Dramatic and Musical

Free Lance, Volume IV, Issue 170, 3 October 1903, Page 7

Dramatic and Musical

By Footlight.

DTK'S Gaiety Company, at the Theatre Royal, Las a bill that, like the late lamented Phil May, draws well. After the De Wynne brothers, whose fine balancing and acrobatic "turn." is still the best in town, Miss Adidie Fredericks, a new corner, takes the rest of your breath away. Graceful and gay, this young lady approaches the sensational m her "cloud svnng," and remarkably smoothly-done slackrope performance. Miss Fredencks's methods are calm and quiet, and are rather a relief after the squandering of imaginary kisses on the atmosphere most lady performers of this kind indulge in. ♦ * * Miss Malvena Moore is a "serio" who sets up a hypnotic connection, with her audience as soon as she is on, and disconnects it with her valedictory curtsey. She is a deft dancer, and a songstress of no mean power. Her serial footflights call Vividly to mind the twittering swallows in the sweet spring-time. Miss Nellie Yohe, charmingly gowned and decidedly pretty, has a voice of much natural beauty. Her contributions to the prevailing joy are always tumultuously rewarded. The dashing Delavales are still revelling in odd positions, and bouncing around the stage. They threaten to "loop the loop." * * * Mr. Val Yousden. the ventriloquist, has taken himself, his multitudinous voices, and his Mrs. O'Rourke elsewhere. "My worr'd but he's a good hand wid his mouth'" describes him pretty well. Apart from the three •'world star turns," the remainder of the company are well up to the usual high standard. * * * Fuller's Entertainers, at the Choral Hall, are absorbing a large number of Wellmgtonians nightly. You see, Will Watkins 1 has returned, and he has a little song about the Women's League which made a, big hit, especially among the ladies. He tells funny yarns and behaves for all the world like Will Watkins. As I heard a patron say, "I can't say no fairer than that." * * * Albert McKisson tells me "My Baby's Come to Town." It is a bouncing girl, anyhow, for Albert throws a multitude of faincy flips to illustrate his joy. Blutch and Will Jones are coons of some account. Yes, sir! Coons always sing about "Ma Ba-a-by," but the Jones coons warble "All Ah Wants Is Ma Black Baby Back," suggesting that the child has gone North so that a song may be composed about her. * * *• Mr. Sheldon Kindly is the best ventriloquist on the programme. The extraordinary way in which detached bits of his voice keep on insulting one another is done without any apparent hurt to anybody. Miss Lillie Smith "La Poupee" dances with beautiful doll-like jointLessness for Mr. Kindly and the audience. * * * In the second part, the Jones brothers have a remarkably fine sketch of negro life, introducing plantation dances and songs. All your favourite senos. including Miss Li'lhe Smith, Miss Ada Duval, and Miss Jessie Dell, are still dissipating gloom at the old addiess. Will Watkins two farces are very excellent, "The Insurance Office" being probably the funniest thing m the farce line seen since my predecessor died laughing. * * * Mr. George Mnsgrove's Comic Opera Company opened on Monday night last, ft the Opera House, to a house just fairly sprinkled with people. Having announced high prices it might naturally have been expected that the entertainment would have been somewhat on a par with the prices. Not so, however. "The Fortune Teller" is a thin farce-comedy, set to music much too good for it. It abounds in numbers that depend for their success on talent that must not be mediocre. If "The Fortune Teller," as presented by the Musgrove Company, is to be absolved from rank mediocrity throughout its course, Mr. Lempnere Pringle may c looked upon as its sole saviour. » * Everyone is charmed with Miss May Beatty — as a soubrette, a Fi Fi — but the pretty and piquant little woman is not cast in a prima donna mould. Her

singing numbers w ere 1 usually beyond hex capabilities. Her occasional touches of comedy relieved the void that a more capable voice might have hlJed. In Australia, the pnma donna of the company was Madame Slapoiffski, a lady with a reputation as a vocalist. Recognising, however, that a musical farce with the wan and weakly libretto of 'The Fortune Teller" wanted nothing m the shape of leading vocal talent to sustain it, or that Madame Slapoffski was a trifle too high-class for the people of New Zealand, the management unfortunately for themselves have been trying hai'd, and failing miserably, to e:et along without her. • # Mr. Piddock posture® unnaturally, as of yore, and is excellent material whereon to hang a hussar uniform if the hussar would only keep still. He alw ays kills the effect, of a tolerable voice by distracting your attention from his only accomplishment to his wooden, galvanic action. It. hasi been found necessary, with the poor material available in the show, to clothe it— nay bury it — under the glitter of extravagant surroundings. After all people do not w ant to go on paying grand opera orices for mere glitter. They want to remember one item, one soul-stirring song sung by a singer above mediocrity. They can have no such memory after hearing "The Fortune Teller." Perhaps, Mr. George Musgrove thinks anything is good enough for New Zealand. • * * The Willoughby-Geach Company will play "Mistakes Will Happen," in Wellington, at an early date. The comedy takes its title from the many mistakes which happen to a newly-married couple of player folk. The actor has written a play w hich he wants produced, and, the regular channels 1 being closed, they find it necessary to discover an "angel," a<S a backer is termed in theatrical parlance, to finance the production. To add to their troubles, they also have a manager who is so opposed to having; married players in his company that if their marriage is discovered they will lose their positions. The "angel" is found, but not without loss of a great deal of dignity on the parti of both the actor and the actress. Their marriage is discovered, and they are discharged, but the manager is forced to take them back on their own terms, and he even offers, to produce the actor's play. Make no mistake about it, the WjUoughbyGeach Company ha.ye on hand the best thing you are likely to see this year. (Continued on page 20.)

