Dra Matic And Musical

Free Lance, Volume VI, Issue 268, 19 August 1905, Page 16

Dra Matic And Musical

By Footlight.

DOROTHY" in itself is exceedingly dainty. It abounds in captivating music, it treats of a time when stately courtesy and graceful manners were necessary qualifications for both ladies and gentlemen, and the simplicity of the story enhances its attractions. And when "Dorothy" is handled by principals whose vara! gifts far exceed in quality voices previously 'heard in this opera in Wellington, When the action goes with marvellously few hitches, and when every part is is dressed delightfully, then "Dorothy" is a pleasurable circumstance indeed. • * * The Wellington Amateur Operatic Company need not be criticised as amateurs, for their splendid performance on the opening night (Wednesday), to a lairge Opera House audience, was very obviously a revelation and cause of eniovment to those who witnessed it, and would have been an equally meritorious performance had the people engaged not been amateurs. As a matter ot faict, two of the principals are entitled to ranks as professionals. • • • Of tihe principals, the work of each was so even and so skilled that it would be difficult to find serious fault. Ihe orchestra, under Mr. Maughan Barnett, was so evenly good that it gamed much applause all to itself. Although a powerful orchiestira under expert guidance it did not commit the common fault of operatic orchestras of drowning the voices. The choruses were given with the greatest spirit and! musLoau excellence, while: the introduction of a great Dumber of pretty children, who danced prettily, was the happiest possible circumstance. The audience Was wildly enthusiastic about these children. • * * Mies Amy Murphy, as Dorothy, played and sang with very fine effeot indteied. From her opemng solo, "Be Wise in Tim©," through the whole course of tihe opera, which demand® heavy work from tihe soprano, slhe displayed the highest art and 1 the most pleasing naturalness. In the hasher register, the resonant quality and purity of her voice were notable. In short, her performance was an unqualified siuccesß. • ♦ • Miss Leonore Pulsford', as Lydia Hawuhorne, has no solo in "Dorothy, which is -a pity, for the local contralto has a voice of great richness, and a happy, confident, sympathetic method. Her acting would, of courae, become as confident as her singing with practice, and' her singing is of the very highest quality. . . # Mir. Frank Graham was brilliant — there is Tio other word for has performatae. From his "With Such a Dainty Dance" to thie last chorus his trained vocal powers found finished expression. In the concerted numbers he was particularly happy, andl the audience fairly levelled in ibis work. Mr. Ballance, the baritone, is gay and debonair as Harry. He acta excellently, and, most unusual in am amateur, makes love witih. the necessary naturalness and fervour. I was disappoimtedi with "Queen of My Heart." He started well, buit in tjhe latter half of both verses he lost half a tone, Mb enumeration was imperfect — am unusual fault with him — and he ended weakly. Otherwise, Mr. Balance's singing was full of breeze, resonance, and vigour. • • • Miss Winnie Birch, as Phyllis, was very winsome, and sang with archness and prettiness. Mt. W. D. Lyon was iiTiesisibible as Lurcher. His really splendid comedy— his "gags" tod not been, neard before, even at rfehearsal— Were quaint y and he sang with spurt. His reception was worthy of his reputation and achievements. Mr. R. Duff has a voice I have often had) occasion to praise, and, although it isn't heard much in his part as Tuppitfc, it is a good article, amd his acting shows he has a fair conception of the needs of tihe part. Mrs. Oarte gives a charming wading of tihe comiedy part of Mrs. Privett, and indeed 1 the whole of the east has been verjr carefuly ohosem>. and the performance is thoroughly enjoyable. The Amateurs are to be highly

