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The Entertainment in the Public Hall.

The evening entertainment consisted of a concert, tableaux vivants and farce, which was followed by a dance. The performance commenced at 7.30 p.m., and lasted till a quarter past 10, the hall being literally crammed. The first item was a chorus of elves, the selection being from Cowen's "Rose Maiden." The Rose Queen was Miss E. Williams, and very pretty she looked reclining in a bower of ferns, surrounded by her retinue of charming elves. In addition to the chorus, Miss Bright rendered the solo, " Bloom on my roses," very nicely. Next came the tableaux, " Beauty and the Beast." This was given in three s«enes, Mr Dyer relating the narrative before the first scene was shown. The part of Beauty was taken by Miss Louie Hewitt, and she certainly did not belie the name. The look of horror on her face when she first beholds the beast was really good acting. We do not know who was the Beast, but in the last scene where it becomes a Prince, Master Kerr took the part. The following one was "Tho Dirty Boy." Thanks to "Pear's Soup," this is well known, and the great similarity of Mrs Dickenson and Master McNeish to the statuette was duly appreciated. It was most vociferously encored, and was one of the best. Miss Lowish then sang, "When the Heart is Young." She acquitted herself well, but evidently suffered from nervousness, and, to our thinking, took parts of it rather too slowly. In the tableaux "The Rivals," Miss E. Hill and Messrs Fletcher and Hester looked well, the latter being the successful suitor, as in the second scene he had secured the lady for a dance, while his rival twisted his moustache with chagrin. A duet in character, " Where are you going to my Pretty Maid,' 1 was excellently rendered by Miss W. Walker and Mr Dickenson, and was encored. We learn Mr Dickenson took the part at a few minutes notice. The words of the song were localised, which appeared to please the audience. The tableau, Milton dictating " Paradise Lost" to his daughter, was spoilt by Milton's death-like appearance. A piano duet was the next item; the name was "La Fete," and it was played by Mrs Chitty and Miss Wilson. It was specially composed for the occasion by the latter lady, and does her great credit, but being played upon the hall "old hack" piano did not allow of its merits being shown. " Crusty Old Bachelors" and "Cosy Old Maids," were represented, respectively, by Messrs Dickenson, Hyatt and Sanders, and Mrs Dickenson and Misses Hunt and Williams, all of them being very successful. Miss Lowish then sang, " Never again with Thee Love." She had evidently overcome her nervousness, and sang this song very nicely. The tableau "Granny" was represented by Miss Wilson with a bevy of youngsters round her, viz., Misses E. Willis, A. Gillett, L. Hewitt, E. Onions, and Master Percy Brennan. It was a pretty scene. A group of statuary, "Faith, Hope and Charity," was excellently done, the Misses Hill, Williams, and Willis representing the states. Mr Fletcher next sang " The Warrior Bold," after which Mr Diver danced the Highland Fling, for which he was encored. The first part of the programme was concluded by the Rain Chorus from the comic opera, " Chilperic." The stage was crowded with performers, each one being dressed in a fantastic manner and carrying an umbrella that was decorated in an equally fantastic way. At the conclusion of the chorus all the umbrellas were held so as to hide the carrier, resulting in a pyramid of umbrellas only being seen. The second part consisted of the laughable farce " Turn Him Out," in which the dramatis personie were as follows: — Nicodemus Nobbs (an itinerant vendor of juvenile toys), Mr Chas. Tuck ; Mr Mackintosh Moke, Mr H. R. Hyatt; Mr Eglantine Roseleaf, Mr W. O. Garland ; Julia (Moke's Wife), Miss Hyatt; Susan (a maid of. all work), Miss Roberts. In this the whole of the characters were well sustained, but, as usual, Susan and Nicodemus Nobbs found most favour with the audience. Miss Roberts certaiuly possesses histrionic art of no mean order, and Mr Tuck is one of the best low comedians we have seen. He has certaiuly mistaken his vocation, and as far as " funny business" is concerned, if he were to have a clean shave so that his facial expressions could be seen, ho would almost prove a rival for Toole. We regret to say that the audience was greatly disturbed by a band of young larrikins, who indulged in croaking like frogs, crowing, whistling, and all sorts of hideous noises. Indeed it reached such a pitch that Mr T. Wells reminded them that Wiey were rendering themselves liable to a penalty of £5 or one months imprisonment; after that they were a little quieter. We shall have more to say on this matter in a future issue. Great praise is due to Mrs Major Wilson, who arranged the tableaux vivants, and to Mr Dickenson, who had the general Management of affairs.

Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/WT18900412.2.21

Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka

Waikato Times, Volume XXXIV, Issue 2769, 12 April 1890, Page 2

Word count
Tapeke kupu
850

The Entertainment in the Public Hall. Waikato Times, Volume XXXIV, Issue 2769, 12 April 1890, Page 2

The Entertainment in the Public Hall. Waikato Times, Volume XXXIV, Issue 2769, 12 April 1890, Page 2

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