The Wanderers.

Horowhenua Chronicle, 17 August 1911, Page 2

The Wanderers.

- MUSICAL COMEDY COSTUMM '0 ' COMPANY. !'0 _ 11 It is so seldom that- Levin has u V visit from -a really first-class theat.e rical attraction that the announement ol a visit here to-morrow o\ou- ' im>- from Goorge Stephenson's new Kuglish Company, "Tho Wanderr ors," will he hailed with delight, '"i ! This advent should pack the li i Hall to its utmost capacity. Tho J ! plan at Phillips's Pyko is rapidly tilling, so patrons .should lose no tinio in. liooking seats. _ Speaking j v a.nont the company, the Now /eai land Times says:— i ' "The- Wanderers, ' musical cos,a in mo comodv oo.nipnuy organised b.v Mr ficorgo Stephenson, opened their ',i initial season in New Zealand at tho Town Hall conoo-rt chambcr on Satc iirday night, and. made such an ex- ' ...iir.i,j, imnre^H" 11 'n-av ro look torwar-d t'o -n. very warm wel- {.. come from dominion TlavvS ing a thorough knowledge of the jvirfcinular delights of the average New Zealand amusement seeker, Mr Stephenson has planned well. Ho in lias provided all the elements of a i( ' good variety performance in the s ~ right proportions, being careful to keep out- items of doubtful t-aste. . ! ! the result being that "The AVandorers" can appeal to a very wide cir,s clo for patronage. [exceptionally '. e fine mounting gives the production :i complete finish. 10 Mirth is the outstanding element '' in the programme, and as chict mer•v rv innkor, and a first-class one at '• s that, Mr Leslie Holmes deserves first mention. It is seldom thn 10 go-ud fortune of a Wellington audionce to hoar a- comedian of such all-round ability. Ho is a master '' of "patter," but does not let his 'l songs degenerate into monoi locriio; ho has the most diverting sc.' { of antics could, he imaginoc and when the audience, by constant l° encores, had run his evening's ro- ~ po.rtoirc to thn limit, and. he troft- ' cd out an hoary old favourite, it ,1 was so well done that tho thing had + th<» charm of a novelty. Mr_ Hol--0 inns' fishing song, which for imagiT iaativn effort would give the most f" evport wielder of the. rod a long start and boat him, kept the audieico in a constant state of morrix meni. A clover nonsonso song doseribing thn troubles of a traveller who wanted to get promptly to au American town, whimsically named 1 "To-morrow," was another _ item which niado a big hit. Quito _ a now "A.15.C. Duet," in which Miss Huby Guest, a charming comedienne plaved the Juliet- to Mr Holmes' j " homea, -and a "touching" talc ol | f married life, told by the same cleve-r ) pair, were other excellent items | which added many figures to the j sum total of lan&ntor. A soprano is Air George AVinstanlev, whoso extraordinary wide range in the falsetto enables him to sing. with groat success, Co-wen's somewhat florid composition; "The Swallows." During the course of one of his two encores, the performer showed that his ordinary voice is a pleasant baritone. As a tenor of the robust 1 kind, Air J. Leith Harvey filled an important part in the pr'ogramnio, with effective solos, and still more pleasing duets, his colleague on those later occasions being Air John D. Keenan, whose baritone soft and sympathetic. Afiss Everil Heggie danced pretily, and sawg a livelv song to the accompaniment of funny by-play of Air Keenan. The mandoline and banjo selections of Ali.ss Ruby Guest provided acceptable variety in a 'long programme. We have noted some of the individual efforts of the performers, hut the programme provides for combined numbers which wo have not spaco to deal with in detail. Several choruses of a descriptive character were exceedingly well done, and the popularity of a novel "Bottle Ho!" number, with musical accompaniment on bottles, was not exceeded by anv item on tho_ programme. This noveltv originated in the fertile brain of Air JTerbertBrahms, who presided in serious fashion at the piano, and kept the programme going at a pace which did not allow a dull moment to oh- , trude. A comedy sketch, was down on the programmo.'bnt encores were so frequent during the evening that it had to he cut out, 11 o'clock h-av- ' ing arrived with surprising swift- . ness. ''The AVand-erers" make time J pass pleasantly.