Sunday Times (Sydney, NSW : 1895 - 1930), Sunday 23 April 1911, page 2


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HER ' MAJESTY'S^? ANTOMIME.

Country folk have contributed Largely to' the .succession, of crowded/ houses at Her Majesty's for tlie past fortnight. The pantomime is likely to;-. have the power of a magnet until the end of May. There was a successful matinee yester day.in addition- to the evening pantomime.

ROYALr— 'OUii MISS GIBBS.'' The -record-breaker. 'at .the Theatre Royal is still going with the smoothness of a perfectly adjusted and well-oiled machine. in the thirty first yreek: of the longest run in the . history of the Australian stage. When Miss ,. Blanche Browne as 'Mary Gibbs does retire, with her blushing honors thick 'upon her, 'Our Miss Gibbs'. will be sent 'to Melbourne. ; The date of the close of the 'Miss Gibbs'' Sydney season is a managerial .secret. On .the. i departure o£ the ..Williafflson Royal Comic ;Opera Company Miss Florence. Young will return to this city with the' New: Comic Opera ' Company. It is said that 'The' Balkan Princess' is to be pro duced after the -revival ol 'The Dollar Prin cess.' There will be a 'Miss Gibbs' matinee on Wednesday. CRITERION— 'THE WOMAN IN THE CASE..*' Tlie size of-'the audience' last night; and the 'demonstration' which ' followed the thrill of the piece in the third act; '.showed that, 'Ths 'Woman in the Case' has the play-going pub lic in a firm grip. Mr. Clyde Meynell, who came over from Melbourne last week to see the performance, was so pleased with the work of the company under Mr. George Willdughby's direction that he decided to extend the. Com monwealth tour. ? ?' While all the -parts at the' Criterion are well filled, the local success of Clyde, Fitch's play is due in a large measure to the acting of Miss Mabel Trevor as Mrs. Julian Rolfe, and Miss Elinor Foster as the adventur ess. Apart from 'the two principal characters, the lawyer of Mr. Hugh Buckler is the most earnest as well as the most convincing per formance. 'The Woman in the Case' is to be played right through the dramatic season ac the C'larke^and Meynell theatre. On Wed nesday there will be a matinee. ADELPHI— MELODRAMA. More . than once last week the limit of the holding capacity of the Adelphi 'iheatre was reached. Last night another very large audience followed the fortunes-and misfortunes of the shopgirl who sets' the. tune for the other characters in 'The Bad Girl of the Family.' The successful melo drama, with which Mr. George Marlow opened the new theatre, will be played all tKis week. No matinee performances will be given. . ... \ TIVOLI— 'CRUEL COPPINGER.' . With incidental music by Herman Finck, Mr. K. A. Roberts gave- the crowded Tivoli audience last nighf a concentrated melodrama in 'Cruel Coppihgeiv'* In briskness of 'action., as well as in dramatic construction the stage story of the bad bald pirate who 'made history' in the- 18th century puts 'Dick Turpin'.in the shade. There are two scenic settings — one showing the in terior of a house in London, the other showing Coppinger's Cove in Cornwall. Part of the time we see Mr. Roberts in the role of Captain Cop pinger taking his ease as Paul Lavelle in Lon don.' The supporting characters as played by the protean actor are Hans Schmidt (Cop pinger's servant). Sir Clifford Ross (a wealthy ship-owner), Kate Rose (his daughter,, in love with Paul Lavelle), Jolly Bob (a King's officer), and Red. George (a wrecker, and pirate). During the ; performance of- this two-act play Mr. Ro 'berts, must have changed his. dress twenty times. The finish is; the sort tllat Bland Holt liked in his- nautical productions. It' should go without saying that the many-sided actor, had an en thusiastic recall at the end of 'Cruel Cop pinger.' . . . A .different kind of turn was furnished by Black arid White, two girl acrobats, who made their; first appearance in^ Australia. ,,The. 