THE NEW RICKARDS CO.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1686, 28 February 1913, Page 6

THE NEW RICKARDS CO.

A HIGH-CLASS ENTERTAINMENT. The first Eickards A T audeville Company to visit AVellington under the new Hugh ■M'lntosh regime shakes off tho trammels of conventionality and presents a highclass entertainment that is delightful in every department. AVhilst the quality of the artists is uniformly high, there arc specialty turns which attain 'popularity immediately because of polished art with which they are elaborated. Such, for example, is the singing-of Miss Nella AVebb, which for piquancy and that illusive feminino charm which J. M. Barrie writes of in "AVliat Every AVoman Knows" would bo difficult to excel. The songs, melodious catches' with a vein, of ,smart slang, may not, excito admiration, if coldly analysed, but as. sung by Miss AVebb, with her pretty gestures and sweet voice, they 'become music-holl classics. The charm-, ing American sidled into everyone's affections in the quaint conceit, "Anything that's good enough for you is good enough for me," and having established her stock put a premium on it by her dainty archness in "You Must Sometimes Mako a Fuss ■of Me." As more was eagerly demanded, ■ Miss AVebb eang "Would You Mind," and tho Irish lilt, "The Top of the . Morning to You." Clamorous applause, encouraged the young lady to dip into stand opera, by.- essaying) the "Miserere" duet from "II Trovatore" with Signor Alberto Marini in tho tenor role."ln this number tho,soubrotte was out of .her line, and, consequently, out of her /depth, but'Signor Marjni sanpf with; culture and sympathetic conviction. Another . 1 performer who found immediate favour with, 'the, audience was. Arnold' de Biere, a very deft magician .of the ultra-modern school. 'His tricks were performed with grace, dexterity, and speed. AVith a shaft of calcium, light full upon his fingers, he, wilh clever . palming,. produced a dozen' billiard-balls from space, and showed how simple a matter it was to palm a fullsized egg under the hoses'of a very, suspicious committee.,, F,air ladie£-were discovered in boxes that were'empty the'moment b | fore - and the latly who' was by occult ■iorea raised into spaco and left suspended there, '.vahished .into thin air when the:covering'sheet was pulled away. De Biere s, thumb-tie trick is a particularly mystifying performance. His thumbs are tied tightly together by members of the a.udience, yet a moment later he is catching 011 his arms hoops' thrown from the audience, even whilst members of tho committee, were gripping his wrists. By far the most attractive illusion, was the pretty Leda and the Swan" interlude; in [.which, Do Biere,'as a sculptor, conjures up, with the aid of a white cloth, a beautiful Leda and a swan in an approprnto setting, which included a fountain in full play. The ■ "Leda;"'who is very much aliVe, then poses in' 1 a- variety of graceful attitudes, statuesque to a degree. Smart mechanical tricks executed at great speed,uazed the senses, which could not be dulled altogether, to the visual charm of tho artistia setting in which De'Biere p r ~ "Chinko" is a juggler and balancer of the smartest and latest school. In a cool slick manner he did some remarkably clever juggling and balancing with an umbrella, top-hat,'.and a pair of kid gloves, and subsequently ere~ated amazement, by supplementing the articles in play with a' galvanised iron bucket and-a billiard cue. An attractive feat was the balancing of a life-size plaster figure on his forehead, and then throwing balls into the crown of the static and catching them as they rolled out of tho t horn, of'plenty the figure is holding. Ihis feat culminates in 'the extraction of a cork from a bottle of wine, throwing the bottle into the crown of tho figure, _and catching tho wine in a glass as it flowed from the horn. Chinko's agile plate-spinning was an exhilarating' performance, and his mechanical teddv bear .was .full of humour. Eag-time songs, tunetul, humorous, and up to date, were introduced by Earl Taylor and Dick ,Arnold, two very bright exponents of the craze of the minute. One of the twain both sings and plays the accompaniments, and the other is a well-equipped comedian and singer. Together they harmonised quaintly, in the Italian Bag" and "My Southern Eose. The turn was one of the most population the bill. The male vocalist of tlio company is Signor Alberto Marini tho possessor of a light tenor voice of good quality, which is used with much artistic resource. He sang "Thora," .?, nn , a .Mobile" (from "Eiiroletto") M- W \r '^ lss T .} Vc| Jb the "Miserere" duet! Miss.Mimfie Kaufmann brought ,the entertainment to a close , with some brili,wi oyp m? ? rented with grace t". 8 ' accompaniments of JJloritz Lutzon were a feature of tho per- ;?™ an , OT '. ? uc ) 1 a company of vaudeville stars should play to full houses during the ensuing week.