ENTERTAINMENTS

Dominion, Volume 14, Issue 255, 22 July 1921, Page 3

ENTERTAINMENTS

COMIC OPERA SEASON. The lover of Gilbert end Sullivan who desires to make sure of an early sent has to start soon after dark. At 6.30 last evening quite a lengthy queue had gathered outside the Grand Opera House, and this has been the rule throughout, the season. The final production of "H.M.S. Pinafore” attracted a full house, which enjoyed to the full the excellent fare provided. To-night’s production of "Princess Ida” should attract a great deal of interest, seeing how little known this tuneful work really is. The cast this evening will include' Frederick Hobbs as King Hildebrand, James Hay as Hilarion, Charles Mettam as Cyril, John Ralston as Florian. Charles Walenn as , King Gama. Jack Kinson us Arae, Tom Minogue as Guron, Pred England as Rcynthius, Miss Molly. Tyrell- as Lady Blanche. Grace Crotty as Lady Psyche, Beryl Walkely as Melissa, Ruby Thyer as Sacharissa. Jessie Caffyn as Chloe, Gladys Baker as Ada, and Miss Cissie Vaughan as Princess Ida. The settings include: Pavilion in King Hildebrand’s Palace, The Gardena of Castle Adamant, and the Courtyard, of Castle Adamant. "Princess Ida” will be repeated at the matinee to-morrow afternoon, and to-morrow night the notable season of Gilbert and Sullivan Opera will come to a close, with a final presentation of the immortal romantic opera "The Yeomen of the Guard.” KING’S THEATRE.” "Daddy Long Legs” and "The Hoodlum” have paved the way for another great success for Mary Pickford, in "Heart o’ the Hills.” In this her latest production the little girl, who has won to a pinnacle of regard not given to many, is said to eclipse even her previous triumphs. This story of the brave, little mountain girl true to her principles, but ready to fight with fist or gun for clan or against oppression, gives not only Alias Pickford at her best, but a different -little actress, for never before, it is claimed, has the star - had a role rt> portray as wide in its scope or as full of deep contrast as this one. The Pickford smile which turns from joy to sad* boss, to anger, despair, hatred, or revenge ns the plays runs, is in evidence through the human story, and its magnetism has not diminished by a jot. Lancelot Fairflax, baritone, will be heard for tho first time in. Wellington, after Tecent successes in Australia, and the King’s orchestra will render special music. QUEEN'S THEATRE, "The Bait.” which will be shown at the Queen’s Theatre to-day, is a photoplay of the lights and shadows of Paris and New York, all woven around! a love story of considerable appeal and strength. It is a big i-omantio melodrama. It features in the leading role Hope Hampton, the vivacious beauty who sprang suddenly to fame in the film world, and is the most promising and talked-about of all the young stars. Viola Dana is said to have the best vehicle of her career in "Please Get Married!” tho Metro feature which is included on the programme. It is a farcical riot of humour, in which two innocent and perfectly well-intentioned young people believe they are married, and start upon their honeymoon, only then to find that their marriage ceremony was performed by a burglar instead of a parson. EVERYBODY’S THEATRE. There is said to bo a complication of lovo affairs in “The Vice of Fools," a Vitagraph production, which will bo screened to-day at Everybody’s Theatre. A critic says of the film: "The story .starts smoothly with charming Alice Joyco as Marion Rogers, the daughter of an Eastern financier, in love with Cameron West, the son of her father’s second wife. The role of tho latter is played by Robert Gordon. West, however, becomes infatuated —and brings complexity to the story—with the daughter of another family in the same set, leaving poor Marion neglected and lonely. But only for a time, since Marion, in order to arouse feeling in West, accepts the attentions of Granville Wingate, a social scapegrace whose long list of love affairs is a topic of much caustic comment in his set. The climax is unexpect* cd. The supporting progranime includes the well-known Vitagfiaph comedian Jimmy Aubrey in a. comedy "The Nuisance.” A Rathe Gazette, and scenic add the finishing touches to an excellent programme. EMPRESS THEATRE. How a secret may lie safely hidden for years until it rises at the wrong moment, like a grim spectre to bring misery to innocent persons is dramatically shown in "The White Dove,” the H. B. Warner special, which w.ill be seen at the Empress Theatre for the first time to-day. In this picture, which is founded on the novel by William J. Locke, Mr. Warner has the role of a physician called in to treat an old friend, who has been fatally hurt, and who learns from the latter’s lips that his (the doctor’s) vrife) has been unfaithful with the dying man. Thereupon begins a battle which rages in the soul of the physician, warping his life, and making him distrust those nearest and dearest, until he learns another bigger and more crushing secret, one great and poignant enough to make him forget all his pain and worry in a. new-found ability to forgive. Excellent nupports are included on the bill. "CHU CHIN CHOW.” Following is an extract from a Melbourne notice of "Chu Chin Chow": — "We have no standard by which to judge the great production of 'Chu Chin Chow,’ for it is far beyond anything we have ever had in Australia in the w'ay of stagecraft; it sets a standard for itself, so high, so exacting, that it seems it can never be equalled again. It is a version of the old story, as told in the hundred and one Arabian nights, unrolled before the eyes as imagination paints it, but never expected to realise visually. It is. indeed the absolute realisation of Shahaznd’s absorbing story, Unfolded in ,a series of wonderfully satisfying pictures of the East. It has the halo of romance. of poetry, of idealism, that makes it seem like an actual reincarnation from the post, and not modern stage pictures enacted by modern artists. It rolls straight on with never a jarring note of movement, nor the extraneous comedy interludes. not even the jolt of encores to Interrupt the sequence of the delightful, satisfying series of pictures. Tho musical sotting is also conceived in tho right atmosphere, and has a haunting rhythm. . . . 'Chu Chin Chow" holds the onlooker entranced in spirit, far away from the prosaic everyday world of 1921, back to the land of romance, of poetry, of beauty, where yet human nature is very much the same." The Wellington season will open at the Grand Opera House on Tuesday night next, and the box plans for the first six nights and two matinees are now open nt the Bristol, where another seven nights, making the final for the season, will open on Monday-morning COLOSSEUM RINK. Day by day the Colosseum 'Skating Rink inerenses in popularity. The great size of Ihe rink, which is situated in Vivian Street, near tho Cuba Street intersection. adds to the pleasure to be derived from skating, and there are trained instructors nt all sessions to give instruc-ii-'n and (<> the novice. An orchestra and a balcony cafe are among (|... ‘ions nt evening sessions.