FOOTLIGHT FLASHES.

Observer, Volume 7, Issue 158, 22 September 1883, Page 14

FOOTLIGHT FLASHES.

— Polks in Sydney. .• ■: — Zulu Thompson at Ipswich.. , -, . * '"'" J ■ — The main support of the modern stage. — Legs. — Oily Deering at Brisbane with the: Holloway Company. . , ' " .-.■-. >- — The Kennedys were last at MarybroVQueensland. — Herr Baiidn|a)MV iagf produced ",Rip Vans. Winkle" in Sydney . ' "~ "' v ' •'• - —Horace "Rent, Bi'.-ihrnn. L'aw?oss,.an^ Ameryaro With Hisecck's Minstrels in Syilncyl l £■-, ..«* # —Miss Came George in Brisbane *W. JHolioway, Jfcwett, and H. StoriehaiE in the same Com-' pan/. ■ ■'• " JflflL ' ' ~~ ; < Taken from Life" is the plaj r .. Sydney. The com v any iuelucles Cnrden,^KSP| Holt* B. N. Jones, and St. Lauren co. H.Morris, the- JSW Zealand, iflondin, 'has 5 * . received a reque?> fiOin MrJ. Jou,berfc- to proceed to Calcutta for the purpose of performing at the International Exhibition. ■ .... — The Excelsior CrickefcClubhave programmed a grand concert, for the first week in October, in aid ofc" ; Ihe funds. Some first-class performers aro billed^ ana. ' the show should he a good ©ne. . Advt. in future isßue. ; —Mr J. Pickersgill, with the panorama en- ! titled " Mark Twain's Innocents Abroad," will open afr ' the Theatre Royal, Christchurch, on Septemcer 26, an* occupy the boards a fortnight. Miss Pomeroy ha* ! taken the Theatre for a month from.; Noy. .1, and! , Dunning's Opera Company will appear oh April 1, also> • staying for a month. , • . i — The Black Diamonds gave a grand chair - performance in the Catholic Institute, last Mqnday evening, to a good house. The principal songs in theprogramme were creditably rendered by ' Messrs Shep--hard, Short, Thompson, and Eoberts. The secqfla part consisted of ballads and a stump speech, $h& wholeperformance concluding with a screaming farce. ■ ' ---The concert by the Wait emata Minstrels and. others, in aid of the Ponsonby Eowing Club, whicb. comes off on Tuesday evening in the Ponsonby Hall, 1 promises to be a great success, Tickets have gone off well, and as the talent is hona fide, and the hop afterwill be to the strains of excellent music, a large audienceshould assemble, and a considerable augmentation of the exchequer of the Club result. Our friend, Thompson, the distinguished cornetist, kindly sends the following New York items ;•• £lade got properly beaten, and had no show from the* first. We have not yet closed for the next season. Things here are generally dull, so far as the profession. is concerned. There are, however, great doings withr. the two opposition Opera Houses in New York. There is a regular campaign being fought out between the two managers, but I think-Mapleson will have the.best of itHe has done a Very great deal to keep up first-class-opera in America. • ' —It is the intention of Miss Pomeroy to visifcNew Zealand after her Tasmanian tour, which lasts uptoOctober, with a company whose names are a sufficient guarantee of their talents as artistes.. It is settled toSpeain Auckland at Christmas, and negotiations arepending for Christchurcb in November ; the tour of the I islands to follow. . The company inoludes Messrs* Charles Hall (stage manager), F. C. Appleton, J. O_ Joyce, J. J. Kennedy, Arthur Elliott, F. Gerald, H. Duff Harry Leston, and Miss E. Brpntqn, Miss 8.. Lewis, Miss F. Lewis, Miss Lilly May,"Miss Lyons, and. Miss Louise Pomeroy. ''"*'• —The repetition of " Lurline " by Mr Gordon-: Goocli at the Opera House last Tuesday : eveningattracted a full dress circle, while the other parts of the house were fairly patronised. Great improvement was manifest in the rendering of many of the selections,, and the audience was not niggard of applause.*;- MrsKilgour was very effective in "Sad is my Soul" and "Sweet Spirit, Hear my prayor," which elioied an undeniable encore. Two amusing farces wej^then spiritedly played by Mrs McGowan, Miss ChariMftier.. and Miss Reynolds, Messrs J. J. Welsh, LaWilani McGowan, Robertson, Foster, Maitland, and others. — Mr Pooley was the recipient of a ben. at theTheatre Royal last Saturday night. We were glad to notice that many of his brother leading artistes, conspicuous amongst whom was "Mr Gordon Gooch, shewed* the true esprit de co)*ps by gracefully assisting . ob. the occasion. It is needless to say the concert was--a complete success, and Mr and Mrs Pooley received quite an ovation from the audience. Mr Pooley will, give another concert on to-morrow (Saturday) evoning,. when to the attractions of the programme will be added test piecos for pianoforte players. These are SydneySmith's "Le Jetd'eau"for candidates over 13 years, of age, and Brindley Richard's " Juanita " for candidates under 13 years of age. These competitions not only tend to increase the popularity of the concerts*, but to stimulate musical study and to bring put talent. — The Derenport Musical Society gar© their seventh concert on Wednesday evening under the.efcilf ur conduct of Mr Gordon* Goooh. : Tho accompaniments. < were pl&yed by. Mr AJfred Bartley.. ..The .pnhojpa| instrumental parts in the programme were two selected* 8 >

