"CINDERELLA,"

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2484, 10 June 1915, Page 7

"CINDERELLA,"

THE MOST BEAUTIFUL OF PANTOMIMES "Cinderella," a pantomime, written by Mr. Frank Dix. Music and topical matter by Reginald Franklin. Music by Mr. Victor Champion. Cast: — Billy Barry • Lupino Snaffles Rupert Darrell Dandini Leslie Gage Hon. Mrs. Kilkenny ; Arthur Stigant Dancing Master to Cinderella Charles Albert Baron Beauregarde Jack M'Ardle Prince of Floravia Minnie Love Miss Thisbo Kilkenny ... Gertie Latchford Miss Alvira Kilkenny ... Dorothy Firmin Fairy Godmother Celia Ghiloni Diplomicus Marjorio -Bray The. Bed Poppy Maud Amery Cinderella Dolly Castles J. 0. Williamson, Ltd., has given us some very excellent pantomimes during recent years, each one of which has had special features to commend it to public favour, biit "Cinderella," produced before a crowded audience at the Grand Opera House last evening, easily takes rank as the most beautitul and expensively, produced pantomime to date. Mechanical ingenuity in co-oper-ation with a sheaf of original ideas, backed by a management that has patently spared no expense, has resulted in a series of glittering stage pictures- admirably calculated to gladden the eye, and roll the years back to those halcyon days when we as children believed it all to be that blissful terminus, where all our rapturous ideals as to how things ought to be coiiie true. Iu "Cinderella" clever scenic artists have worked harmoniously with tho electrician, and tho result in many cases is positively dazzling, as for example the gorgeous chamber which the , good fairy transmutes from the Baron' 6 sordid kitchen; the brilliant ballroom with its delicate shadings, noble flights of stairs, whispering fountains, and shimmer of electric lights; the electric gates of gold that admit to the Princo'e palace; Cinderella's amazingly luxurious automobile (it is Cinderella up to date), the grand escalade—a sweeping ] stairway, stage-wide, and appointed ' with marked theatrical splendour, down which the Allies march in national sections, to finally surround r.he heroic figure of Britannia, whilst at the climax the back-cloth becomes transformed int-o , a vast Union Jack, jewelled with electric lights. It tickled our vanity, too, ' to notice that the management have seen fit to iilclude in the march . four very beautiful girls attired as j Maori maidens. This fine effect, with i its glamorous colour effects, and gor- i geous costumes worn by tlie most hand- 1 some bevy of pantomime girls that have ; appeared in Wellington, aroused enor- : mous enthusiasm, arid set the seal of j success on "Cinderella" as far as Wei- j lington is concerncd. It is gratifying to note that "Cinder- ( ella" does not depend wholly on its ; shimmering sotting for its success. The ; dialogue is rational arid sensible, and i the ancient nursery classic is preserved : with _ a muoh greater respect for the • verities than any the writer can Tecall. To that has to be added recognition of ■ the fact that the Williamson manage- , ment has sent to New Zealand on this occasion precisely the same set of principals who have been connected vitli "Cinderella" since its premiere in Melbourne last Christmas. And a particularly clever lot they are. Once more we are privileged to see the inimitable Barry Lupino, who is giv6n every , chance to exhibit his extraordinary gift < of comedy, his skill in acrobatics, and i agility in the dance as Billy, "buttons" ■ to Baron Beauregarde. Mr. Lupino has [ tliat illusive something that magnetises an audience. Such a scene as the one ! in which he makes love to "Cinderella" . is hardly in the domain of pantomime, j whilst it would be correctly placed in a . farcical' comedy. Yet 'this comedian ] could have gone on the whole evening < without tiring his audience. His bur- < lesque tango, where a bunch of girls < imitate his Bacchanalian antics under ■ 'the impression they are learning the latest tango steps, his golliwog dance, and his admirable fooling when attempting to enter the Prince's i palace, and, best of all, when bur- : lesquing the door-to-door salesmen, were vastly amusing, as . his j flights through unsuspecting doors and , windows, his adroit work with trick j stairs, banisters, tables, and chairs in- , dicates an alert and varied resourceful- i cess but rarely embodied in a single I person. Another comedian whom last < evening's audience found to its liking was Mr. Jack M'Ardle, who makes a i dry old stick of the Baron, and plays ' the part with a ripe humour of an ex- j pcrienced comcdian without any noisy 1 obtrusiveness. The Dame, tho H'on. 1 Mrs. Kilkenny, is played on broad low J comedy lines by Mr. Arthur Stigant, who is something between Mrs. Malaprop and Sairy Gamp run to gaiety and a second husband. Mr. Stigant scored many laughs, both for his oral and ( sartorial jokes. Miss Minnie Love, who ] is Prince Charming- of Floravia, is a j bright attractive performer with a neat i figure, a dashing style, and with voice 1 enough to sing a good song well. Con- 1 trary to custom she took quite an in- j forest in her sweetheart ("Cinderella"), 1 and scored in her patriotic song, "I'll 1 Make a Man of You," the melodious ' "Irish Eyes," and "The Rag-Time ; Goblin Man." Cinderella was charm- i ingly played by Miss Dolly Castles, who 2 is exactly fitted. Miss Castles's voice is tonally unsteady, but she acts and 1 looks Cinderella to the life. Mr. I Rupert Darrell, as the janitor Snaffles, 5 is once more an eccentric with a twisted * gait and a misshapen head, and Miss , Colia Ghiloni is all that the Fairy Godmother should be, whilst no better j Britannia could be imagined than this well-established favourite. Misses Gertie i: Latchford and Dorothy Firman are the I disagreeable sisters, and 'Mr. Leslie > Gaze as Dandini does all that is re- t quired of him with the verve and re- c straint of an artist. As usual tli9 ballet is a particularly 1 bright feature of ■ the pantomime. ° Beautiful indeed is the Wild Flowers } Ballet, which tells a sweet little story, and is enriched with innovations to j lend realism to the littlo romance, a Miss Maude Aniery as the poppy is the n soloist, and with fairy lightness and o perfect poise danced her way into the p heart or tlie' audience. A novelty in j ballets was the clog-dance setting given s to Mr. Gazo's song "Cecil." Then there s was tho vdistracting toilet ballet, the quaint kitchen ballet, the huntsmen's ballet, all very delightfully danced. Mr. Charles Albert figured as tlie dancing master in one scene, showing his usual pedal dexterity. A novel effect was t "tho 6lanting paths" in which five * tiers of chorus figure one above the j other in a chorus and dance. The sole ' specialty is a' good one. It consists ot an acrobatic display by Tiny Tot, Mar- { jorie, and Little Eileen, two midget per- c formers who give a most extraordinary a performance in which the acrobat is t merged into tho contortionist. Tho t smaller child is a wonder at the con- f tinuous head-springs, and ordinary flip- ,t (laps and somersaults are to her as ) simple as breathing. Tlie act made a 1 distinct hit. "Cinderella" has a lot of 2 bright catchy music with a distinctly 2 patriotic flavour, which was done full | justico to by tlie orchestra controlled by Mr. Robert Keers. Owing to a mis- , hap to the electric light the perform- ( ance was late last evening. This will not occur again. "Cinderella" will be played for the next week. Tliero will bo a matinee on Saturday, whpn a harlequinade, arranged by Mr. Lupino, will c be performed. [ ( a A special notice is elsewhere piven to J the .members of the Expeditionary Force ' that the Hardie Shaw Studio?, at 63 Wil- ' lis Street, are remaining open in the r evening for the convenience of troopers S desiring to havo tkeli: photographs taken,