STAGELAND.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume XLIX, Issue 12640, 30 October 1905, Page 8

STAGELAND.

OPERA HOUSE BOOKINGS

Oct. 29 and 30.—Temperance Alliance. Nov. 3 and 4.—West's pictures and Brescians. Nov. 7 and B.—Westminster Singers. Nov. 10.—Mr Willis. Nov. 14, 15, and 16.—Allan Hamilton Company. Nov. 23.— J. C. Williamson. Nov. 28.—Mr J. T. Hogan. Dec. 2 and 4.— J. C. Williamson —Meynell and Gunn. Dec. Society. Dec. 7.—Mairist Brothers' entertainment. Dec. 13. —Leidertafel. Dee. 14. —Convent Annual. Dec. 18 and 19.—Mr Jae. Aitken. Dec. 20 and 21.—Brough-Flemining Co. Dec. 22 to 31.—Carnival Committee.

BY "MASQUE."

Miss Josephine Stanton (Mrs Henry HaMa/m) was at date of latest advices touring the English provinces with a musical comedy company. " Lady Windeimiere's Fan " was successfully played by " The Players" in Melbourne [recently. Albert Whelan, who was here with Pollards as " Bronson " in " The Belle of New York," is playing in tihe English provinces,; . Miss Van Buren, who- toured the Commonwealth and New Zealand as leading lady of the Daniel ' Frawley Dramatic Company, was at latest advices in New York. A weli-known performer 'has adopted as his motto: "Quit the stage before the stage quits you." Another writes as follows:— I'd rather be a Has Been Than a Might Have.Been by far; For a Might Be is a Hasn't Been, But a Has was Once an Are. The reports of Ijhe serious illness of M. Paderewski which reached Axistralasia by oable early in the year were supported by alarmist statements in all the New York papers, and then the European press took up the strain. Latter there was a tendency to poohpooh the -whole matter, and people on this side began to wonder whether the great pianist had been more than indisposed (says a Sydney paper). However, a Sydney lady 'has received a-letter firom Mme. Paderewski saying that the star had been " very dangerously ill, and that she had had a most anxious time with him." Mme. Paderewski is fortunately able to add that " he is now quite well again." Mr Walter Howard, the once-famous corner man of the Moore and Burgess Minstrels, has passed over to the great majority. His last appearance in public (says the "Era").was at the Hackney Empire last June, at a matinee Mr Oswald Stoll had kindly organised on his behalf, and it was a pathetic picture to see the old performer sitting helplessly in a chair whilst Mr Beerbohm Tree begged his acceptance of the result of the perforonanoe. For some time he had been stricken with paralysis, and his demise synchronises with the demolition of the Minstrels' home in Piccadilly. Professor Hugo Heermann. the great violinist, declares that out of some 150 "Strads" he has inspected in Australasia, the instrument owned by the Bresoians as the only genuine one in these parte.

Ada Delroy and James Bell are still in the Rickards' Bill at the New Opera House, Melbourne. Mr Rickards is expected in Melbourne shortly. It is said that Maud Beatty intends to go to America on the conclusion of her Manila engagement. •Mr Alfred Dampier is the best friend of Australian drama that we Shave in the whole of Australasia (says " Brisbane Mail l:). He has set an example which other prominent managers would do well to <try and emulate. Play authors get little or no sympathy-'from managers in t3)is country, their reasons for passiiHL«iby local efforts being unpatriotic an^Ppaltry. They have no time, yet they have ample time to reconstruct English productions and fit them for Australian purposes. If there were a few mort- Dampiers there would be scope for Australian writers, but there are not any more.

It is not generally known that Dan Fitzgerald, of circus fame, was at one time a schoolmaster.

Mr George McMahon has made quite a hit in his part in the new comedy " J.P.," which is being produced at Her Majesty's, Sydney . In connection with the Westminster Glee Singers, who will be with Us in a few days, they may fairly lay claim to the title of the much-travelled company. Dur;ng their former world tour they travelled 62,000 miles in 547 days, and gave 390 performances in 219 towns. Their repertoire was a very extensive, one, including no less than 90 pieces, all of which were sung from memory. Wanganui theatre-goers will have the. pleasure on December 20th and 21st of witnessing the Broughs in '' The Walls of Jericho" and " Niobo."

" The White Chrysanthemum," anotiher Japanese musical comody, is not of such an ambitious character as the majority of its fellows. With a cast of only seven principals and a chorus of twelve, it is, nevertheless, most highly spoken of, and I Shops to write of it more fully shortly. The latest piece of sensationalism from the States relates to the death of Mr Alan W. Wood, who amassed a great fortune in the steel business at Pittsburg, and who manned Miss Goldio Moihi', a New York cthorus girt. He was fifty-five years old, and ha 6 left a for-

tune estimated at £4,000,000, most of which, will go <to his young widow. Miss Ellen Terry has had a very successful season in " Alice Sit by the Fire," written specially for her by Mr J. M. Barrio, in which the author has fitted 'her with a part eminently suited to her tender and emotional style. Wallace Brownlow is in America. He is said to be in bad health. Romeo Greenaway's name, before he took to the stage, was Green, and, according to the "Newsletter," the change was .affected in this way. It was at Ballarat that he joined the company with Esse Jenyns at the outset of her career. Arthur Green asked Bill Holloway what naime he should adopt, William the Silent answered, " I don't care, so long as you take Green away." Mdlle. Antonie Dolores is endeavouring to arrange her European engagements so as to revisit Australia next September. The distinguished artiste quitted London in July last for her sum■mer retreat in the Thuringen Alps, not far from the quiet, pretty town of Weimar, where the greatest of German poets and thinkers, Goethe, lived for many veal's. The Stephenson Musical Comedy Company are appearing in Adelaide. A bookmaker in the Golden West asked Julius Knight to put in a few gags about him in "A Royal Divorce." Julius, in tragedy tones., declined on principle, whereupon the metallieian said lie couldn't see anything wrong in the transaction; Charlie Bates didn't in the Anderson Pantomime! By the way, this Charlie Bates was the alleged funny old man with the Stine and Evans show here

" His Majesty's Servant," now running at the Princess's Theatre, appears to be an entertaining, bustling costume play of a picturesque, 'but somewhat rough-and-ready order (says the "Sydney Herald"). It is about the last kind of piece to be expected from lady authors (Sarah Barn well Elliott and Maud Hosford), and novices state that the romantic play " positively reeks with trifling incidents, physical exercises, and verbose dialogue." Also that the characters " are old puppets, but peppered with hot and strong melodramatic cayenne, the good ones coming out on top at the end and the bad ones deserving their fate, whatever it is." In fact, the whole play is summed up as a potpourri of " As You Like It," "Monsieur Beaucaire," "Jack the Giant-Killer," and " The Worst Woman in London!" All manner of historical personages figure in the scenes. The gallant Geoffrey Mohun, oator and Royalist Colonel, Charles 11., General Lambert, General Monk, and many others.