KENTUCKY JUBILEE SINGERS

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 705, 3 July 1929, Page 15

KENTUCKY JUBILEE SINGERS

HIS MAJESTY’S ON SATURDAY To the seeker of light after-dinner entertainment, as well as to the more serious music-lover, the coming appearance of the world-famed Kentucky Jubilee Singers, who are to be presented by the J. C. Williamson, Ltd., management at His Majesty’s Theatre on Saturday night next, should be a novel and a welcome treat. These gifted, original, and meticulously trained artists, who have been persuaded by J. C. Williamson, Ltd., to abandon a sweepingly successful season abroad in order to visit New Zealand and Australia, present as no other troupe of coloured American artists can the jolly spirited kind of entertainment that is at present enjoying an astonishing vogue in the great amusement centres of the world. London audiences, which are now flocking in thousands to hear the tuneful, soothing negro melodies in “The Show Boat,” take to the rich musical fare of the Southern darkies with relish and enthusiasm. Negro spirituals, plantation songs and harmonies, whether sung in the whimsical offtimes sad, Mississippi lilt, or syncopated in the popular modern style, are the theatrical and musical rage in Britain and America, but to meet with this variety of entertainment at its best one needs to enjoy it in the brilliant and versatile hands of its native exponents. Some of the finest items in the present repertory are the plaintive spirituals, “It’s Me, O Lord,” “Who’ll Be a Witness?” and “Roll, Jordan, Roll,” the naive expressions in which strike the ear with almost humorous force. The wartime scena will reach an equally lofty level with such pieces as “Goin’ to Study War No More,” “Stand Steady,” “Goin’ Home,” and “Don’t Close Dat Gate.” At the same time, there is no lack of lighter fare, many of the principals being gifted comedians. The box plans for the approaching very brief season will be opened tomorrow morning. “MARQUIS PREFERRED” AT ROYAL Adolphe Menjou is at his best as a gay Parisian philanderer in his picture “Marquis Preferred,” now at the Royal Theatre, Kingsland. “Marquis Preferred” tells of a love affair ruined by the marquis’s expensive habits and diminishing purse. He seeks a humbje position as a grocer’s assistant, but the girl seeks him out even there. "The Shakedown” is the title of the second picture. James Murray and Barbara Kent are the stars in this fine story of the American oilfields and of dishonest boxing promoters. Barbara Kent and Mary McAlister are the principal feminine players in Harold Lloyd’s latest picture for Paramount, titled “T.N.T.” Mai. St. Clair is now directing the sound version of the production. The silent version was completed recently.