THEY WONT WORK

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 288, 25 February 1928, Page 22

THEY WONT WORK

ACTRESSES ATTACKED MANAGER SPEAKS OUT After 28 years at Daly’s Theatre, partly as stage manager, partly as general manager, Mr. J. Garrett Todd retired in January. Speaking of the changes in the production of musical comedy in his time Mr. Todd says: The best production at Daly’s was “The Merry Widow,” in which Miss Lily Elsie first won fame. Mr. George Edwardes kept Miss Elsie waiting under contract for two years till he felt sure he had the right part for her. The reason there are so few young actresses for musical comedy these days is partly that young actresses do not bother to work. How many of them take fencing lessons?—in my opinion, the finest thing in the world for stage deportment. How many of them practise their dancing away from the theatre? Salaries of stars are far too high, of course—but no wonder—there is practically no competition. Mr. Todd considers that Mr. Huntley Wright was the most inventive comedian in his experience at Daly’s, Mr. George Graves following him. Of Mr. George Edwardes, he said, “Having found a promising young actor or actress, he nursed them and provided them with singing masters, dancing masters, fencing masters, dentists and hairdressers.”