THE TALENTED KIWIS

Dominion, Volume 37, Issue 11, 8 October 1943, Page 3

THE TALENTED KIWIS

Enthusiastic Reception At Opera House

Just as the men of the Second N.Z.E.Ii’. sustain the glorious traditions of lue Anzacs of 191-1-IS, so do the Kiwis, who gave a delightful entertainment at the Grand Opera House, Wellington, last night to a crowded audience, sustain the good name of the Kiwis of the last. war. Perhaps the only difference is that the Kiwis, of the last generation, did not get the opportunity of furlough in their own country, yet all Diggers who remember their cheerful clever mirth will revere their memory, just as the soldiers of today admire the present bright company of Kiwis. , ~ , Starved for an honest-to-goodness ilesli-and-blood show this many a month, the packed audience enjoyed the jolly music and the giddy mirth which the Kiwis dispense with a lavish hand. Actually the show is built around an excellent jazz band of competent musicians, who, under the firm control of Terry Vaughan, give v the keynote to the whole turnout. The band made its first impression in a potpourri of Gershwin airs, but it was when they took the stage, in their dressy-white tunics, and played “Doggin Kotid and the graceful “In An 18th Century Drawing-room”' (Mozart memory) and inhde gorgeous fun out of the "William Tell” Overture (with the exuberant Popovsky in charge) and "Dinah,” that they fairly swept the audience off. its aggregate feet. In addition to these numbers there were other instrumental numbers, sandwiched in between the humorous comic sketches and choruses, which kept those present in a delightful ferment of excitement. The Kiwis are good revue comedians, possessing in Wally Prictor and Phil Jay ■two clever girl impersonators, who wear a bewildering array of fashionable frocks in the half-dozen sketches in which they figure, notably in "The Can Can Girls.” Phil Jay was amusing in “Olga, the Beautiful Spy,” and caused shrieks of laughter; with Bill Moore, ill their burlesque of the children's radio hour. Other sketches which caused great gusto of laughter were “Not Married,” "Primrose,” "Fixing the Light,” “Interrupted Again,” and “Musical Chairs.’” A clever child impersonator is Tim Bonnor, whose’infantile prattle in "The Man Who Came Round” was laughter-provoking. One of the cleverest performers was Ces Morris, whose sleight-of-hand tricks with cards and cigarettes were up to professional standards. On the vocal side the full company sang gems from “The Vagabond King,” “Show Boat” (recently revived in London), and, with Wally Prictor (the male soprano), Schubert’s “Ave Maria" .(with choir in white smocks and black berets). The show will be repeated this evening, when another bumper house ’is already assured. ’ | . At the conclusion -of the programme the mayor, Mr. T. C. A. Hislop, .thanked the Kiwis heartily for the excellent entertainment they had given for patriotic purposes and congratulated them on giving one of the best ‘ shows seen in Wellington for a long time. Captain Geoffrey College, in reply, thanked the mayor and the audience for the splendid reception they had been given, saying how pleasant it was to be able to perform in a comfortable theatre with a roof over their heads.

Among those present were his Excel-, lency’the Governor-General and a party from Government House.