Dramatic And Musical

Free Lance, Volume V, Issue 224, 15 October 1904, Page 14

Dramatic And Musical

By Footlight.

DIX'S Gaiety Company, at the Theatre Royal, is putting on a bill in which theie is happily no "padding." Every "turn" is worth the undivided attention of the audience, and gets it. Miss Ma,y Moore Duprez, who fades away almost instantly, will ba missed. Slie will leave a hollow hard to fill. Her gaiety is so unforced, aiid infectious, her jokes so fiesh and pungent, her dancing so novel and animated, and her appearance so pleasing, that she easily won her laurels in either of the departments named 1 . Her treatment of ready-made fun is skilful enough to make it look original, while hsc own home-made pleasantries produce the largest scores. Mr. Fred Graham, Miss Nellie Dent, ami Mr. Percy Denton, in the "Tramps' Holiday," are funny. From the moment Fred (who weighs 9st 61b) wheels on Percy (who weighs 21st S^lb), in a "motor-car," and empties him tumultuously on the stage, to the moment the latter vanishes with great difficulty, the sketch is really funny. The two physical contrasts are tramps, who have left H s Majesty's Broad Arrow Hotel without leave, and are having a good time ar. "The King's Head." Miss Nellie Dent, as the inevitable and indispensable red-haired "slavey," assists the fun with hands, feet, and voice, and, the sketch departed, one feels freshened and glad that fool-shness of this kind _ is popular. Life without musical sketch nonsense is unthinkable. Harry Shine's lustre is not dimmed by any sparks from, other big guns. His nonsense patter would be dreadfully dreary if here reproduced, but to hear Harry, and see Harry, m it raises it to the eminence of humour. "It ain't exactly wot he sez," etc. Miss Fanny Powers imitates well-known variety artistes as usual, and in her soubrette capacity sings "Castles on the Nile." Miss Louie Perfect sings of "The Dear Homeland" far across the sea, and sets up a wistful longing in the hearts of many. * * * The Powers Brothers still have their wire-walking act, in which what appears to be one long boy .with two heads in the middle, and stockings on both ends, explores the atmosphere. This week the Gothams, a comedy quartette, headed by Edward Lang, are due. They are musical comedians and expert part songsters. You will remember that hey were imported a year or two back for the Christmas pantomime "Aladdin," in Melbourne. * * * Fuller's Vaudeville Company is at ffs Majesty's Theatre as usual, where it supplies that nightly tonic to its 1 patronj which they take as religiously as their supper. Perpetual lease seems to be the favourite tenure for patrons, and I notice the same people holding their little lots week by week unless an influx of country cousins makes them shift up a seat or two. * ♦ * The Musical Johnstons, with their xylophones, unquestionably give the strongest and most skilful musical performance seen on the local Fuller boards. Too many of those unusual instruments supply merely a row, but the Johnstons' dainty rendering of "El Capitan," or "British Patrol," is inspiriting and finished. The Johnstons, too, are good to look at, and their appearance blends most favourably with their artistic skill. * * * Hapoy Dorothy Drew, a new-comer, sings ooon songs in evening dress. "Cullud Gals" are evidently moving with the fashions. If it seems out of the usual ruck, it is at least refreshing. One gets tired) of mixed scarlets and greens, and cavernous smiles, and "Ma — a-a Ba-a-by" and galvanic jerks. Her "Any Rags, Any Bottles" misses some of the points usually considered necessary to adorn the coon song withal. I am glad. * • • Mr. Harry Hart trolls in a telling tenor voice "When It's Moonlight on the Silvery Rio Grande" with skill and address, and, of course, he has an encore. Later, he gives "Island of Dreams," without which no tenor's repertoire is complete.

That interesting child, Miss Eileen Gapel, in her exuberantly youthful mcod, dances her pedestal dance, and eeon sings "My Honolulu Lv," with foot tummingis. Miss Mabel Lynn© aiul Miss Ethel Maisie, a serio double, are doing their sand jig for the laist time to-morrow night, and the many other interesting people on last week*. bill are there still. « * * To-monow (Saturday), Mr. Fred Ejvenhall, who is billed as Austi aba's greatest comic singer, will consent to show a Wellington public how he won tl.tr title foi a short season before Williamsons pantomime sooop® him up, and the Trevena Sisters, who have been photographed a good deal in Australia lately, will appear in the flesh. Madame Melba's voice will be heard at Fuller's soon, the management having bought some of her recently-sung gramophone records. You are asked not to make the manipulator nervous. If he dro^s one of those recoids bang goes 255. Mr. Edward Montgomery, of Montgomery's Entertainers, keeps the popula> interest in his excellent shows up to high-water mark by his enterprise. For instance, during the great football epidemic in Auckland he gave a theatre party to the British footballers, who were charmed with the courtesy exhibited and the- excellent show provided. Not previously chronicled here that Mr. Montgomery at that same foctball match flew a huge calico streamer over the heads of the 21,000 people by means of a big kite — a quaint and effective style of advertising the show. * • • Miss* Mabel Hardinge-Maltby, the young English aotres<= (formerly with the Willoughbv-Geaoh Go.) who started to teach elocution and 1 the dramatic art in Wellington about six months ago, will, early next month, afford the public the opportunity of judging the capabilities of her purjils. A dramatic amd musical recital has been fixed to take place in the Sydney-street schoolroom , on Thursday November 3rd, and the programme should prove most interesting. Those who want to make sure of it had better not dally over getting their tickets at the< Dresden. * * * The piece de resistance is to be the one-act comedy, "Kitty Clive, Actless," by Fiankfort Moore, in which Miss Hardinge - Maltby herself is to sustain the title role. Another novel featuie is to be a humorous musical duologue, called "The Babes," which will be given in costume b? two lady pupils. In addition, there will be over a dozen elocutionary and dramatic pieces, and Mr. Wilfred Harper, a recent arrival from Sydney, who has a veiy nice bass voice, will make his debut with Alhtsen's "There's a Land" and "The Dream of Paradise," (with flute obligato) by Hamilton Gray. A Sydney paper mentions that a stage convict, who wore irons, also wore three immense diamond rings. How very appropriate. * * * Despite the fact that the fee to M. Jean de Reszke's new Parisian School of Music is ten guineas per lesson, he is rushed by pupils. * * * Stephen Adams, composer of the famous song, "The Holy City," at a meeting of the Musical Defence League, at London, said recently that he had been harder hit than any other composer by "piracy." The pirates had taken has "Holy City," a song he had relied on to provide for his old age.

Madame Calve earned the princely sum of £28,000 dunng her American tour. * * * Miss Alice Corn&k, of the Cornck family, is to be maimed dunng October, to a New Zealand journalist. * * « Arnold Folde&by, a Hungarian 'cellist of repute, now touring Europe, is due in New Zealand some time in 1905. •* * * That volatile little comedienne, Miss Lillian Digges, seen here many times in musical comedy, is doing the English piovinces in at "Belle of New York" company. Herr Benno Scherek is pilot ahead of Jeian Gerardy, the noted 'cellist, ait present touring Africa. * • • Miss Mabel Lane, owing to the death of her mothr m Melbourne has retired from the stage. She will be remembered in "Sherlock Holmes 1 " for her clever performance of Madge Larrabee. * • * There are seventy-eight people in the Knieht- Jeffries Company. due in Wellington at the end of the year. By the way, Miss Jeffries had a spell of illhealth lecently m Westralia. * • * Another injustice to "dead-heads." A tax of twopence a seait, for charity purposes, will bet levied in future by Mr. Robert Arthur on all free admissions at the Kennington, Crown, Coronet, and Camden Theatres, in London.