'no-velty acrobats' are wh'atr may. be called circus artists of the best class'. They get their stage name from the. color of. the short ballet skirts and the wigs which are worn toy- them.-; Opening with a little bit of song and dance, the agile ;;pair did a number of clever tumbling tricks .with chairs. The sensational part of the turn was the. 'business' on over and unde,r-a table. Quick and lively from start to finish, '/Black and White owed not- a little of th'eir sweeping suc cess to the comedy element.^which made their act something more than a gymnasium display or dash p.nd daring. ' ' . The Tivoli bill this week includes Miss Peggy Pryde, Mdlle. Yetta (the wire rope dancer), Vaude and Verne, Leipzig (the astonishing card conjurer), Charles. Lilburn, and Tom Dawson. NATIONAL AMPHITHEATRE/ ' ? De Villiers, the pantomime actor and illu sionist, heads the bill at the. Rational Amphi theatre., ; with ;.his. . two stage' ^assistants, , But from the vaudeville' standpoint, the' best 'turns are those of Armstrong and Verne and Harland and Rollison. Hanco', the. Australian Houdini, is a show in himself. Last night*Hanco was successful with -the ropes, and ; handcuffs: Among the other performers at the National are : Clara Lloyd, Queenie Paul, Linda Davis, Kitty Quinn, the Lewis Trio, Joe Gilibert, Alf. Verne, Joe Archer, Joe Verne', James Craydon,, Doris- Tindetll, and Charles Pope. Last nig;at Mr. Walter Whyte, the tenor, won a. full mea sure of applause as a singer of popular songs. LYCEUM— 'THE FATAL WEDDING.' Although the play is American, Mr. C. Spen cer is justified in presenting the excellent cine matograph reproduction of 'The Fatal Wedding' as an example of Australian art. Everything about the play in its new form. is Australian. A company which was 'formed in Sydney acted the melodrama for Mr. Spencer's operators, and one may recognise Bondi in the outdoor scenes — notably in the episode of the cliff house and the .escape of the little heroine. The one de parture from the stage performance is the effective introduction of a motor car in the scene which shows little Jessie (Elsie Rennie) leaving Paradiso^Alley with a bodyguard of poor children. After a cinematograph , series of 'Australian Bushrangers,' it is a relief to see bright-faced and happy-hearted children repre senting the better, even if the poorer, side of life in this part of the world. In the 'silent drama,' as in the Clarke and Meynell perform ances of the popular play, the animation of healthy childhood puts the criminal features of

the story in the shade. Jessie, ?''the little ^mother,' with the Tin Can Band of younsgters, made 'The Fatal Wedding' a success when it was first- played here at the Criterion Theatre. And it is the kiddies who make the success of Mr. Spencer's reproduction under the direc tion of Mr. R. H. Longford. In the 'children's party' scene of the third act one song is cleverly counterfeited by a child behind the screen and '.'hidden noises' lend an air of real ism when the juvenile band shouts with joy or rattles the tin cans. To make up for the absence of songs at this point there is a good deal more. dancing than one saw in the play itself. This scene may be said to be the intro duction of Young Australia into the field of dramatic pictures. At the private view on Friday everyone praised the work of the cinematographic ar tists who' have turned out moving pictures which compare favorably with the best of the silent-drama products of Paris, London, or' New York. Mr. Spencer will show 'The Fatal Wed ding' at the Lyceum all this week, including the matinees on Wednesday and Saturday. GLACIARIUM— WEST'S PICTURES. . As a set-off to the meditative spirit of 'Ham-let,' last night the management of West's Pic tures had the 'roaring realism' of a runaway engine. The programme included 'A Dixie Mother,' 'Birth of a Flower,' 'The Land of Plague,' and 'Tramp and Bomb.' De Groen's Vice-Regal Band furnished the musical accom paniments. Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree's re vival of 'Henry VIII.,' as caught by the- camera of tha cinematographic artist, will be the next attraction at the Glaciarium. Several new pic tures, will be shown to-morrow night. COLONIAL THEATRE. To-morrow night the J. D. Williams- man agement will show at the Colonial Theatre No. 1; George-street : 'Heart Beats of Long Ago,' 'Branded Man,' 'The Guerrero Toupe' (a vau deville -study); : 'Her New Place,' 'An ^Under graduate's Romance,' and 'Tontolini is Sad.' This programme will also be presented on Tues day and Wednesday. ' , NEW PICTURE HOUSE. Last week the J. D. Williams management opened as a new moving picture house in George-street the Colonial Theatre No. 2. The subjects rwill be changed to-morrow night. Among the pictures which will* bo shown for the three nights this week are: 'A Light in Th-3 Window,' 'Tony the - Greaser,' 'A Redeeming Angel,' 'Priscilia's Engagement Kiss,' 'Tweed-ledum as Aviator,' and 'Russian Army Man oeuvres.' LYRIC THEATRE. Thoro will be a change of programme to morrow night at -the Lyric Photo-play Theatro,. George-street. The following moving pictures will ho shown on Monday, Tuesday, and Wed nesday : 'A Tale of The Sea' (new nautical drama), 'The Knife.' 'Don Quixote,' 'Temple Niko' (Japanese scenic study), 'A Family of Bears,'' 'Foolshead More ThairUsual,' 'In Per fect . Harmony,' and the Pathe 'English Illus trated Gazette.' % WALTER BENTLEY'S RSCITALS. Under Mr. Bentley's management the students of the Walter Bentley. College of Elocution and Dramatic Art will give a costume, recital in St. J3*.es' Hall on Thursday, May 18. The pro gramme includes scenes from 'The Taming of the Shrew,' 'The Lady of Lyons,' and 'Little Lord Fauntleroy' ; a' farce, 'The Spectre Bride groom,' and 'The King- anu the Miller,' in which Mr.' Bentley will repeat-his amusing impersona tion of Jock Howieson the miller. SUNDAY CONCERT, TOWN HALL. Mr. Nicholas J. Gehdc states that the concert this afternoon will be the last for some time, as the Town Hall is otherwise engaged. Miss Elsie B.. Peerless (soprano) will sing 'Ave ? Maria' (Paston Cooper), with violin obbligato, and 'At Vespers' (Tosti). Mr. Maurice Che noweth (tenor) will contribute 'The Sailor'.? Grave' and 'I Hear You Calling Me.'- Mr. Roy ? Alien (baritone) will sing 'The Song of Re demption' (James). Among others assisting are Misses Ivy. Allen (violinist), Georgie Ste vens, Evelyn Collings, Messrs. A. R. Richards, Ernest 'Archer, ' John Mansfield, Harry Sharpe '(cor'netist), J.- B.- Tougher, and Master Jack Hendley:(bby soprano): \ ';? . ^ CHORAL ASSOCIATION EISTEDDFOD. ; Mr. F.^E. Hood, the hon. secretary of the Cho ral Association of New South Wales,, notiifiss intending competitors that entries for the Eis teddfod close on Saturday next, the 29th inst. All entries. must; reach the secretary on . or b'e fore . that UJate. ' Nearly '.all the competitions will be carried out in May at the Y.M.C.A. Hall ...'?? COMIC OP-RA FOR CHARITY. The executive committee of 'the Hospital Sa turday Fund has received a letter from Mr. Noble, business manager for the Rupert Clarke and Clyde Meynell Proprietary, Ltd., intimating that Mr. F. Wynne Jones, the composer, to gether with 'The Grey Kimona' Company, who recently performed the comic opera at the Cri terion Theatre, have offered to give a matinee performance in aid of the Hospital Saturday Fund. The matinee will be on Hospital Sa turday ' afternoon, May 6, and the gross pro ceeds, 'it is announced, will be 'given as a do nation to the fund. SOUSA'S BAND. It is announced that the Sousa Band will commence a tour of Australia at the Town Hall on May 15. The famous conductor is to give his band .concerts .under, the. management of Mr. Edward Branscombe. There are sixty-two players under 'the March King.' THE COVENTRY MATINEE.. The Gerard Coventry matinee will be held at Her Majesty's Theatre on May 2. Later on the producer of 'Our Miss Gibbs' and 'Jack and the Beanstalk'' will leave for England. All the theatrical companies in Sydney, with Tivoli and National; Amphitheatre artists,- will assist at the matinee.' Miss Mabelle Morgan is to make her first appearance since her return from Eng land. The p.lan of the seats will be opened at Paling's on Tuesday. SATURDAY POPULAR CONCERTS. At. the Town Hall last night Mrs. Haffenden

