THE THEATRE.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2132, 25 April 1914, Page 9

THE THEATRE.

[Br Si'IiVIUS.]

Tho World's a theatre; the EwSb a 6tat'e.—Hejwood,

Maud Allan on Dancing, I in speaking of her dancing, Maud iAllan says: '"It came about so naturally, it is hard to recall just how I .did begin, I am not atL actress, I ■know nothing about the stage, and I knew nothing about dancing in tho accepted sense of tho word. I know only my dancing, and that, of course, grow out of tny music. You see, 1 iiavo always studied music, I. went abroad fifteen years age, and, during that time, it has always been music. Dancing came to me only in the last three years or so. I was a pupil of the great Joachim, you know. I think it was when I began to notice bandmasters —haw absolutely they felt their music, how it swayed them literally, physically—that I began to realise that the two were one, motion and sound, I began to realise it just as the Greeks did. With them motion came first, but they realised how one tfoey wero. Every matiou it make I havo seen. I havo bean able to blend theni, and to express my idea of modern music through them simply because I feel so deeply that old spirit of beauty that was alive at tho morning of the World. My oniy idea lias been to try and make people reaiiso the beauty that I, realise. Tho most beautiful thing,- almost, that ever _ happened to me—and somehow beautiful things happen to me very often—happened in San Francisco. A friend of mine, at. his ironworks, has under htoi -a great many absolutely igliorantf rough men. My friend heard the men talking about my dancing in San Frahcisco, and told the men that they ought to go. It seems that the bully of the works took his . advice. The nest, day he heard tho big fellow trying to describe his feelings- to the others. 'She ain't 110 dancer, boys,' hesaid earnestly, 'sho ain't .no dancer, she's an angel.' They chaffed him unmercifully, but he would not change the expression. He repeated it over and over again. Wei!, that pleased mo mora than all the wonderi'tjl things London and New York papers have said. It showed ino that sometimes I do the iiin.g 1 long to do —njako the absolutely untutored realise beauty."

A Notab>» Revival.. There is a (reiteration of playgoers who will learn with something of a thrill that "The Stiver King" is to bs produced at His Majesty's Theatre; London, on May 22, and that Sir. E. S. Willard is to emerge from his retirement to glay oiico more tho part o£ Captain Skinner (alias "the Snider"). _This was tho rtilo which first brought Mr. Wiliard faiue. Tho play, too, was tho first that brought Mr. Henry Arthur Jones, one of its authors, into prominence. Tho Hp.ymarket revival is being organised in' aid of King George's Pension Fund for actors and actresses. Most of the players -who figured in.tho original cast at tho old Princess's Theatre in November, 1382, have passed ftway, and it is in response to the unanimous requ&st of tho organisers of tlio revival that Mr. Wiliard has consented to play the old. part which ho cwate-d when tho lata Wilson Barrett produced the piece. After a career of wonderful success both here and in America, Mr. Willard Ims, been taking a rest from stage work since 1306. He told a reporter that ho is looking forward with keosi pleasure to the opportunity of reviving tho role that brought Him his first great success. —London "Daily News." ■

