FOOTLIGHT FLASHES.

Observer, Volume 6, Issue 154, 25 August 1883, Page 14

FOOTLIGHT FLASHES.

— " Pluck " a failtu-e at tlio Royal, Melbourne. — Emelie Melville doing fair business in Ade-T lai&e. , " % — Wilmott Combination clrew fair houses, in Dunedin. —Fred Dark and B. 0. Aspinall vegetating in Christchurch. . — Stanfield and Dark open in the Oddfellows* Hall, Christchurch, to-day. "■■ » Tambour Major " has been produced at. the Princess, Melbourne. —Jimmy South at Orange with a company of 16, doing well and making monej\ . : -: —Mr and Mrs Kendall open St. James' Theatre, London, in September, with, a revival of " Impulse." — The Stanley and Darbyshire JuvenileiGjpojftt Company have opened for a short season in Cl|risj> church. ■; — There is an operatic war between the English and American entrepreneurs. The Gye Blapleson ring has broken up. — Stanfield and Dark are importing the scenery and wardrobe from London, for the production of " Mother Goose." :> — Hcrr Bandmann has backed out of hi&6lir gagement fco lease the Xoyal, Christchurch, for the mouth of November. — MadarnoßernhardtJias beea drawing packed houses at the Gaiety, London, in " Fedora." Enterprising speculators retailed guinea Stall tickets at JE& / . — The preparations for the opening of Woodyeav's Circus are now nearly complete. By the- City of Sydney there arrived a very powerful Eureka dynamoelectric lighting machine and lamps, for lighting the circus. A number of the performers have also arrived, among whom is Professor Silvester, with his troupe oi performing doga and monkeys. The circus comprises.o. great variety of the best talent available in the world, and, as it will be the best that has ever performed, in, the Colonies, it will doubtless be extensively patronised. ■ „■ ; '■& :£' — Herr Schmidt has issued the programme djE his grand concert which takes place at the end of the month. The first part comprises choice selections, and the second Haydn's celebrated "Toy Symphony"," ? ia which Miss Emma Stevens will wield the . conductor's baton. The third part will be Offenbach's " Kose of Auvergne," in which Mrs Cooper and Messrs Edwarda. and Smart will appear in character. The music will be-, played by the baud of the Choral Society, and ; new acenery will be painted for the performance. Seats are being rapidly taken at Upton and Go's. — Many of the London critics speak most favourably of Mrs Lingard's Oamille. The Bramalia News says : — " Grace, tenderness, and power it undoubtedly possesses, the audience giving it, from first to last, a hearty welcome." The play of "Jttank and Eiches" seems to have deserved the bad reception it got. Mrs Liugard was full of grace and power as Lady Calista, Messrs Charles Sugden and Anson being th^only*>tteer« who made anything out of their parts. Mme. C^bi» vnont is allowed to play " JDivorSons " in FrencK' Though our old friend Alice has itn adaptation in English of the same play, she is not allowed to produce it. — As might have boon expocted, the' first appearance of the famous tragedian, Mr W. E. tihoridata, and that meritorious artiste, Miss Louise Devonport, attracted a crowded and appreciative audience. The play selected for the initial performance was .'"lJhj* Merchant of Venice," with Mr Sheridan, as Shyloclc| and Miss Devonport, as Portia, which were well calculated to bring out their sterling histrionic talents. They were both loudly applauded at frequent intervals. The piece was well-mounted, and the oostumeß appror priate. As the engagement of Mr Sheridan anJgMir^.. Devonport extends over only 16 nights, tlrerpfitjffje/ rapid changes of programme, including " King^ar," ' " Louis XI," " Richard," " Hamlet," '* ijrichelfou," " Othello," and other pieces. The season cajiaoi fato tobe a highly successful and prosperous one. An exten.aeC| notice is held over for want of space. * — We hear that there was a rather sensational unrehearsed scene at the Opera House on Friday, and a good deal of gag was indulged in, not to be found iv any polite acting edition of plays. Poor Welch is said to have grinnei more sardonically than ever, while" some other leading members of the company waltzed round the stage, and did a little melodramatic . acting. pxt - :- their own account. Eawlius was obliged" to corne'to* the rescue, and pour oil — we mean beer— on the troubled, waters. The cause of this impromptu display _of histrionic talent was a little paragraph mthe Observer about Miss Sheridan's connection with the company. It is also said that one of the stars has since; beeu engaged in the composition of an elaborate refutations! . the statements made by Miss Sheridan, which he intends to give to the world when the process of incubation is complete. We await the receipt of this potten- " tious eil'usion with fearful anxiety. -.. :■.' — Mr Pooley gave the eighth of his series of popular concerts at the Theatre Koyal on Saturday evening. The programme was opgued by the Artillery.. 