Dramatic and Musical

Free Lance, Volume VI, Issue 277, 21 October 1905, Page 14

Dramatic and Musical

By Footlight

THE dramatic company, headed by that fine tragedienne, Miss Nance O'Neil, brought its season to a close with "The Fires of St. John" on Monday night last, at the Opera House. In the series of brilliant plays presented by the company Miss O'Neil 'has shown Wellington, that during her absence she has gaeatly addfed to her power as an. actress, and to her ability to keep her audience deeply interested 'in her work. • • * The season has been remarkable for the two splendid' pourtrayals of clever-ly-drawn, characters by Mr. McKee Rankin. Nothing finer than his Colonel Schwartz, in "Magda," and Herr Braver in "The Fires of St. John" has been seen in Wellington for a very long time. "The latter play need not have been played. It is a ruthlessly real story of the abnormal sensuousness of a woman. • • • While admitting its realism, and admixing the art displayed in its prodluetion, there is nothing to be gained and nothing good to be learned in showing the public an abandonment of sexual passion, suggesting with unnecessary vividintess the sin of the woman, and entrancing wa. audience with a theme that is brutal in its nastkuess. That .all the plays have given a very fine company full scope far undoubted talents is true, but "St. John" leajves a nasty taste in the mioutih. Miss O'NeiFs powerful pourtrayal of Queen Elizabeth As, perhaps, the character in. which we are likely to remember her best. • » • As the Lance goes to press, the Brough-Flemming Company are putting on "The Beauty and the Barge" at the Opera House to a full audience that had booked its seats some days beforehand. Most people are familiar with the writings of W. W. Jacobs, waterside humourist, amd he and Louis N. Parker have combined to make a comedy that has tickled record audiences wherever Captain Barley has appeared. Old favourite, Mr". Brough, is Captain Barley, and it is unnecessary to remark that the amusing skipper is a very live circumstance in the hands of the vete-

ran player. Mr. Brough has with him a powerful company, and the comedy i& "dressed" as it should be. It is notable that the advertising posters of "The Beauty and the Barge" are the work of Will Owen and Tom Browne, the artists who have done so much to make Jacobs' characters familiar in his books and magazine stories. • # • Fullers' New Entertainers, at His Majesty's Theatre, are saying farewell to Cleopatra, the Mexican lady with the soakes, and to Bonita,, the little sister with the rifles and pistols. Cleopatra fixes a basilisk glare on. the descendants of the Eden-spoiler, and 1 they dart out forked tongues and look naisty and slide and slither round her beautiful neck and coil picturesquely round her form. The crocodiles and alligjators have persistently refused to make a meal of the little lady. Bonita can shoot, and displays wonderful sighting capacity, especially when she shoots from a dark dlress-cirole on to a brilliant stage, and flicks a half-dozein targets from the head of a man.

Mr. Fre<J. Graham and Miss Nellie Dent, in their sketches, "Matrimonial Bliss," are %he chief laugh provideins on the programme. There iare six smiles to every Graham line, and the ©harm of Miss Nellie doesn't wane with familiarity. "Matrimonial Bliss" is splendidly staged. Miss Celia Mavis — "the lady in, a hurry." as j have heard her called — .has been in t|p-top voice, and in, the duet with silver-tenor John Fuller, "I've Wandered in Dreams," both gifted smgers get a glad bearing for a. good thing. Then., John himself singe "Margarita," aaid John has always been able to sing. # • • Miss Goldie Collins is quite a clever serio, and dances daintily. As a coon boy, who tellls us that "Dat Must be Love," Miss Goldie is picturesque and pleasang. Miss Gertie Mclieod, who sings Scotch songs sometimes, and sometimes not, gets on nicely with "Oh, Ebenezer," and that well-known dasher, Miss AJnia Lyndon, is a texpsaohoirieruie (good word, that) of terrific vigour. Topical songster Bob Lloyd, the serio sisters Sylvan, and Tedl Stanley are

