BRITTANY."

V CLARKE AND MEYNELL'S COMPANY. "The Belle of Brittany," a musical comedy, written by Leedham Bantock and P. J. Barrow, lyrics by Percy Greenbank, ninsic by Howard Talbot and Marie Home. Cast:— Marquis do St. Qautier Tom Walls. Raymond-de St. Gautier Harold Thorle.V. Oomte Victoire ...P. Cory. Poquelin Fred Winn. Old Jacques' Wilfred Hilary. Pierre : Emcstjliashbrooke. Madame Poauelin Nellie Kavanaeh'. Babetto ..' ; .'...Winifred O'Connor. Biiptistb Boubillon : Charlie Stone. Toinettc * Gertrude Gilliam.Mdlle. Eenif-o do Ja. Virc ...Florence Quinn. ."Tho Belle-of Brittany," the musical comedy .with tlie'inicely .alliterative title, is, no worse,., and ,-is most, 'certainly ' no batter, than half V'dozen/ similar "trifles which. 31r. ; Howard .Talbot has composed. Ho writes superficially. . pretty',tinkly music, which,'oiie assumes, not even the Gaietv conductor-composer ever dreams will live, or even see a revival. Such works come to be simply vehicles' for showing the same clever people and pretty'girls in different surroundings and dresses, and,- if a certain passing prettiness is caught, and the principal comedian is clever, e«pugh,to..,build VTl up his part into something which the author I cannot recognise, the piece can hardly fail to run a hundred nights or so in overgrown .London, and out it comes, in due season, with the glaring hall mark of ,the Strand stamped all over it. It is little use deprecating this sort of thing, and wailing for Gilbert and Sullivan, or at least for Messager or Caryll (who can write melodious measures gracefhlly). This is the modern musical comedy, and may be rated a§ fair aver-

age. Tlie plot of "Tho Belle of Brittany is as light as gossamer. Ail old marquis, who has pawned his chateau to a miller, wishes his son to marry Mdlle. Demso, an heiress, >whom he ; fancies will redeem tho estate. Tho miller wishes his beautiful daughter Babptte to marry Baptiste, a distinguished chef, but Babetto renounces the cook, even as the. wedding bells ring, because, in her heart she knows that Sho loves Raymond the. .son of the marquis, whilst Mdlle. Denise—tho gilt-edged Parisian—is quite indifferent .to Raymond,' and finally attaches her affections to the idiotic Comtc The play, opens.on the .day on which tho mortgage becomes due but, on this very' day, old Poquelin loses the deeds, to the joy of the. marquis, who celebrates the; loss by giving a daffodil harvest-home'in the old chateau, whero nothing happens apart from the pairing oft" of'the lovers. Even tho subsequent finding .of the deed does not matter, for Raymond has espoused the miUer's daughter.- and that clears the debt.

.. .."The Belle of Brittany", would bo poor fare werfit not for the -comedy that is so delightfully served up .by that excellent comedian, Mr. Tom Walls, as tho ,Marquis de St.Gautier. , Tho character is a rich burlesque of tho type which the the late Mr. Fred. Leslie would have rewiled in. Mr. W.ills makes him a dear jolly old person, who has gone, and 'is Still going, tho pace, and is sharper and more, fruity by his contact with the sporting side of Paris. The character is delightfully and consistently played to the accompaniment of screams of laughter— not only from tho audience, but from his-fellcw players -who seem- to bo affected by tho comedian's humour. My. Walls "gags" atrociously the whole timo he is oil. How dull "Tho Belle" would bo .without his joke* one hardly cares to think'. . 'l'lio dissertation of the Marquis on what he considers a cosy'little home; j his apostrophe on tho life of a sausage, and his lament over the here and'hereafter of a chicken were received with roars of unconstrained laughter, and his one, only, awl unforgettable song, "Sing to Your Dear One," was wildly comic. The : low, vibrant tones of Miss Winifred O'Connor's speaking voice, and her absolute : freedom from staginess in _ anything she does, made Babetto r an interesting yonng lady.. Her best'song was "The j)awn of Love," and (associated .with' Mr. Thorley). "The Stepping. Stones" 'duet. Miss .O'Connor improves on acquaintance,- giving _ one tho impression that tho appeal which she makes would bo as sweet and refreshing at tho end of a year as it would after, a few nights. Miss Gertrude Gilliam made Toinette a smart sly little baggage, who, hardly deserved so good a cook for a husband. She characterised her songs _ cleverly, particularly "Butter," and ."I'm Not a Lady's Maid." Mr. Harold Thorley ciit a gallant figure as Raymond, made love with tho facility of an old hand, and sang his song. "Tho Kingdom of a-Wo-man's Eyes," effectively. Mr. Fred Winn had little to do as Poquelin the Miller, and Miss Kavanagh acred with smug unrestraint as his good wife (with a secret regard for the gay Marquis). Mr. Charles Stone lacks tho comedy touch to do full justice to Baptiste, and his dances follow too closely those which he did in "Tho Arcadians." The part calls for a smnrt comedian. Miss Florenco Quinn was quite charming as Mdlle. Denise. Among a bevy of handsome girls she stood out as the prettiest, and both in her acting and singing was particularly satisfying. The singing of the chorus was apathetic at'times, and on several occasions they dragged half a beat behind tho orchestra without being pulled up by Conductor Vernon, who' does not get all possible out of either orchestra or chorus. The play was exquisitely mounted. If it is only lo see Mr. Walls as the -Marquis, the Opera House should bo packed this evening.

Tho present German house-key weighs on an average about one-eighth -of a pound, and it has been estimated that as a result 209.') tons of iron are carried in pockets and hapfi-bagj by the people of Germany.