FOOTLIGHT FLASHES

Evening Star, Issue 20056, 22 December 1928, Page 15

FOOTLIGHT FLASHES

[By LOITERER.]

... Beauty and the Beast.'; will bo the oantomime for. the Palace Theatre, Melbourne, at Christmas time. It will bo presented by the O’DounelUßay Company in conjunction with the Puller'management. May Collins, leading lady .with - the Leon Gordon Company, which played ‘The Trial of Mary Dugan.’ and ‘ Scandal ’ in New Zealand, announces that when her engagement with ,J. C. Williamson, Ltd . w. 'finished she wall go by way of Singapore to China and Japan before returning to America. For the Rio itila ’ season at the Princess Theatre, Melbourne,' Pullers’ Theatres, Limited, invited applications for preferential booking for the gala, opening night only, but as the theatre was booked out within a very brief space of time the (inn has decided to* accept applications - for tho first twelve nights-or the season. The date scheduled For the grand gala performance was December 22 (to-night)..

There will bo four “ first nights ” on

December,.22 (to-night) hr Melbourne: ‘ Rio Pita,’ at the Princess Theatre, with;Miss Gladys Moncrjetf making a welcome reappearance in Melbourne; ‘Other Men's Wives’ (Miss Margaret Bannennan), at tho Comedy Theatre; ‘The Wrecker,’ at the Athenaeum, and a revival of Cosmo Hamilton’s play, ‘Scandal,’ at the Theatre Koval. ‘ Beauty and the Beast ’ will begin at the Palace Theatre on Boxing Day. Mr Lane-Bayliff, who was business manager for Lady Forbes-Robertson during her tour in New Zealand, and who will be remembered for his clever acting _ in ‘The Best People, is now business manager for The Allan Wilkie Shakespearean Company, which is duo to open at the Grand Opera House, Wellington, on January 20. Mr Leon Gordon’s revival of ‘ White Cargo’ ha," not met with the same success that attended the initial production. • Critics are fairly unanimous that Miss May Collins, as Tondeleyo, is the weak link. In view of her performance in Cosmo Hamilton’s ‘ Scandal,’ one could hardly imagine her as the perfect siren of tho tropics. “On a season of eight weeks in Melbourne, we have lost £2,000,” said Allan Wilkie, stressing the need for a subsidy for his Shakespearean Company. Mr Wilkie has written to the Prime Minister of Australia (the Eight Hon. Stanley Bruce) asking for an annual grant from -the Federal Government. Interviewed at Auckland on his way to Sydney after a visit to Europe and America, Mr J. H. Tait said that several popular and attractive musical comedies and plays, not to mention concert artists, have been secured for Australia and New Zealand. Amongst his - purchases were the musical comedies ‘A Damsel in Distress,’ ‘Virginia,’ ‘Mr Cinders,’ and ‘Lady Mary,’ Edgar Wallace’s sensational play, ‘The Squeaker, and Ben Travers’s great success, ‘Plunder.’ Mr Tait said he met, Clara Butt and her husband, Kennedy Rumford, and Heifetz at Ascot. Dame Clara told him she was overcome with the desire to revisit New Zealand, and a visit from her, could be looked forward to. Ho arranged for a'tour of these countries by Madame Seotney, the .Australian soprano, who was the last singer to appear on the operatic platform with Caruso. Sho would commence an Australasian tour very shortly. Mr William Murdoch, tho pianist, and Harold 'Williams, the Australian baritone, would shortly make a concert tour of Australia and New Zealand. “I met Galli-Curci at the Carnegie Hall, New York,, and sho is- singing as well as ever,” added Mr Tait. “ She is a great draw. She told me she desired to revisit Australia and