congratulated on the splendid success of their efforts. * * * Lovers of bi"ass bands. — and who amongst us is mot.? — had a pleasant opportunity of indulging their musical tastes to the full on Friday night la*«t week, when the Wellington Garrison Band gave its first grand concert of the sea&on. A large and enthusiastic audience filled the Opera House. When tihe curtain rose, the gallant bandfeanen and their conductor (Lieut. T. Herd) met with an ovation, which was repeated at the close of each selection. One of the most popular items was Rimmer's descriptive fantasia, "Rustic Scenes." So realistic was the musical interpretation of early morning, and the carolling of birds, that one's spirits became quite light and airy m consequence. The devotional pasasges produced 1 a slow and solemn, but pleasing, contrast. The villagers' dog-dance set toes a-twitching, and so were one's senses played' upon through all the various rural fantasias the piece contains. * * * Selections from "Faust" led up through a series of delightful excerpts to the famous "Soldiers' Chorus," thrillingly rendered. A tumult of applause greeted its conclusion. Other items were an instrumental quartette, "Gems of Wagner" (Sergt. Parker, Bandsmen Coyle, Oaks, and Andrews) ; a clarionet solo, "TTnßeve" (Mr. H. Mosdhin:), both of which were encored. * * * Miss Murphy's clear soprano voicp surpassed itself in the beautiful "Shadow Song" (Meyebeer), which was sung by special request. "April Morn" (Batter) -was also sung with fine effect. In each case Miss Murphy had to respond to an imperative encore. Fuller's New Entertaniers, at His Majesty's Theatre, are in excellent fettle, and! recruits to the fun-mongers are justifying their enlistment. There are the Rollos, Charles and Laufe, who., with a special aptitude for Irishisms, are doing a broad Hibernian sketch, illustratine "The Troubles of a Bachelor." Laura sings a couple of son.gß excellently, and "The Bachelor Duet" ciatcheg on like a limpet to a. rock. Laura is nice-looking, and somehow or other it always 1 helps. » ♦ * The Ted Trevor-Little Cora contoirtion item, during which Little Cora, suspended from a trapeze, turns insiidei out twice, is admired by those who like their friends that way. Don't let me forget Miss Elsie Brown. She is in great demand, because she's a true arttate — graceful, refined, and without any of the coarseness that so oftem mars otherwise good vaudeville work. Elsie manages to bear up> under many encores. * • • Siffnior Torzillo, the skilful harpist, and' Miss Stella Lipman, a highly-train-ed operatic soprano, with a voice of much charm and freshness, are still dlelightinK all hearers, while Miss Nellie Powe'*, tlhe coon fascinator, ck>os "Cairolina Twins," as if twins weire ever welcome. Fred Rivenhall songs six sonsr,s.

He is a good man, and endures much for the love the audience bear hum. Les Warton likewise suffers to a large extent. Having sung all the songs he oan tlhi/nk of oil the spur of the moment, the house yelled for "Any Rags." Les gently replied that, as ''Any Rags" "has whiisikens on it," it is possible the frayed garments are at la&t decently buried. Miss Mabel Lane is a diaislher filled with, dance fire, and Harry Wilford and George Pagdfen, oomic songsters, are still in great favour. Mr. Charles Howard baiutones, and Miss Kitty Stanley sings a, ballad. A reference to -'Dr. Wright," in his paternal relation to Shem, Ham, and! Japhet, is laughed at. Why, heaven alone knows. ♦ * ■* The dastardly doings of the decademts of society, and the sublime toititude, patient resignation, and high-class virtue of the other sectaon, are nutsueilJed m the melodrama, "Saved from the Sea," with which the Stanford-Howard Dramatic Company has been gladdening the heart-cores of the people at. the Theatre Royal. And in thus, conventional play, as in the one preceding it, Mr. Stanford justifies the reputation he has gained for careful, life-like, and natural pourtrayal of difficult parts. With the pathos of "Saved from the Sea" is mixed an under-current of gay and sparkling humour, and, while there is a sufficiency of ghastly -horrors, including the burying alive of a young and lovely girl, there is also comic relief enough to afford hearty laughter in patches. Harry Merrybright should have been born lucky instead of heir to money, for it' is the coining into possession of a fojrtuine that, leads the villains of the piece to plot all sorts of cheerless worry and suffering for him. Harry's sister is guarded l by a villain dloctor, who, with a villain lawyer, wants tlhe cash with which Harold andl his halfsister are cursed. In> pursuance of tlheir greed, the villains wait until the hero has returned from abroad, and tihien pistol him in order to take has father's trill from him. The fact tlhat he hasn't got the will on him doesn't matter. They shoot ham in the (head 1 , andl he forgets everything for a good many blank, weary months, duuring which he wanders at. large like a lost soul seeking samctuary. ♦ * • Sian/cfauary is found with his sister at last, but the bad men track her dtown, andl think it will be a real easy way to get the money by burying her alive. The iniquitous lawyer thinks it a pity to let so much good l girl igo to waste, and he unburies her, amid takes her to an island, where he loves her so muioh he will murder hler if she doesn't marry him. Harold sets his- wits to work, after they have been on strike for "quite a while, floors the villains in the usual florid style, and all ends happily. ♦ • » Mr. Stamford' is uncommonly strong, showing the wide contrast between the cheerful sea-captain with wits and minus them. As his sister, Mies B. Glover did extremely weil, her winsome, bright, unaffected acting making her a

