FITZ-GERALD BROS.' CIRCUS AND MENAGERIE. A First-class Show.

Free Lance, 30 March 1901, Page 7

FITZ-GERALD BROS.' CIRCUS AND MENAGERIE. A First-class Show.

THE immense popularity of FitzGerald Bros.' circus and menagerie was evidenced by the immense concourse of people which, on Tuesday night, thronged every part of the vast expanse covered by the canvas. Monday was to have been the opening night, but a Wellington zephyr was on duty at the time, and the management have been taught by sad experience to attemnt no competition with Wellington zephyrs. However, Tuesday night made sufficient atonement for this disappointment. So great was the throng that before eight o clock the municipal authorities got scared, and requested that the sale of tickets should stop. As it was, a good many people saw the show with difficulty. Still the management did their level best' to en&ure the comfort of everybody. . « ♦ It may be said, at the outset that the merits of this splendid circus have in no sense been overrated by advance report. There is a strong array of new talent engaged, and the combination of new stars and old favourites makes far and away the best exhibition of the kind that has been seen in New Zealand for twenty years past. Amongst the stars of the first magnitude is Mdlle. Adehna Antonio, from the Royal Aquarium, London. She is the most daring and accomplished performer on the high trapeze and still bar who has ever appeared in the colonies. All her feats were executed with wonderful ease and asnlitv and they reached their climax ?n a tri P !e somersault from the trapeze to the net, followed by a back doublesomersauH from the apex of # the tent. The flying trapeze act of the three Dunbars (one lady and two gentlemen) !s another brilliant, and, m fact, wonderful performance. Their aerial leaps and somersaults high in mid-air were marvels of grace, . daring, and precision, and were effectively rounded off bv Carl Dunbar turning a doublesomersault as he leaped for, and was caught in, the outstretched hands of .his brother, who waited for him, hanging head downwards from the central bar. Madame Rhodesia, who is termed "the Society Lady Juggler," fully jus£ fies the other title she received in London of "The Lady Cinquevalli. Her tricks of sleight-of-hand embrace all the cleverest that former artists have exhibited, and many others that axe quite new. She juggles with all sorts of odd articles with equal ease and unfailing accuracy. One time it is belltopper, umbrella, and gloves that are twirling in the air in rapid revolution Next moment it is a cannon ball and a pellet of paper and some other articles of medium weight, but various as the weights are the juggler makes no mistake. , Spinning plates, gyrating balls, and spinning bottles are all alike to her. She sends them here, there, and the other place, and, while the spectator's eye is bewildered by their flight, the hand of the artist never fails to receive them at the proper stage in their descent. Madame Rhodesia's concluding feat, of throwing small balls high in the air and catching them in the side and back pockets attached to her belt, was quite new, and. like everything she did, very skilfully executed. # The Jandaschevsky family (two ladies and a gentleman) appeared in a .Turkish, harem dance, which wa& highly picturesque, and a distinct novelty in the saltatonal line. Olaf Schraeder the tramp cyclist," proved himself to be very expert in difficult tricks upon the wheel. # # The circus is very strong in equestrian talent, and a finer and, handsomer stud of trick horses and ponies it would be impossible to find at the other side of the world. Mdlle. Millie Dagmar gave a splendid display of menage on the beautiful stallion Napoleon. Me skipped over a revolving hoop, curvetted, rode over sticks, and fired ott pistols, and in everything showed a very high degree of training. Harry Cardello's bare-back horsemanship, on a black mare, was of the very best. As the animal cantered, the rider leaped from the sawdust erect upon its back, and also cleanly performed the still more difficult feat of turning a back-somersault and regaining his standing position while the animal kept on its ambling course. Mr. Gus St. Leon and Mdlle. Leon were seen to great advantage in their Olympian feats on horseback, the male rider supporting his female companion as she stood poised on his shoulders, or went through feats of graceful posturing. • • • Lycurgus, the Japanese boy, gave a clever performance on the prize pony Silver King, and Mr. W. Jones put the ponies Barbelle and Barbette through

some very pretty tricks, while Mr. Dan Fitz-Gerald evoked round after round of the heartiest applause with the tricks which were executed under his direction by the pony Commodore, and, later still, by the beautifully-trained stud of eight bronchos. • ♦ • The goat and monkey hurdle act convulsed the audience as of yore, and the fooling of the clowns Walhalla, August, and Guillaume kept the fun going at intervals. Guillaume's disappearing cigarette trick was provocative of much merriment, but the audience fairly held their sides and yelled with laughter as they witnessed the burlesque Spanish bull-fight, Guillaume as toreador, August as matador, and a lively dog, dressed out with horns, doing the bull's part in the most business-like style imaginable. The performing tiger riding the horse supplied an element of excitement, and the elephant Lizzie and pony Commodore went deftly through their joint act of trundling the barrel, while "Lizzie," all on her own, had afternoon tea, and then appeared as Kruger, in stove-pipe hat and whiskers. Walhalla, Simonstein, and Cardello received quite an ovation for their brilliant acrobatic feats, and a tip-top programme was brought to a close with an exhibition of high- jumping by the horses Newhaven, Cadet, and Stockman, the first-named winding up this event by clearing a 6ft 3in hurdle with the ease of a bird. • • • The circus is well-equipped at all points, the menagerie is very interesting, an excellent band under Herr Yon der Mehden discourses good music, and the ring performances keep the interest sustained at the highest point from start to finish. The season closes on Saturday with a matinee and a night performance, and the circus goes upcountry next week. Our country friends along the line of route may look out for a rare treat.