New Zealand, and arrangements are being made for a tour in 1930. GalliCurci is vo'\y anxious to visit the South Island, which she was unable to do on her former tour.” There was every .possibility that the famous London revue artist, Jack Buchanan, who was the greatest draw on the English stage to-day, would visit, Australia and New Zealand. Mr Taib, said he arranged for a return visit of Anna _ Pavlova, and she was duo at Brisbane in March. It was doubtful if she would find timo to tour New Zealandin, owing to engagements at Cairo and on the Continent. If these could bo postponed she would certainly cross the Tasman. Although he spent some time in New York, Air Tait. said he did not see one play worth considering. He was inclined to think it was his bad luck. With regard to the “talkie” films, he said there was room for considerable improvement. It was doubtful whether this entertainment would ever become really popular. ; - ( Coming with the Vaubrugh-Bouci-cault Company to New Zealand, under the J. C. Williamson management, is Miss Prudence Vanbrugh, niece of the noted actress, .Miss Irene Vanbrugh, What a wonderful career this cbarmnw young lady already has had! Though ■■. young; she has played leading Shakespearian roles at Stratford-on-Avon and the King’s Theatre at Hammersmith, and four years ago gained prominence by succeeding_.Miss ray Compton as Princess Flavia in a revival of 1 The' Prisoner of /enda, at ‘ the Hay market Theatre. Miss Prudence Vanbrugh is playing the role of Alex in. ITbo High Road’the comedy by Frederick Lonsdale wlnclv will lie pi-esented during the coming Aeiv Zealand tour. . . „ Lifbts are not indispensable to a miisical comedy. That is a lesson which the J. C. Williamson company at present appearing in the city taught a Christcnnrch audience m the .theatre lloyal on Saturday night, when in the middle of the second act of Ihe Cm Friend ’ : the lights, failed. The companv, and more particularly two of its members, Miss Billie Lockwood and Mi Leo Franklin, came through the tost with honours ‘ (says the .‘ Press ). t was just when the plot was at its thickest that the lights began to dim, anil then suddenly went out. I’or a moment there was, confusion and nervous laughter, then the company, led by: Mr Reginald Sharland and .Miss Annie Croft, swung into action -perhaps it would be better to say sang into action, for if was with several lively choruses from the comedy that they entertained the audience lor some minutes., This could not be kept up indefinitely, however, and as the light .remained out it became necessary for someone to . fill the breach. Air Leo Franklin, as Jerry,, the hotel clerk, and Alisa Billie Lockwood, as Jennie, the telephone girl, were quick to accept the ’ reaponsi bi 1 1 ty, and for over a* quarter of an hour kept things going .with their impromptu chatter. A hurricane lamp found its way into Mr Franklin’s hand, and from the light of tins Miss Lockwood told of her boy friend,” “ Freddie, the manufacturer of rcceplacles -for garbage,” and of the presents he had given her. • Several times the light came on, only: to die out again; several times Air Franklin ,got rid of.“ the damn thing,” his lantern, only to find it necessary again, and through ft all the pair kept the laughter going. At last,, when Mr Franklin had to tell the audience that they had had-the last of his“ laughs,” some gas lamps wer«p, found in the circle,, and by. their lights the • chorus was able .to take- up the■ comedy again. With the light in perfect order Mr Gus Bluett was able to furnish au explanation. . : “ What made the lights go out?” lie asked the company, ' Nobody could supply. the,,answer. ■ “ Gus ’ Blew-itb,” he said, and .got his reward in the roar of lauirhter. which, followed..

Jottings ob tho people of the Stage and Screen and on the latest recorded Mask,

The Leoa Gordon Company at the Theatre Royal, Melbourne,- has restricted, the. season of ‘ Interference ’ to four weeks, when it is to bo followed by ‘ Scandal,’ ‘ White Cargo,’ and the first production in Australia of the Edgar -Wallace thriller, ‘ Tho Flying Squad.’

Herbert Browne, here in The Student Prince’ and ‘ Madame Pompadour,’ who is now playing in ‘ The Desert Song ’ in Melbourne, was injured recently in a street accident. He did not suffer severely, and soon recovered.

Recalling Melbourne pantomimes in the early days, an ‘Australasian’ writer says: “It was at tho Theatre Royal—the building still existing, though the interior has been altered from time to time—that the best Christinas pantomimes in Melbourne wore staged at the period of a faraway childhood. Gas was still ustkl for a huge chandelier' and for all other lighting on and oft’ tho stage, and a scent of gas fumes and orange peel seemed to cling to the theatre. The stage lighting was not as brilliant as that given by the vast number of electric lights in a present-day musical piece, but the scone painters know how to adapt their colour to tho available lighting to give impressive effects, and old-time players who have worked under both systems have been heard to say that gas lighting was better, both for tho appearance and comfort of those on the stage (eyes are harmed sometimes by the hard glare of electric light), and for general effect as observed by theatregoers. On the other band, it is admitted that the fumes from tho large number of gas lights used in spectacular pieces could be distressing (the twenty eight miles of gas piping laid down in tho Paris Opera was exceptional, but there were many large installations), and that fires in theatres, now rare, were a commonplace. The United States beat the world, as usual, in the number of theatres bilrnt, but Great Britain also had an alarming record. Electric light and general precaution have made a’ great difference to public safety in theatres.” Writing to a friend in Christchurch, Mr Gravestock says; “The lack of support given to Shura Cherkassky’s concerts throughout Now Zealand will always bo a mystery to mo. The Australian part of the tour was a wonderful success. He created new records in Adelaide and Perth, whilst Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane seasons were extremely successful. Wo gave eight recitals in Melbourne, and it was only tho fact that Shura and his father had to catch the Ormonde to Europe that prevented our giving three or four more concerts. As it was they had to travel ovqrland to catch tho boat at Adelaide. The Melbourne critics, who aro notoriously hard to please, were unanimous in their praise of Shura, and it was generally recognised that no artist to visit Melbourne has ever had such eulogistic comment from the •Melbourne papers. The scenes of excitement at the final Melbourne recitals were most thrilling.' Flowers werethrown on to the platform, and cries for favourite pieces to be played as encores came from all over the hall. Tho autograph hunters came in such largo numbers after tho concerts that I had to get a facsimile rubber stamp made of his autograph, and after the final recital over 300 people passed through the artist’s rconu anxious to say goodbye, and wish him good luck, whilst the scene outside the Town Hall was thrilling. Six policemen were required to keep the crowd bade, as we left to get into onr car.”