favourite. As the villains, doctor and lawyer, Mr. Boothmam showed the firstnamed to be a legal shark of large dimensions, with two jawsful of teeth, and as t!he horrid medico, Mr. J. Hansfield was- sufficiently lost to all sense of medical etiquette. The remainder of the oast is in excellent hands, and the stage effects are remarkably fine. » * * You can't afford to forget thiat tihe American Novelty Company ds planning right now to undo its bundle in lands location. In fact, Mr. R. B. Young, in. advance, is p repairing for a very early start — next week. Mr. M. B. Curtis, who brings the company, has among the stars onie Olive, the conjurer, wiiose marvellous work set Auckland womdering. His great feat is the apparent suspension in the air of a lady, around whom a hoop is passed to show the absence of -support. * * * Juggler Major Newell ds credited with being a marvel at the balancing of wands or a series of ind&arubber balls, and he is also* a remarkably fin© snot, as he is able to cut a strung with a bullet either with straight, forward! shooting or with has baiok turned!, baking a "sight" by mirror. Mr. Barbour is a funny man, who is really funny. But, perhaps the big draw i<3 the inclusion of a real, full-blooded Indian Princess, of wthom "Buffalo Bill" says : "She is a lady, honourable, deserving, and capable." Anyhow, she sings the Indian folk songs, wears the buckskin costume, fringed leggings and' motocasLos, and dances Indian dances. The irest of tihe show is alive with good things, araJ it is novel. Therein should be it® success. * * • Kellar, who for many years hias diverted nearly every nationality under the sun by his wonderful feats of legerdemain, is on his way to Australia for a holiday trip. It is close on tibirty years since Kellar made his first bow in the colonies, at the old 1 Victoria Theatre, Sydney. Of late Mr. Kellar has confined 1 himself to his own country — America — in which he has amassed a fortune out of made. In fact, he. is said to be the richest professioniail in America to-day. * * * About Houdini, the Handcuff King. For the last five years he has> been touring Great Britain and the Continent with a handcuff act which has never been copied or solved by any on© in or out of his profession. He has been engaged to duplicate his European success in New York city, at 1200 dollairs per week ! There seems to be money in bracelets. * # • An Irving story : — "Once, when visiting Shakespeare^ birthplace with Toole, he saw a rustic sitting on a fence, and they began to question him. 'That's Shakespeare's house, isn't it?' they enquired innocently. 'Ees.' 'Ever been there ?' 'Noa.' low long has lie been dbad?' 'Dunno.' 'He used' to write, didn't he?' 'Oh, yes, he did summat!' 'What was it ?' 'Well, I think he writ the Bodble!"' (Continued on page 18.)

