MAJESTIC

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 384, 19 June 1928, Page 15

MAJESTIC

SUCCESS OF MAORI MAIDS A most delightful programme is attracting unprecedented crowds to the Majestic Theatre. First and foremost on the bill of fare is the programme presented on the stage—against the background of old Maoriland —by Princess Te Puea’s troupe of Maori maids and warriors. The nimble poi in the hands of a Waikato river maid is indeed a thing of beauty and joy to watch as she “twirls and twists the tiny ball, as Alfred Hill, the New Zealand composer, refers to it. All the old-time charm, the romance of the past, and the artistry that the Maori alone possesses in the dance, is fulfilled when Princess Te Puea presents her troupe of seventeen skilled performers. Attractively arranged in a setting of the Maoriland we shall never again know, Te Puea’s girls and boys sing of that memorable voyage of the Tainui, their mother canoe, from ancient Hawaiiki. They will tell, too, as the girls twirl their poise, and their companions grasp the paddles, of the crowning of Potatu, the first Maori King, at Ngaruawahia, where they reside under the chieftainship of that noble woman so aptly termed “the Maori Florence Nightingale.” “The Latest From Paris,” with delightful Norma Shearer, heads the pictorial attractions. The story has a bit of the essence of “Potash and Perlmutter,” without in any way infringing on that series. There are two Jewish partners in the wholesale coat and suit firm of Blogg and Littauer, as unlike as day and night, always quarreling, always differing as to business methods—and always friends. Norma travels for them, is their prize representative and even sells the Diana models, the prize flop of the year in women’s apparel. In the opening sequences Miss Shearer is known only as Dolan. Drummers of rival houses, sensing they are losing their best customers to Dolan, form a conspiracy on the train and await an opportunity to “get” the saleswoman whom they think is a man. Ralph Forbes the conspiracy and is in love with Dolan before he learns she is the beautiful young girl in the Pullman. A beautiful musical programme is presented by Mr. Whiteford-Waugh’s Majestic Orchestra, which specially features as its interlude Kreisler’s compoistion, “Caprice iVennois.” In response to many requests “Woodland Echoes” (Frank Tapp) is played during the screening of “Humble Firends.” A unique nature study film, “Humble Friends,” a merry comedy, “Wandering Papas,” and the Majestic Magazine, conclude a very notable programme indeed.