Musical Magicians

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 386, 21 June 1928, Page 16

Musical Magicians

VAUDEVILLE IS GREAT EXPERIENCE MR. FROST HAS HAD IT A well known and popular musician in the theatre world is Mr. Arthur G. Frost, who is at present acting in the capacity of musical director at the Regent Theatre. Mr. Frost made an early acquaintance with the orchestral well. At the age of 18 he conducted the orchestra at the Palace Theatre of Varieties, Manchester. For three years he was

musical dirctor fer Hugh D. Mclntosh at the Tivoli Theatre, and during the past five years has conducted for Williamson vaudeville companies throughout New Zealand. The lot of the vaudeville conductor is not a happy one. but it is wonderful experience. Tattered and torn manuscript, incomplete band parts, and badly-marked alterations, cuts and endless repeats are all in the day’s work. To be a successful vaudeville conductor, one has to be a musician, mindreader, and magician. Medals should be struck for these men. They pull the bad turns through, make the good ones better, provide artistry for singers who are not necessarily musicians, and must be prepared to save the show at any moment. Like Phillip Gibbs’s journalist, one never sees a retired vaudeville conductor. They die young. But Mr. Frost’s lot is now cast in happier places. Shortly he is to take charge of the orchestra at the New Regent Theatre at Dunedin. There he will also play the mighty Wurlitzer. Mk