- •«vertOTeslafid''t£*e"accomptin{inents played by the band. .Among the. vocal gems were the operatic choruses from ► • ""Masaniello," "The Huguenots," and •' Rataplan" by "tho Society ; a double quartette "Trust her not" by jMRht mpmbers of the Society; the quartette "The '""^Elftcßf men's Good NighV by the Misses Burgess' and Tapper, and Messrs Reid and E. Bartley ; a trio " Don't ticfclo me, I pray" by Messrs Vaile, G. Eoid, and P. IBarfeley; the duet; "Larboard Watch" by Messrs ■fiaundors and P. Bartley; and songs by Misses Duder, INiccol, H. Burgess, and Messrs G. Reid, and Goooh. ".The reverie, "O FaJrT Dove*' was well sung by Mrs C. -H. Burgess, , ' ' '-r-rOii flbjhrdaf evetiing last a Special drainpic reason of si^W^s Fas begun at Abbott's Opera House, the opening piffe being 'f.Tne SBaughjraun," with which . .Auckland play-goers first- becnuie r >/£amiliar when it was produced here a yenf <^r; ; two*ag6 ,b"y Wheatleigh. It is no exaggeration to say that'MrlE. B. Russell's conception of the character is not a whit less realistic and -dramatically powerful than that of 'Wheatleigh. In the mixture of humour and pathos, and the powerful emotional passages in which the drama abounds, he was -equal to any actor we hare ever seen in the part, and "this is saying a good deal. Mrs Loehlan McGowan, astho tearful andsoHcisofis mother of Conn was .very good, iaiid -Clare Folliet foung a very lady -like exponent in Miss E. -Ashton. Art O'Neil (Miss Amy Charpentier) and Moya {Miss Nellie Greenless) were faithful representations of Irish colleens, both in dress and brogue. As Father Doolan Mr Lachlan McGowan wore the odour of asanctity^bringing o.utthe benevolence. of the, old, priest's character ittbbla relief. | Mr Lissant was a gentlemanly and spirited Robert Polliet, and. it is needless"' to add that Mr J. J. Welsh did ample justice to the character of Harvey Duff, or that, Mr Barry OlNeil was in his -■element as Riley. T^ie other characters were Mr Howe <Kinchela), Mr Saville (Captain Moleneaux), Mr D- O, IRoberton. (Sergeant Jones), amd Mr T. Williams (Sulli"vanj, ana they were all fairly sustained, tbe scenery and jbeipg. appropriate. Tbe leading actors ware "twice called before the curtnm at the most nileciivy During the present week the company has „ %eeh playing "It is never too. late to mend," tho ■ of which is unabated, * „