The Steele-Payne Belhingens were last heard of giving silver pleasure to denizens of Cairns, in the torrid 1 North of Bananaland. • • • William Anderson spent £400 on the train that does the sensation in "The Midnight Mail," now shrieking through Melbourne, and other stations, at express speed. • ♦ ♦ Mr. Olaude Whaite, (formerly of Dixs and now doing the business part for the Brough-Fleming people, sends me many press cuttings highly appreciative of the "Walls of Jericho." » ♦ * A rich German, of Warsaw, has iust left £130,000 to help along the Pnilharmonic Soo'ety in his town. JNow, it the Wellington Amiateur Opera U>mrpany had a friend like thait who loved them to such a golden extent ! • • ♦ Mr Henry Ludlow, the handsome young man who was the Russian general aoting as a sort of policeman m Van Biene's "Broken. Melody," has got a company of his own together to tour the English provinces in "What Brown Said." # In satirically commenting on the New Zealander's quaint dramatic taste, a Sydney paper says: "They eyen swallowed Mfcs Tifctell Brune's 'Juiliet.' Sydney's reason for not. swallowing "Juliet" is that that gay lady doesn t do any high kicking nor does she sang sulphurous songs. • * • Miss May Moore Duprez, "thei jolly Dutch girl" and saucy little party, from America, who interjected things and danced with such abandon a while baclk, gob to London in time to be very snick indeed. May has pulled out of the Valley of the Shadow, however, and is cracking a ioke or two again. ♦" • • Mr. Douglas Gerrard, a very promising young actor of the London srfw" has been engaged 1 by Mr. Williamson for dramatic work in Australia. Mr. Gerrard counts among his numerous successes tj*e Twrts of Kara in "The Darling of the' Gods," Lancelot in "Merely Mary Ann," amd David EJossd in "The Eternal City." • • * Roy Redgrave, of the Tittell Brune Company, edits a manuscript newspaper, "The Eaglet." In, it I notice a business "card" advertisement, -which remarks: "Harold Ashton, a— gent in advance. Preliminary boomer. I guarantee I can 'work' amy paper but the 'Eaglet.' " Thns is a pointed reference to Harold's prevailing sin. Who doesn't remember "Everymani"? • • • I forgot to reprint this two weeks ago. It is a small effort by physicalcultured Dale Revenhall, the young man who is supposed to tame tihe tigers in "Theodora," and it has got to live for ever if I can assist it. About _ twelve other papers have also assisted it : — The life you live is always dirawn O'er your face and outward form ! Truth will float 1 Like a sea-tossed cork! Though lies against it are wf ought. • • • Mr. Joseph MacMahon, tihe wellknown theatrical manager, tells tihe following story against himself: — "We were playing 'The Deemster at Palmerston North," he said, "and the gentleman oast for the part [failed! to put in an appearance. The manager came tome, and said : 'Joe, what shall we do? I know, you'll have to take it.' 'Couldn't and wouldn't do it for £50 down,' I answered. However, there was no time to argue, so I consented, and! went on. • • • ' "Next morning, I visited a strop and scissors arti& and, while undergoing treatment at his hands, tihe barber said. 'Go to tihe play last night ?' 'I was there,,' I admitted. 'Very good show, I think?' 'It was a good dhow,' I conceded. "They were all good,' added 1 the barber, 'but the "Deemster." ' 'Yes, he was a bit off,' I said. 'A bit hoff !' he exclaimed, holding his scissors in amazement at tihe moderation of my criticism. 'A bit hoff? He was an absolute rotter, that'& what he was 1' I felt crushed ; but had to admit that there was truth in his somewihat forcibly expressed l opinion." • • * "Ferry the Frog," who, like a great many celebrities, has to deny that he is dead about every six months, has been writing to say he is hopping around at Winnipeg, Canada. On the same bill with the frog are Miss Etta Deneh and Mr. Clifford Eskell. Daisy Harcourt was in. Winnipeg in June. Teddy Box was here last week, and 1 Arthrar Hahn Wo weeks ago. Armstrong and! Veam are at present with "The Land of Nod" Company, at the Chicago Opera House. Lilian James, of Auckland, is at the Olympic Theatre, Chicago, dfodnig a ranging and acrobatic dancing specialty with an American young lady, undler the name of Del Zarro Sisters. Sadttuey Dean and Company aire on, tour on the Kohn and Castle Circuit. All are doing well, and have splendid! bank accounts.