Lauder In Melbourne. Harry Lauder, tho Scottish comedian, received a most enthusiastic welcome when h© appeared in Molbour.no on Saturday week, Says the Melbourne "Age" : — . "Ho mot at first a boisterous welcomo, and then a bushed and respectful silence. For rather more than an hour he hold the stage,, Ho did practically everything that a vaudeville artist tan do; he sang, danced, joked, then Sang some mere and danced again. When the performance was over tho audience left the theatre with mi&gled feelings. Perhaps tho conviction uppermost was that the acquaintance had been. made O'f a rema-rkablo personality—one very gifted, very versatile, very humorous, very uncommon. It is the individuality of this Scotch comedian, rather than any gift of song or of mimicry, that has given Mm its present- commanding place, and ©no needs to go to the theatre to understand what this individuality is. ... Bo ohoso for his first song the descriptive and rollicking 'Tobermory,' and he followed it tip, without leaving the stage, with tie equally rollicking and more boisterous 'Step Yor Tieklm', Jock.' Tbeso two numbers gave a fair idea of the Lauder that captured tte rather blase Londoners fourteen years ago. They showed for tho first tiffie a wildly hilarious and extremely agile Scotchman, with an amount of energy that was truly astonishing, and aft apparent determination to break up the audience or die in tho attempt. The West End wan astonished, It had never associated tho Scotch temperament or tho Scotch national costume with this . sort of out-break. It acknowledged itself impressed!. It took Lauder to ' its heart. The Melbourne audience was also impressed on Saturday night, though probably not to such a degree.as would have been tho case had not, the words and the manner of these songs lost something of their novelty owing to numerous tocat and mechanical imitations. Nevertheless the visitor made a good start. His genial personality mad<? him at home with everybody from tho outset. His abounding good httnwiur wafted itself across the footlights. Tlio way lie imitated his Scotch originals in Tobermory, the way lie passed from the falsottq-soprano to the heavy baritone in singing a verso of 'Reeked in the Cradle of the Deep,' and niore especially the way in which he skipped about the stage, showing extraordinary lightness of step and facial expression, made everyone .anxious for more. "In all Mr. Lauder sang seven songs. He followed the first two with 'Saft-est of the Family 1 and 'She's Ma Daisy'; then, after a moment's disappearance, ho returned with tho always popular and well-known 'I Love a Lassie.' Bowing his thanks in acknowledgment of' applause, ho looked as if he were taking his leave, and there were loud calls for '.Roarciin' in the t-iloamin'' and 'Dceeh and Doris.' 'Don't be impatient/ he responded genially," 'I haven't finished yet—l'm just gettin' warmed up.' At this there was more applause, and Mr. Lauder returned in tho peaceful garb of a young Highlander, with plaid -over his shoulder, and sang 'Woo Hesse Amatig tho Heather,'' from the musical or comedy point of view one of tho slightest of his songs. His final contri-, bntiofi, in which he carried tho house with him, and in which tlvey joined him again and again., was 'A Wee Dcoeb and Paris.'"

"The Tcmlerfaot," Tuneful and brimming with good comedy, Willotighbv's new American Comedy Company has succeeded with "Tlte Tenderfoot" at the Sydney Adelphi, As the name implies, the story of the. musical comedy runs its course through a Western American set, ting. The principal comedy role is that of Professor Pettibnne, "The Tenderfool," who takes a, pafty of yeung ladies to Tesas, and there, is subjected te all kinds of "roughing" by the cowboys. Thfi- love interest ii supplied by Marion Wortliiugton, a Texas heiress, ami Colonel Pxiil Winthrope, of the Texas Rangers. Marion has met one of the Rangers at a ball, and has'Wt in auger, declaring she never will have

anything to do with any number of tho regiment. Colonel Yi'mtJipopo disguises himself as ji cowboy, follows he-i', and succeeds iu this guise in winning Iter lovo. Just as they have been married, news comes of an. Indian outbreak, and tho Colonel has to disclose his identity, as ho is obliged to take his,regiment into the campaign. His bride, incensed at tho {Inception that lias bo-en practised upon her, forbids liim ever to return to her. She then disguises herself as a cowboy, follows the soldiers and finds a pretext to challenge her luisbnnd to a due). Ho has, however, recognised her. Accordingly, he arranges that tho pistols aro loaded with blank cartridges, but when Marion fires ho falls, pretending to be wounded. Of course, she is heart-broken, for she finds that, after alt, she loves him, and is' rejoiced when she discovers that ho is unhurt,. Tho work of Messrs. Car ricli Major, Geo. Bogues, and Miss Myrtle Jersey is singled out for prmso.

Notes, The Williamson Pantomime Company, producing "Tho Forty Thieves," is vo commence a tour of New Xealniid, Commencing at Auckland on Monday,. Juno 29, Wellington will see the pantomime in July. Tho J. C. Williamson New Comic Opera Company will stage "G/psy Love" for tlie first time in Australia at Sydney in June. The east will include some new people, including Gertio Glynre, who will play Lady Babby, the role which she created in the'original production in London; Elsie Spain, who Was Mascha ili tho original production of ."Tho Chocolate SWdu»" in Louden. The company will he practically reorganised. The opera will be produced by Wybert Stanford, and Andrew MacCuan will bo musical directorIt is understood that tho Williamson ■revue,' "Come Over Here," will not CiSuo to New Zealand. Little Gertie Cromer, who will be remembered iii connection, with tho pre duntion of "The- Blue Bird" in Sew Zealand, has been transferred to the Niblo Company, to play Buster' in "Never Spy lite,"