Dramatic And Musical

Free Lance, Volume III, Issue 121, 25 October 1902, Page 7

Dramatic And Musical

By Footlight.

DESPITE real cncus" weather which seems always to strike the Wirth people when tliev come to Wellington., the good old show has since done its level best to overtake lost time. "All circuses- are alike , if you see one you have seen the lot," is about as true as the trite commonplace exchanges of society talk You have seen horses horses stand on their heads, and elephants buck, and tigers mooch around in. an unwilling way, doing their ' turn," but probably the majority have not seen anything quite up to the How aid Brothers' business. They call themselves "human race bafflers," and they seem to have a decent claim to the title If one brother, standing m the centae of the sawdust explains that a nng held by the other a hunched \ ards away is composed of gold made from your grandmother's and your mother's ■wedding mf and it is true, it surpnses you This is, however, among; the least of these st ran ~e men's accomplishments. * * * There is Moms Ragoul the lion liner, whose bio- cats do anything he wants them to, including wire walking; Ido not like tigers myself, and they aie sneaks who do not love Ragoul a bit I once saw one of the gentle animals do a "turn" of his own after he had mangled a keeper, and chased a riaison up a haystack Still Mons. Rt*ovl comes out alive, and evervbodv is "la*! One of the sights for "do-rev" men i« the way those arey hounds iumn> It is as pretty a sight as a steeplechase ovei stiff country and the do«rs are m the pink of condition * * * Of horses, there is a first-class show , from the magnificent entire Maior, wibha university education, to the tiny ponies who out) up a good record with the gloves. "Master Georgie," with his four pomes provides a capital turn and Miss Flo Barlete does a French hurricane hurdle act that requires seeing to be believed. The football do-, vho plays the game for all it is w orth with his tried friends August and September is a canine wonder, and the baboons and other queer beasts know a great deal more than you give them credit for * * * Masinga. a wee mite contoits aiti^tically and Phyllis Wirtih dances with a skipping rope without trippm^ once There are horizontal bars, and people

who can use them There are camels and other things dear to the hearts ot boys and giown-ups ' All circuses aire alike see o,ne and >ou have seen the lot" — except Wirths' Dixs Gaaety, at the Theatie Royal is going ahead with the bnskness that characterises it all the time, and in the long programme there is no "duffei Olive Lenton is back again, and Olive who comes round with the seasons, i& just as welcome now as she was when hist she came out as a Gaiety star. She is dainty, ' speaks nicely, sin^s well, poses orettily and is nevei coarse. Her ip fined appearance and style are highly appreciated w henover she happens along tins way. The Har\ cv Boys bang each othei about with terrrhe violence and their faces must be as haid as a millstone Their glove fight is immense and thencomedy commands resnect They are ' nugerety " little cha^s, fit to fight lots of weight and their little brother of the Coster clothes, is an excellent whistler. There is nothing dull about this "turn." You should po alon? and &cc it. Mr. Millar Fraser, the clarion tenor, has endeared himself to the Dix audiences He puts the true exnression into his Scotch song's. If you have heard him *m<r ' The March of the Cameron Men," you have had to tap time with your feet I know Miss Jen me Johnston, a balladist with a nice voice sings "Madohne" this week and does it ustxce, and Miss Pearl Lovell gets through her seno turn" without a hitch. Of couise the nreipressible Frank Clark is filling a large-sized place in the bill, which would look chilly without his name Frank is excellent at spontaneous wit The spontaneous wit that was swatted out bv writers many years asro does not find much favour with Frank Stall out. of compliment to the writers, he sometimes harks back to old times. # * * William Woods and Sam Rowley aie the stock burnt-cork lokists. They also fiie off ballads, "The Tramp" beins a robust specimen of song hiehly interesting to those unacquainted w ith the vagaries of the "sans-culotte " Frank Clarks On the Tiles," as a parting shot, is funny business of a nronounced pattern, and it winds up as effectually as anything else of a like nature could hope to do. "The Chinese Honeymoon " being spent at pi esent at the Opera House is the latest example of what may be effected m the way of musical comedy by two persons carrying out their threat. It is neither extraordinarily smartly wutten, nor is the. music of the catchy order but it is musical comedy, and musical comedy is the stuff that is w anted * * * Miss May Beattv has the onh ieal •tat" the comedy contains, and 'he works it for all it is woith May is giotesque. bizarre unorthodox, and diverting in her "Fi Fi " She uses her own edition of all the stiange devices

vaudeville males employ to create laughs. Every gesture is artistically inartistic, and the cockney slave- shows out m every word of her "lines " May s best vocal effort is 'I Wants to be a Miss Josephine Stamton. as Princess Soo Soo, has a couple of opportunities to use a nice voice. She is slightly constrained, and the strong American accent somehow surprises one in tihe character. Of the various ladies who filled m the lesser parts, it may be said that they looked lovely. They were dres&ed to nerfectio 1 as also was everything else

Among the men, Mr. Edward La/uri, as the unfortunate! Pineapple, takes first place. His comedy is about on a par with that of Mr. Percy, and his dancing is very good. A faint imitation of a Darto 1 dance causes a great deal of amusement, as also did Mr. Lauri's quaint impersonation of various musical conductors. • * * Mr. Henry Hallam as the Emperor of Ylane Ylang, was most artistic. His unctuous chuckle is next to May Beatty's work, the best thing in the show. The Ohiopee Chop of Mr. W. R. Shirley is well done, and. as Chippee is chiefly useful as a chopping block for the Emperor, he gets laughs and things. Of Mr. J. C- Piddook, who sustains the part of Tom Hatiherton, it may be said that he uses not one natural gesture or word throughout the course of the comedy. He is self-conscious from the time he enters to the fall of the curtain "stage" is written in every line of his features and every inflection of his voice. It may be he> is in his novitiate. If so, there may be hope for him. "The Chinese Honeymoon" is still running merrily. It will be run off after Tuesday night. ( Continued, on page 20. )