State School Entertainment.

Manawatu Herald, 10 December 1892, Page 2

State School Entertainment.

Tlic well advertised grand entertainment in. aid cf tlie State /School prize fund Was $iveh liist iiigiic in the public bail, before a large. -and enthusiastic audience. The attendance was surprising, and the building would nob have been, large enough; had not tlie wet iiiglifc, and various epidemics been the cause of numbers not being present As wo have before remarked on a similar occasion it is exceedingly gratifying to find the efforts of Mr and Mrs Stewart^ and the School (jomnlittee. sd loyally slipVdrtect by the general public. The programme had to be slightly altered owing to the prevalent colds making it impossible for some, who had promised to sing, to be able to do sd. The Tableau were most enjoyable pictures, with the added charm of life and voice, and every one presented proved the great ability of the artist (Mrs Stewart) and tlie intelligence and appreciation of the parts by the component portions of the groups; , The oyjeriirig tableau \Vas the representation, from "Patience " of tho Twenty Love-sick Maidens. ? Hanging around the oiily male present (Bunthorne) who -it will be remembered lias been described as A most intense young man, A soulful-eyed young man } An ultra poetical, super-acstheli<Jal Oat df the 1 way" yditrig mart. (and he looked so) y these unfortunate girls twang their mandolins, cast bewitching glances at the man and generally rested about the room in most limp" attitudes and sang Twenty love-sick maidens we Lov.e-sick all against onv will. Twenty years hence we shall bo, Twenty love-Bick maidens alHl. Mrs Dernier led the singing and the wall All dutf love is all for one, "s?et that love he heedcth not, He is coy and cares for none, Sad and sorry is our lot ! Oh, miserie! went remarkable well. Bunthorne (Mr McMillan) looked his part aud that is all he had to do as Though my book I seem to scan tn a rapt ecstatic way, Like a literary man Who despises female clay ; I hear plainly all they say Twenty love sick maidens they 1 So did all the large audience, and it is safe to assert that It was simply the folly of these sweet maidens putting on all their love for one, which placed them in this position, as if they would have glanced at A commdn-pla'cevyounglman— ; A matter' of- fact young mah~ A steady and stolid y jolly Bank holiday B very-day young man 1 they might have had any they had chosen,' so sweetly did they look. "Elaine "drifting to Camelot w s as a, short, but very pretty scene. " Elaine " (Miss Purcell) had placed her love* where it could not be returned, and so she pined and died. To show Sir Lancelot's relations that he had met no unworthy girl she desired that'her body should be sent by the river past Sir Lancelot's home at, Camelot. Tennyson .describes the 'fact' as ' Steer'd by the dumb went upward with the floodIn her right hand the lily, in her left The letter She did not seem as dead But fast asleep;" and lay as tho' she smiled. "Ceres and the Seasons" was very much admired but to our liking the seasons were not sufficiently 1 marked; It appeared as though' we. were living in a perpetual summer as'flowers formed a prominent portion of each dear season's attire. .•■■'.• . ; ■.-■. , Gipsy encampment with character chorus, was also a pretty scene, but apt to mislead anyone as to the surroundings of , real gipsy life. The sweet-girl; gipsies played . cards and quarrelled, •! and flirted with,- the male, members, .of the gang as unconcernedly as [they -do elsewhere, The Judgement of Paris displayed that, young-athlete, . Paris, (Mr W. Ptansell) selecting" his" Ibest girl from' .three ;:candir!jates for his choice. To mark her. down he rolled a golden ball to her feet. The selection is a pure matter of taste, the young man having the money, but we cou d not have decided so quickly, of I perhaps, ias he did^ r : ■ ] j• y , The Reaper and the Flowers was, to our mind undoubtedly the best tableau of the evening. There were two scenes. In the firstawidowod mother (Mrs ßhodes \in black, is fondling . two little, children (A. bawston and E. Dernier) 'whilst above them hovers an angel (Miss Stansell) in the act of blessiner mother and children. The second sceihe showed the bereaved mother prayinpr, the angel having gathered the little ones, and .shown <as leading theni'to Beaven. i; -That we were not alone in our opinion was shown not only by the applause, but by the fact that .one of the audience was so delighV fl d"4hat'he'at once presented Mr -tewart with the sum of "one pound towards the proceeds. A deed like this is more emphatic jthan any number of sonorous sentences." ' ' J Pulasfci'sßanner was to our mind spoilt by the introduction of a sergeant of tlie array of

the present day being made to represent tile knight of old. Miss Syraons is to be congratulated on her delivery of the recitiifciVe. The ihiris looked prettier ih other cliaracfcers, and did not appear -quite at. koine, in having their jaws tied up. Ladies are credited with feeling more at their best when just; otherwise 1 . Caller Herrin was a brisk and lively scene of bonnie fishwives and much trouble had been taken to impart realism to the picture. Mrs Dermer's song was very nicely sutig, anct the *' call ws also well tendered by th§ wives. Brittania and her possessians brought the series of views to a close most fittingly. All engaged are to be congratulated on their costumes. tfhe Song's suffered very much from the positionthat had to be taken by the singers, the curtain so close behind them, smothering the voice. Miss Williams 5 song was encored, so was Mr , Starisell's and the others' received most fair recognition, Onr notice lias extended Beyond the us ual limits so that we are unable to give a longer critique. Of course the tableaux were the feature of. the entertainment. The audience were both astonished and delighted with the various tableaux, they were undoubtedly the best yet placed before a Foxton audience, and should most certainly be repeated sood, to > enable those who weie prevented from attending' last night, to enjoy the spectacle. The School Committee are under a great obligation to Mrs Stewart and her many most' able assistants. - The lighting Was most satisfactory, and i it says a great deal for all concerned when we can report that not a hitch once occurred. Mrs Stewart is desiious that her stage manager, Mr Potter, should not be overlooked, as during the evening and at all tha rehearsals ~ he has proved himself a power in the land. Mr M. J. Ennis is to be thanked for the music supplied by him, and the excellent manner the accompaniments were played. Mr Ennis' did a great part in securing . the success of the evening. Mr Stewart directed the attention of the audience to the scenes previous to their exhibition and Mr Thynne, as chairman of the school committee, moved a vote of thanks to Mrs Stewart and . the porformers, which was enthusiastically carried. •To the number of ladies and gentlemen whose names "are not herein fully set forth " we apologise, as we are aware that without them we should • have been deprived of much pleasure, .but at'thesame time space has to be considered. The performers may all re3t assured that the audience left.. with the feelings of having passed a most enjoyable evening. Mr and Mrs Stansell kindly invited th 3 performers to a repast after the conclusion of the; entertainment which was fully appreciated.