1 Baud. The piece d« ve*-u;(omce was to have been a piano-, ; forte solo by Mr Augelo .Forrest, but owing to the delaylof the steamer he was not nble to leave NewPlymouth in time, and 11 r Kalph Ho«d supplied has- , plice, securing an encore in " The Prayer," from ,"Mose in Egitto." The prominent feature of the concert, . however, was the performance of selections from "'L ' Italiani in Algeiri," and the overture 10 "'Zam pa, V byMiss b'artley, Messrs Fred, Alfred, and Arthur Biirtley, and Charles and Phillip Heuekeu, which elicited enthusiastic applause. Mrs Pooley sang "Don't let the r'oses listeu " and " Love and Time " in her usual sweet andtasteful Btyle, and was deservedly applauded. , She. and. Mr Bnrnhain were also honoured with a recall in the duefc, " Thro' the Valley, thro' the WoodJand." ' Miss Green received an encore in " The Wishing Cup." Among the other items of the programme were, the quartettes " Fays and Elves" (Flotowj and "0, Balmy .Nights" (Donizetti;, by Mudame Pooley, Miss Gro^n, and Messrs Burnham and Worrall ; '' Once Aguin" and " Come into the Garden, Maud," by Mr Burnham ; and two songs by Mr Worrall. For Saturday evening a, grand military concert is announced, and the Garrison. Band will be present. It is expected that the Volunteer^ '■■ of Auckland will muster in force. The great attraction of the evening will be two solos on the pianoforte by. Mr Angelo Forrest. . — The Gaiety Company played "The Rivals 7; \: on Friday evening to a fair house, Mr Barry O'Neili finding a perfectly congenial character in Sir Lucius. Mr Huesell was also judiciously cast for the part of thetesi y Captain Absolnte, while Mr McGowan was.equally at home as the boastful but timorous Bob Acres. ,;-Pni.'f Saturday eyeuing the piece was n. dramatised version of Charles Dickens' "Oliver Twist." We don't know who dramatised this piece, but presume he xnust have'"' tlied a violent death by scalping. or from remorse,; ; As a ; rule, dramatised versions of Dickens' are not a- success. The man who could make his mark iv this fielft 6t literature must bo almost an great genius as Che original; ■"■ author, and geniuses of that stamp are as rare as \lmit& eagles. Burnett considered himself rather superior to Dickens, if anything, but a dull and inappreciative world obstinately refusesto value him according to his own estimate. Dramatised versions of Dickens "are ' usually either a wretched hodge-podge and travesty o% a few striking points selected haphazard herefand there! according to the play-right's whim, and witnr a view*lo^ * suit some particular artist, who has all the "fat" t6 himself, or are a bungling, crowding together, without that exquisite light and shade which distinguishes Dickens, of the most sensational and blood-curdling-scenes in the novel, partaking more of the character of a spectacular drama than a genuine , specimen, ,o£ . dramatic art, and with a few wretched gags-thrbwii^iD;^'' which vnur the effect of the whole. "Oliver Twist" belongs to the latter category. It was evidently put onin a great hurry for a Saturday night, draw^? Swae <jf W the scenery might have done duty for anything elsg § than what it was intended for. Miss Greenless was very fair in the little v6\e, with a good deal of "Jo " A thrown in gratis. ; The Nancy of Miep^shJoa Mn«Bded f one more of a sick milliner in distress than tne high- -. N spirited though depraved of Bill Syiog. Mr Russell's Sykes was a srentlemanly, likeneae of a Jjlackguai;^ apfl|akii^..in <the .njcwi^jgr^suiajv anfl. with the pronounciatioa of a ! meh«r ofelocHtioiu

With a slight modification in his make-up he would have made a capital Chadband, or a captain of the Salvation Army. Russell is evidontly too good for these low parts. Mr McGowan, however, was a very realistic Bumble, and the life and soul of the piece. '•- I Mr Welsh's Fagin was rather uneven, but on the whole W good. Having laid on so much jam, we have none left ft for the rest of the cast, and perhaps the le3s said about Jf s»mc of them the better.