holding up their respective ends with dignity, and Mr. Chas. Howard, the president of the feast, still dramatically strikes attitudes and 1 baritones with, feeling. ♦ • • Mr. Edward Bransoombe's Westminster Glee and Concert Party take possession, of the Theatre Royal for four nights, beginning oa Mon/day, October t*3rd. The party includes four fin© boy sopianos, Madame Marie Hootoai (contralto), Mr. Percy Coward (alto), Mr. Sterndale Bennett (basso), and) Mr. Branscombe (tenor) ; also Mr. Dudley Causton,, whose musical sketches are to be a feature oi the entertainment. There is a matinee on Wednesday, October 25th, at which childlren will be admitted to any part of the house for Is. This Glee and Concert Parity need no introduction or recommendiation. Several years ago the public sampled! their delightful concerts, and will" be found, eager to renew the experience. * * • Adelaide "Register," in mentioning, that the great Thurston carries £5000 worth of properties, thinks it is a. pity thiat he should have to borrow a common cambric handkerchief front the audience. The "Register" also thinks it is a pity that Stilwell, the handkerchief' magician, did not join Thurston sooner, so as to make it unnecessary to borrow from the audience! (Continued on page 18.) We have received from Messrs. Littlebury and Co., of Willis-street, specimens of two special Christmas cards 1 , which they have just turned out to suit the wants of that large class of the public who desire to send to friends abroad Christmas good wishes expressed in choice and artistic cards 1 that shall be thoroughly characteristic of the country, and worth preserving as souvenirs. These pretty cards of Messrs. Littlebury and Co. exactly answer the purpose. On separate pages are given tit-bits of scenery from Wellington, Auckland, Canterbury, and Otago. These cards ought to sell well. The Wellington Boxing Association can run a re-union as well as a boxing contest. This was obvious at the first function of the Association held at the Cafe Cecil on Friday night, when, fiftyfour people foregathered and had a right royal time. A tribute was paid to members of Parliament, who showed, by their presence at the recent KeysTracy contest their appreciation of the "noble art" when it ds managed! as the Association managed' it. Likewise was it shown that tihere are referees and 1 re* ferees, and that the best sample of tine kind of official existed in the person of Dr. Napier McLean, the serene, but faar, "sport" who refereed the beforeimentioned "go." A heap of talemt of the vocal and elocutionary sort was drag out, and everybody felt nice and mellow and good-tempered and glad they went.

Mr. John MoK. Oorby, the new general secretary of the Australasian institute of Marine Engine (wait tail we get our breath 1), was pressed! to the heart of has new f riendis at the Hotel Cecil on Saturday afternoon. The great onea of general andl mumiioipal politics and the ship-owning fraternity were rather glad to be alive. Marine Engineers Hall-Jones andl J. A. MilJai, M.H.R., were presented with badges or the Institute, amd the Premier waxed eloquent about the cordial relationship existing between the island! of Australia and the continent of New Zealand, and wanted the ships to get a "bend on" between the two shores. Mr. Seddon hates going slow. Mr. Oorby, of course, will see that all markue engines carry a full head) of steam, and shave big weigihte on the safety valve, with plenty of State coal in the bunkOTS - The cheerful Oorby, having been patted in a fatherly way by the Premier, said that Mr. Seddon was "all right" in Australia, and he hadn't leairnt in New Zealand more than he already knew of tihe director of this fair land. New Zealand was teaching the world! and Australia tihings about shipping laws. Australia would one day be almost as adlvanced as New Zealand. In fact, Mr. Oorby thought it would 1 eventually beat us. There was derisive laughter — a bit of a humourist is Corby. • * * Mr. C. Jones, of the Huddart-Parker Company, is a serious-looking little man, with a mind full of quips, and rejoioed everyone who lunched. I say that 'twere better far to lunch than arbitrate. Don't let us forget Mr. T. A. HMop, secretary of the local branch, who is a grafter to the marrow, the personal friend of every marine engineer, and a good' sort. He is the "quiet man behind," as the Premier says. T. A. was, of coutb©, responv lie for tine arrangement of tihe welcome lvn | oh, and 1 he does these things veil, does Hislop. We are in receipt of a copy of "Captain Sheen," a romance of New Zealand history, written by Mr. Charles Owen, of Wellington, andl published by Messrs. Fisher, TJnwin, of Lioaidion. The story t which is vividly told 1 , is full of New Zealand! adventure of the early days, has the very slightest "love interest," and deals with tine doings of a rascally sea captain, uaidler whose hypnotic influence a boy's better nature is stifled, and who is thus maid© a party to several acts of villainy, including incitement to massacre. • • • The voyage of the chief villain, with some almost equally villainous mates, and the more or less innocent boy, is in Search of lost treasure, and! there is thiroughout the book few pleasing oir brighter things than avarice, hatred, and murder. Still, the book is written with graphic, telling force. The weak spot in -tfbJe story is the slight love interest before mentioned!. On© glance from a Maori girl, whom hei hals wot previously seen, and who is immeddfttely afterwairdß killed! by her own mother, to escape "a fate worse than death," is sufficient to remove from the boy tike evil influence of the ruffian who has hypnotised him.

Be sure, however, that the story is vivid enough to compel the reader to finish it once the first page is read. We must congratulate Mr. Owen on having -achieved a success, and hop© that he may be persuaded to approach his next subject with a desire to show us a few people who possess just a wee drop of the milk of human kindness . • • • Ancients from the "owd 1 dart" gaze mistily at the imported! histrionic spinning wheel on view in the windows of Mr. W. F. Newson, Gentlemen's Tailor, 30, Cuba-street Extension. It is certainly an interesting relic, over 100 years old, and hales from a tenant of Lord Lonsdale's Estate, Ireland. In keeping with it is a handsome lot of Irish hand-made homespun, and the two exhibits together are all right. • • * As the Lance goes to press, the benefit concert in aid of the widow of the late Mr. Richard Robertson., who died suddenly on the football field on 23rd September, is proceeding in tihe concert chamber of the Town Hall. The concert takes place too late for a notice of the items in this issue, but, as it is being given by many of Wellington's most talented amateurs and for so excellent a purpose, it is sincerely hoped 1 that it will be as successful as the organisers could wish.