The Broughs aie forming anothea company — for India, this time. * * * The latest Napoleonic play, "The Exile," was a failure in. London. The Petit Corporal is getting a bit overdone. It is time to gi\e Cronje a show. * * * '•Robbery Under Anns" will shortly be produced at the Criterion, Sydney, by Mr. Alf. Dampier, under Mr. Holloway's management. Mr. Dampier's son will appear as Warrigal, the aboriginal boy. * * * Miss Maud Jeffries, w hose appearance in Australia in ' Resurreofcion" has created a furore, is evidently of a domesticated turn of mind, for she has taken a cottage home in Toorak, where she now resides with her brother as companion. Mr. Bruckart, manager for Mr. Daniel Frajwley and Co., writes me from Brisbane to the effect that those successful people are anticipating their coming visit to New Zealand with much pleasure. Their piece de resistance is "Arizona," with which they have made a triumphal progress throughout Australia. * * * During the performance of ''The French Spy." bv the Fitzmaurice Grill Company, at Wellington (New South Wales), at the close of the second act an unfortunate accident occurred, one of the drop curtains falling on the hetad of Mr. Chas. Blake, and causing a considerable delay in the starting of the third act. It subsequently transpired that Mr. Blake was somewhat seriously hurt, and the services of a medical man had to be procured. * * # Mrs. Brown-Potter contrives to keep well in touch with the Church. A few weeks back, on a Sunday, the wellknown actress hoisted to the tower of the Gorleston Church, near Yarmouth, for the first time a new East Anglian flag. At the: close of a service the clergy, choir, and congregation walked in procession to the churchyard, and Mrs. Potter hoisted the flag to the masthead in the presence of hundreds of the parishioners. Limelight, please ! * * * Miss Alyce Holroyd, the talented young Wellington elocutionist, who, for two: years past has been studying elocution in Australia. has returned to Wellington. She purposes giving a recital at an early date. \ That her undoubted talent has developed under capable tuition is best evidenced by the great success of her recent recital in Sydney. The members of Mr. Phillip Lytton's Players' Club presented the elocutionist with an illuminated address on that occasion. Miss Holroyd intends remaining in Wellington, where she will teach the art. of elocution . * * * The two youngest members of the Ada CrossJey Company — Jacobs, the violinist, and Percy Grainger, the pianist — form an interesting duo, rich in talent, though collectively small in years. Jacobs, a German, is but twenty-two years of age the favourite pupil of Jo&chim and, as regards technique, a rival of KubeKk — gifts of t3ie gods for one so young. Percy Grainger, who is just nineteen, has developed into a very handsome fellow, and has added to his great talents alike as pianist and composer social gifts which make him a muchly-sought-after lion. * * ■* "Pasquin" tells a tale about a violently stage-struck lady from the backblocks, who made an appointment by letter with a well-known theatrical manager in Dunedm one day last week. The stage-struck one stated thait she had a voice that would astonish the universe. Melba was not ai circumstance to her. Scenting a crank or an artist, the appointment was made, and duly kept. The lady was to attend the 10 o'clock rehearsal. Trouble happened early. Melba's rival refused to sing in front of the common variety performers, who were ranged round rehearsing "Muldoon's Picnic" or something else equ alb farcical. After much persuasion, she consented to w arble behind a screen. ■* * • "What will I sing first?" came from the voice behind fche barrier. ' Please yourself , only hurry up. The stage is waiting." "Well, this is my 'cathedral voice' — I'll let you hear the quality of that first." Oh, the voice 1 For fifteen minutes there was thunder and lightning, and thunder again. The lady had the chance sought after. There was blood in her eye, and tears in her voice. Some unhappy idiot fired off a gun w ithin a few T feet of the would-be star. It was an accident. Presently, a gentleman in plain clothes stepped in. and asked the lady to sing at "another" theatre. She was carried out screaming. Next morning Melba's rival was taken to the asylum — raving mad.

His Excellency the Governor, with his usual foresight, said a while back that any means that oould be devised to keep the rising generation off the streets at night was a good one. Therefore, he was the first subscriber to the funds of the Newtown Boys' Guild. The city members 1 followed suit, and the Guild, whose parent is the Newtown Congregational Church, thrives. The "boys" (some of them are a little "than" on top) held a social on Tuesday evening, in the room at the back of the church, built by the hands of members themselves, with subscribed funds. * * * The "boys" have talent — poetical, vocal, and instrumental — and so put up a good programme. The presa/dent as the Hey. B. L. Thomas, the secretary Poet W. Francis Chambers, amd one of the chief attractions instrumentailly is a comb and paper band of musicians, who tackle anything from grand opera to "Swanee Ribber."