RICKARDS' TIVOLI VAUDEVILLE COMPANY.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 989, 8 March 1910, Page 5

RICKARDS' TIVOLI VAUDEVILLE COMPANY.

As was anticipated a crowded house greeted Mr Harry Rickards' Vaudeville Company in the Masterton Town Hall last evening. The entertainment was of a very high order, and it can be truthfully said that there was not a dull moment during the whole evening. Each item called iorth well earned applause, and when Mr Bob Fitzsimmons, the ex-champion boxer of the world, made his appearance on the stage, hearty applause from all parts of the Hall, echoed for quite a long time, Iu the playlet "A Man's a Man For a' r Thaf," Mrs Bob Fitzsimmons, as Miss Vivian Mainwright, and Mr Bob Fitzsimmons as himself, acted their parls in a very finished and fascinating manner. It was to an attentive audience that Mr Fitzsimmons described by means of the "sketch,'his early history as a lad in Timaru, New Zealand, working in a blacksmith's shop, up to the time the ex-champion won his first fight. Mr Fitzsimmons, also, gave a display with the punching ball, demonstrating his marvellous power as a hard hitter,' by finally breaking the cord from which the bal' was ; suspended, sending it up into the back of the dress circle. Mrs Fitzsimmons, who has a sweet, pretty voice, sang with charming effect the well-known song "Coming Through the Rye," and later in the evening she was heard to advantage in several other songs. Mr Franco Piper, who is known as "the Paderewiski of the Banjo," proved himself a distinctly clever performer. His juggling, in the course of vhich he played six banjos in rotation, was wonder fully clever. Another sterling performance was the acrobatic feats of the three Trapnell sisters, who, assisted by their brother George, showed marvellous agility and strength in the way of handsprings and somersaults. The well-known comedian, Mr Fred Bluett, and "the whimsical patter comedians," Messrs Vaude and Verne, supplied the comic element to perfection. The clever trick cyclists, the Wheeler Brothers, pleased the audience with their daring tricks on the wheel, and recieved well merited applause. The Company certainly comprises a remarkable array of talent, and each item on the programme was, consej quent'y well received by the large gathering present.