PLAYS AND PLAYERS.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXVII, Issue 8338, 25 January 1913, Page 10

PLAYS AND PLAYERS.

OPERA HOUSE. Xu season to Feb. B—-J.8 —-J. C. Williamson Comic Opera Co. . . February 27-March &■—Rickards Vandaville Co. February 28-March 10 — J. C. Williannon. theatre royal. Fuller-Ercnnau Vaudeville Cpermaueut). PICTURE SHOWS. New Theatre, Manners street. His Majesty's, Courtenay place. Empress Theatre, Willis street. People's Picture Palace, Manners street. Bhortt's Pictures, Willis street. NEW COMIC OPERA COMP I ANY. Here ia tire story in brief of ‘’The Girl in the Train,” the new musical play to be presented at the Opera House by the J. C. Williamson Company this evening: Rarel Van Huron, divorced by a charmingj but not too trusting wife, is the victim of bis own chivalry and kindness to a distressed lady. His fellow passenger in the through express from Nice to Amsterdam, is the dashing actress Gonda Van der Loo, who has not been able to get a sleeping berth. The gentleman gallantly offers his, and at supper a share in the chicken and a bottle of Clrquot which his wife has considerately packed. Thus agreeably occupied they excite the curiosity of the conductor, who snapshots them with & view to further developments. Later, when the door of the compartment ia violently slammed, the lock breaks and the victims of circumstances are shut ia for the night. When the husband is divorced he devotes himself recklessly to the actress on the principle that ho is not going to be punished without blame, and the actress, thouzh not insensible to the charms of a handsome and wealthy lover, sets herself with womanlv wit to reconcile the two people whom she has unwittingly injured. In addition to its interesting and higldy ingenious story, the play has an abundance of humour and delightful music, of which Miss Sybil Arundale and Mr Talleur Andrews have a very large share. The ‘‘Sleeping Car” song, which is Miss Arundale’s first effort vocally, and two charming waltz songs, a lively duet “In the Park,” and a pretty trio “Connubial Endearments,” are among many of the numbers that are sure of achieving popularity. SINCERITY IN THE DRAMA. Mr John Galsworthy recently gave an address to the members of the Bristol Playgoers’ Club. He first spoke of the development of the drama and the important part which sincerity played in this development. By sincerity he meant fidelity of expression. An author has felt something, and ho portrays it in such a way as to make other people feel it. There were no faked situations or falsified characters. He hoped the supply of the sincere drama would increase the demand for it, but the burden of the struggle would lie on the shoulders of the dramatist. The sincere drama had been labelled serious. This was a misnomer. They could not call Synge, St. John Hnnkin, Bernard Shaw, or J. M. Barrie serious, and yet they were all of this new movement, because they were sincere. Ho wont on to explain why the commercial manager, the actormanager, the censorship, and the greater bulk of the public were against it. Some said the critics were against it, hut he did not think that was true. It was not to be inferred that the “new dramatists” were conscientiously trying to supply the public with a better article—-not those who were sincere, for a man could not write anything sin cere with the elevation of the public as an incentive. He could only express himself sincerely by not considering the public at all. The dramatist must he faithful to himself to be sincere. It was not the artist's business to preach; his business was to portray, and to do this he had not to look at the mirage of life, hut life itself. They had heard it said that the stage had laws of its own to which all dramatists must bow; but there were the laws of sincerity, which even the stage laws could not afford to -neglect. PLAY BY CONSTANCE CLYDE. Of the little play written by Miss Constance Clyde, of Dunedin, and performed at a matinee organised by the Actresses’ Franchise League in London on December 6th, the dramatic critic of the “Daily Telegraph” writes: “Mr Wilkinson’s Widow,” a now play by Miss Constance Clyde, is written with the idea of exposing the unfairness of

