THE "MERRY WIDOWS" CAREER.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 9602, 23 September 1909, Page 7

THE "MERRY WIDOWS" CAREER.

The fascinating Merry Widow smiled her last smile at the London public on July 31st, after a run of 778 I performances. She made her exit not I because her popularity was waning, but because the management thought nearly 800 performances was quite erough for the well-being of any company. L'uring the last few weeks the theatre was crowded to the doors, and the demand for seatb on the last night was many times greater than the supply, though the prices were doubled. The first seekers after cheap seats took up their position at the door of the theatre at half-past five in the morning, over fourteen hours before the performance started. As a London correspondent, who cannot understand the Widow's popularity, remarks, "there is no arguing against that sort of thing." The three principal members of the company agree in making the interesting contribution to ruriou& facts about the stage, that no matter how long the run may be an actor or actress is just as neivous at the 500 performance as at the second. "Ihe Merry Widow," however, does not hold the record for length of a run of a musical play. That apparently bel >ng3 to "A Chinese Honeymoon," with 1,075 performances; then come "Dorothy," with 931; "La Ponpee, • 788; "San Toy," 768; '"lhe Geisha," 760; "The Belle of New Yoik," 697; "A Country Gir1,"675; and "The Mikado," 672. But "Charley's Aunt" stands at the top of the list of all runs, with 1,466 peiformances,: followed by "Our Boys," with 1,362. It ia satisfactory to note that while a large part of London is gfing mildly mad over musical comedies, Mr barrie's masterpiece, "What Every Woman Knows," has just cone uded a run of 384 performances During the saasoti eleven of Shakespeare's plays, of which 213 performances were, given, were produced in London A cynic nii_rh.t almost say that Shakespeare was lookii g up.