ENTERTAINMENTS

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 2966, 3 January 1917, Page 9

ENTERTAINMENTS

MUSICAL COJIEDY REASON. Thn "Williamson Company repented the nniusing musical comedy, "To-iiight's tho Night," \nst ovoninp at tho Grand Opera Koiisi , . 'I'ho piece sparkles with gaiety , and niirtli from bosinniug to end, mid is in every respect n very pleasing entertainment. "The Girl in the Train" will be staged t to-morrow and on Friday night. Tt is Said to hiivo a singular]}' fascinating and !P ronmntic atmosphere, the locale 61 Uie *** story enabling tho authors to invest their scenes with a dazzling colour and motion which nature and humanity have bestowed upon the period and place se- , leeted, and to embody in tho music and manners of the characters a voluptuous- '/ ness and unconventioiiality that is de- } cidedly refreshing. It is affirmed that the dialogue is crisp, the scenes sunny, I and the humour spontaneous. Miss Dori otliy Briinton will tnke the important p - role of Gonda Van dor Loo, originally > portrayed by Jtiss Florence Young, and ✓ which is ranked with Miss Brunton's finest representations. Jfr, Alfred Frith, ' who will appear as Cornelius pScrop, has installed himself a firm favourite with ' Australian and New Zealand playgoers, ' and he is undoubtedly a very artistic and talonted comedian. On Saturday and Monday next "High Jinks" will bo staged. ' HIS MAJESTY'S THEATRE. J' An excellent entertainment and a ' varied one is being submitted this weelc £ at His Majesty's Theatre, and large auf. diences have attended the threo perform- "' anees given. A hew arrival in Wel- ; „ lington is Cestria, an Italian juggler. He is a remarkably clever acrobat, and his somersaulting on wooden kgs and other ■fonts, combined with an excellent idea of comedy, makua his item a popular one. Another now item" is that of Leeds and Lemar, who sinf brightly and cause mucji amusement with a number of clever jokes, and conclude with a smnrt burlesque boxing performance, which is very well carried out. Dora Obennan, the popular soprano, is .igain on the bill, and entertains with a number of eohrs, — included amonest which i 6 "Koniate," a L Maori composition. The rest of the bill l_ is contributed to by a Jarge number of S. artists, inoludiw; 6ingers, acrobats, comedians, and others, who make up an J ~ : entertaining programme. _ The management announce that thero -=. will be no matinee this afternoon, but the usual performance will take place in the evening. • "THE GOLDEN CHANCE." Splendidly mounted and artistically perfect in production and acting, "The Golden Chance," now being shown at the ' King's Theatre, has drawn many to visit the theatre more than once for the pure enjoyment of its quality. The story is highly dramatic, and abounds in unes- ■ pocted clijniu. The pretty, wife of a drunken waster is forced to earn her living as a dressmaker at a fashionable —1 modiste's. She is eood-looking and retinitcl, and is selected by a hostess of. the idle rich to fill a vacant chair at a dinner party. A millionaire . falls in • love with her, and that very evening her husband breaks into the house, and, caught red-handed, sees his -wife there. He attempts to blackmail the millionaire, but is shot by the police, and his wife is claimed by her new admirer as his wife. The supporting items are a good selection. EVERYBODY'S THE ATE E. A very fine programme has been secured by tho management of Everybody's for pleii.siire-tfeekers.diimip: the holidays. The star feature is a Triangle drama entitled "Homo," starring Bessie Barriseale au<l Louise Glaum. The story deals with' tho aflairs of a family that had suddenly grown rich and consequently become unduly extravagant, and make vulgar display of their wealth. Like many other people hard work and privations had only strengthened them, while limitless prosperity .spoiled them. Throughout the picture some magnificent scenery is introduced, and also one or two very pretty scenes. Supporting this star feature is a VilTwaph comedy, "The Man from Eflypt.'.'.the Gaumont Graphic, and a oharmini; Spanish production entitled "Ancient .Seville." EMPRESS THEATRE. . Winsome Alice Brady, the World I'jlm Corporation's star in pastoral dninni, is the heroine of 'Jib uoweriul and thrilling romance, "Tanjjlcd l'ates," tii« star attraction of the current progruiiimc at tho Empress Theatre. The heroine marries a worthless fellow, who al'torwarda loaves Her and n pes to the goldlields of Alaska. Here arts enacted the most eoiisitionat iucidonts of the pin v- The hnsbaml loads a dissolute lite, und the miners round him up for shooting a man, and at this stage the wife appears on tho scone, and has a dramatic interview with the wommi who is living with her husband. They struggle, and meanwhile tho husband is lynched by the infuriated uiincrs. and (he u-il'e arrives at tho scene of tho lynching too late. But the story has a. hapny ending, for the man whom she really loves cornea to Alaska and claims her for his own Other good films comprise a "Topical Budget" and uproarious comedy, "Jerry's Masked Ball." QUEEN'S THEATBE. At the now lirmly-established Queen's ■ Ihoatro, in Central 'Cuba .Street, tho holiday programme is bearing fruit, mainly through tho agency of "Tho Dupe," 'a - hvo-rcel Paramount feature, which is £m," brother to that popular drama, Iho Cheat,' and which has been ?e----cured exclusively for this theatre. "Tho : Dupe," as its title suggests, is a drama ] ot mudern society, and deals with tho 1 ctoruiil manoeuvring of unscrupulous i parasites uf the higher world to get tho i better of more conscientious individuals. ; Jno text lends itself to a series of sen- < sational developments aud intenso situa- 1 tioiis, ii lid tho wholo picture resolves it- I self into.tho condensation for tho eyo 1 of a. remarkable and brilliant story, 1 which in picture form is graphically com- i pressed into half the time it would take to read the novel of the sanio name. A good holiday programme is associated with tin's picture, mid specially uttractivo music is provided by tho orchestra from an extensive repertoire. Seats may be reserved at the theatre or by telephone, aud tho entertainment is continuous from „ 11 a.m. J "THE SENTIMENTAL BLOKE." j On Tuesday evening jio.xt at the Con- e cert Chamber, Messrs. J. and K. Tnit c will present Mr. Lawrence Campbell, -the ° well-known elocutionist and entertainer, ° in C. J. Dennis's clever character study, J 1 '"lhe Sentimental Bloke," which lias ' como prominently under the notice of all P book-lovers throughout Australia and New , Zealand nithin tho last few months, Tho P story of Bill and his courting of Doreen is ii fascinating one, and it is written 6 in a quaint style, and there is much P humour, pathos, philosophy, and common V. sense in its pages, aud.it lends itself to J; 1 stage adaptation, and the efforts of cap- ? able elocutionists, and should provide an " ideal form of entertainment. "The u Intro," "Mar," "The Pilot Cove," "Beef f. Tea," "The Stror 'At Coot," with tho " others as published in the book, are pro- f sen ted by Mr. Campbell in his recitals. , Of lu'.s first recital in Australia, the "Bui- f letiii" says: "C. J. Dennis has found in ? Lawrence Campbell an almost ideal in- [i terpreter of his 'Sentimental Uloke.' Mr. ~ Campbell has a quite unaffected delivery, with an artistic restraint that prevents . him depicting comedy with circus effects, '• or drowning a pathetic scene with conn- i\ terfeit tears, and lie gets the last ounce '' of allowable humour out of such scones " as 'Hitched,' aud feelingly suggests in 'Beef Ten' the sentimental hiatus between Bill and Doreen, when a little extra emphasis either way would result in mushy anti-climax." Only fivo recitals can be given in Wellington, and the box ~ plan of reserved scats opens at the Bristol to-morrow morning.