FROLICS AT ST. JAMES

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 418, 1 September 1928, Page 16

FROLICS AT ST. JAMES

“LEAGUE OF NOTIONS” BEGINS FINAL WEEK Fourthly and lastly the League of Notions Revue Company is offering 1 week of frolic to Auckland. The final programme of a season which seems to have been all too short for the city, was presented at the new St. James Theatre last evening, and it is perfectly plain that Mike Connors and Queenie Paul have kept their best show back for the final flutter. The League’s last offering is a pleasant dish with a large foundation of frolicsome farce, pretty music and showy ballets, the whole being weil seasoned and spiced, and served with just the right quantity of sauce. Beginning with a community chorus, “ ASmile For Every Shadow," the revue quickly gets into its stride. ’Orrie and Orb make their first bow as street singers, who have no objection to being blind or deaf and dumb, as long as the collection is worth collecting. Syd Beck and Ernie Paulasto, the two comedians, keep the house laughing and sometimes blushing for a quarter of an hour until Les Pearce, the big baritone, tells the world, with the help of that bevy of vigorous and handsome young womanhood, the Exquisite Six, that “He’s In Love Again.” “On the Air" is one of the novel sketches. Fred Paulasto decides to have an evening’s entertainment with his wireless and he listens in to three stations, an explorer, a motor salesman, and a farmer. His switching ovfler a different station makes some remarkable sentences, which begun by the explorer who is talking about Australia’s Xorth-West, are helped by ’Orrie’s farm chat, and finished by the salesman. The product makes the house yell with laughter. Bedroom scenes are as frequent in the League of Notions revue as in French farce, and this week Orrie and Queenie Paul, with the help of a third unmentioned—in fact almost unseen party—present “A Bedroom Blunder.” Those two “Jazz babies,” Phyllis Baker i and Gerald Connelly, get a great hearI ing for the song and dance of “Mam- | nia’s Gone Toung. Papa’s Gone Cold.” and the Exquisite Six parade again. An effective song scena with ballet is “Lough. Clown Laugh.” Les I*?arc©

j supplying the voice. Bert Rayne, Lula Andrews. Phyllis Baker and the Six • dance a pleasing Harlequinade, dressing and dancing being excellent. After an amusing interlude “The Burglars’ • Union.” in which ’Orrie and ’Orb join up. Linn Smith and his musical men come into their own and plav with their perfection of timing “Mine, All I Mine" and “Russian Lullaby." Big successes were “Charmaine.” sung by Queenie Paul and a hidden choir, and “Mv Cutie’s Due." by Mike Connors, the band and the Exquisite Six being in the foreground. But undoubtedlv the biggest success of the night was “Meadow Lark." sung by Queenie Paul and Mike Connors, with Linn Smith at the piano The house would not let them leave, and so thev sang the favourites. “Breeze” and “Bridget O’Flynn. ’’ Even then the people were not satisfied and there was a storm of applause. “Oriental Nighand “Red Indian ; Nights" are the biggest numbers on ! the programme: set and dressed perj fectly and with a musical comedy flavour about them. Syd Beck’s best were the sketch, “On j the Beach," in which he was n langorj ous sheik, and “The Mninniv,” bur--1 ’esoue song. \ alerie Rougal and the Exquisite j Six “Chinu Girl" and dance very ! sweetly.