marriage as a partnership under the present laws. Mrs Wilkinson slaves for her husband and homo for a quarter of a century. “You go through it because he saved you from being a spinster” is her idea; “marriage is not happiness, except that holy happiness which don’t count.” But when she is left a widow, and finds that her defunct spouse by his will has left her almost penniless, despite the fact that her own industry had created practically all he possessed, the unfairness of the partnership .becomes apparent to her, and a sorrowing widow is changed into an injured and indignant woman. GRACE PALOTTA ON DRESS. “When I want a dress for the stage,” said Miss Grace Palotta to a “Sydney Sunday Times” interviewer last week, “I never inquire the price. 1 have my own ideas as to what I want. I have planned it down to the merest detail. I go to the dos turn rev, and explaining the exact effect I want to get, place myself in her hands. When I get the bill 1 generally get a shock, but I’ve gradually got used to that. I find it better to inquire the price last instead of beforehand. In this way you can thow more enthusiasm into the fittings. No,” in answer to the inquiry, “I have never found a dross not less than I anticipated. Without exception it has been more. It is the same way with hats. I see a hat, and I say to myself, ‘That will suit me.’ I try it on. If my surmise be right and my intuition invariably is in this particular, I say I will take it. Then comes the price. Again, it is always more than I would have wished. A man once wrote—it was H. G. Wells—that if a woman selected the hat that suited her, irrespective of price, millinery would not be so expensive. Ho was quite wrong. All the clothes ono wants to wear are expensive.” (Tips with the finality of an authority fully fortifier] with evidence to jnstifv this statement). “When I have to dress a part, X always try to scheme out the desses to exactly what I imagine the character would wear. Take the duchess in ‘Mr Hopkinson,’ when I was playing with Mr Ward and Mr Willoughby. The dresses I wore for the character created a little sensation. All the social writers commented on.them, and remarked that they were just what a duchess might bo expected to wear. And it was the case. One of the prettiest little costumes I ever wore was the simple dress in “The New Clown,’ but it cost quite a lot. There was great care taken to get the cut and fit the way I wanted. That, of course, had to be paid for. It is ruinous for one to be in comedy, where one has to pay for one’s own gowns. I much prefer musical comedy. In this class of entertainment the management pays. Had I continued in comedy I would have been in the Insolvency Court. Paying thirty or forty guineas for a gown made a disastrous inroad in my salary, I have met actresses in America who told me that, after playing in a series of plays in New York during n season, they were actually out of pocket in their engagements on this account. “The dresses J wore in ‘The Quaker Girl' occasioned mo some thought. Every gown was an exact copy of a dress I saw worn by an Austrian princess. I liked the ipannior gowns, too, in the same production. Another costume 1 always liked was the one I wore as Lydia in ‘Dorothy.' The boy’s costume was adorable. I don’t think any woman can affort] to neglect her dress, especially on the stags. Ml the time spent on it repays her a hundredfold, when X was a girl in the chorus I used to have silk stockings for the stage. I bought them out of my savings. But for a year I could not accept invitations to dinner because I bad no evening gown. The other girls used to s-ay I was foolish to do this, but I held otherwise. Once the stage manager informed me I was to be put in the prompt corner. I went home and told my mother this gleefully. I thought it meant I was promoted to prima donna, and that the family fortune was made at last. But, afterwards I learned that it was the most conspicuous place in the front row of the chorus. That was something, anyway. It assured me that my clothes would bear clone inspection at least!” GOSSIP Mr Hugh J. Ward visited Melbourne recently, and reports that the pantomime “Puss in Boots" is a great success, “It is easily the best I have seen in Australia,” he states. “Antony and Cleopatra” ia described by Mr Ward as “a sumptuous and thoroughly artistic production.” In “Puss in Boots” is a ballet representative of the theatrical vear 1912. The productions represented are ‘‘Kismet,’’ “La Bohtme,” “Our Miss Gibbs,” “Carman,” and “The Quaker Girl.” ‘ Mr Edward Nable has been signed on by the J. C. Williamson management as a permanent comedian. He is appearing in “Florodora” with Miss Vera Pearce in the Apache dance, and will have a good part in “The Sunshine Girl.” Ho w best remembered as the elder Bronson in revivals of “The Belle of New York.” Mr Charles Prohman has acquired from Mr J. M. Barrie two new plays ‘‘The Little Policeman” and “Half-Hour. ’ He will probably produce them, first in the United States. Miss Billie Barlow arrived in Sydney in November. She was to have appeared in "The Sunshine Girl” in Melbourne, but the musical comedy was not produccd. there owing to the success of "Florodora.” The same revival, now in ita sixth week, has- been responsible for Miss Barlow enjoying a long holiday. r ‘l never,” she says, * f got so much m<mcy for doing nothing before in my life. Hor salary started a fortnight after her arrival in Australia. The second production of the J. C. Williamson New Comic Opera Company will lie the famous light opera by Johann Strauss, "Nightbirds, to bo presented hero on. Saturday next- ovigntboirds” created a furore when produced in London last year, having been atready a pronounced success in V lenna, Berlin, and Paris, as well as in Australia. There will be an added interest m tho apperanco of Miss Aniy Murphy, who will be seen for the firot time this season. Miss Murphy will play the trusting Countess .Rosalinda Chquot. Ihe "Minim” of Mias Dorothy Brunton is well spoken of. There is a more than ordinary ballet in the second act, in which Miss Vivian Talleur will appear. "We are not always so successful with our plays,” said Mr Oeorge Tallis (or J. C. Williamson, Ltd.) to 11 New York interviewer. “Take the case of woman.’ for instance, as well as that or ‘The Woman.’ Surely anyone would be justified in foreseeing unusual success for either of these plays. We produced them to the very best of our ability, with fine records of receipts and artistio merits already established. For some rea mn which is totally beyond my comprehension the people in Australia rejected them. On the other hand, ‘The Quaker GirT had a year’s run in our country. ‘The Nightbirds’ (known in America as ‘The Merry Countess') had enormous popularity. ‘Kismet,’ Which has been playing since Easter time with Oscar Asche, is a great success. Our next important production will be "The Count of Luxembourg.’ We sent out from England a company to present ‘Milestones, and there wuU be another ‘Within the Law.' The possibilities of Australia may he realised from the facr that ‘Our Miss Gibbs' ran for forty-two weeks in Sydney.” A New York journal thus amused its readers in December: 'The newspapers, not succeeding in killing the entrancing voice in the prima donna’- beautiful throat, are now busy in the attempt of destroving the domestic happiness of Mme. ‘Calve. A despatch sent out from

Detroit stated that Calve, who cancelled her engagements in i?t. Louis, because of a serious voice affection, brought on by a quarrel by Monsieur Gasparri. her husband, would keep her Detroit date. “It is absurd that the papers should say that vte quanelled.” said the prima donna. “1 am unable more than to whisper. That is why 1 disappointed my audience. A iid Mo H 5 ieu r Gasparrix—why, he is more of a nurse than a husband to me now. It is ridiculous how such a report could have got out. I love Gasparri and ho loovs me. tie nurfips me when my throat is affected, and in everything be is just wonderful.’’ Just then Gasparri came in. “What is this, Madame?” he asked._ Calve expiated in French. “Ah!” Gaspari cried. "I have it now! Madame ami I were excited greatly because she could not sing and we talked violently. That is why tho newspaper men thought wo