Smith gave the second o| :a series of popular concerts. The mezzo-soprano again sang ?Pattinson 'Pattl Waltz Song.' As at the first concert, Mis Gertrude Palmer was concerts. The mezzo-soprano again sang Samuel Liddle's song-setting of 'Abide With Me.' As at the first concert, Miss Gertrude Palmer was ?the pianoforte accompanist. Among those who assisted were : Miss Eileen Neill, Miss Katie Rappeneker, Miss E. Murden, and' Messrs. Percy Herford, Harry Campbell, Warwick McKenzie, Fred. H. Carter, G: H. Sterry, J.. Coleman, Archie Ranclaud, Frank Donovan, and Sid. Ship way. -: ? OUR DRAMATIC AUTHORS} -At St: James' Hall on Friday night the Aus-tralian Dramatic Authors' Association had what may be described as an exhibition of local pro ducts. During the night the trial scene from 'Joan of Arc' — a drama in four acts, by Madame Boult — was recited. The other ''first hearings' included 'Bachelorising' — a one-act sketch by the Rev. T. Holhbuse-Taylor — 'Mrs. Moloney's . Bc-ard'ers,' by Mr. Thomas E. Spencer, and 'The :Spy,' an Australian dramatic- episode by Mrs. Peterkin. On the musical side of the en tertainment, Miss May Summerbelle, Mr. Al fved. Hill,, the Rev. G. C. Percival, and the Rev. T. Hilhouse-Taylor were represented in vocal and instrumental compositions. Mr. Syd. Mc Donald sang Miss Summerbelle's 'Aye Maria,' with flute obbligato played by Mr. W. Gilhooley. Mr. J. S. Ryan recited his own 'Splinters on the Wall.' An Australian-made piano was lent by Beale and Co. Miss Sumrier Locke, and Miss LJ. F. Christie, the hon. secretaries of the , en tertainment, were assisted by Madame Boult. KING'S THEATRE. What is -announced -as 'a sacred and classi cal pictorial entertainment' will be given to night at the King's Theatre, George and Harris streets. There will be a change of programme to-morrow night. . STANDARD THEATRE. The bill at the Standard Theatre last night was made up of vaudeville turns, the moving picture portion of the entertainment having been cut out. Nell Lovell and Alf Nolan ap peared in a new sketch, 'An Actor's Dilemma,' and the farce, 'Irish Justice,' was played by Alf Rockley and other members of the com pany.- The Marsdens gave an exhibition of their skill as equilibrists and hand-balancers. Among the performers were Pearlie Golden, Ted Mer ton, Wai Cottier, Ted Carlyon, and The Sonias. On Saturday next the Standard management will introduce to Sydney the English-American plan of 'two shows nightly'— one at 7 and the other at 9 p.m. PALACE THEATRE. There was a crowded audience last night at Uio show of moving pictures. West's Pictures will continue at the Palace Theatre during the Winter season. To-morrow night ' the pro gramme will be changed. It is expected that the cinematograph reproduction of the 'Henry VIII.' Shakespearian revival will arrive from London this week. ALIJ^MBRA THEATRE. Continuous photo-plays from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. are announced by the management of the Alhambra Theatre, George-street, Haymarket. There is a bi-weekly change of moving pictures. SUNDAY NIGHT CONCERT. The moving picture entertainments inaugu rated at the new. Adelphi Theatre on Sunday lest will be continued to-night, under the direc ; tion of Mr. E. J. Kilpatrick. The picture pro ; gramme includes 'Pa'recie and the Slave,' 'Home Melody,' 'Life for a Life,' 'Silk-i worms,' 'The Slave,' and Milatf Cathedral and Windsor Castle. 'Darby and Joan' and 'Daddy' : are announced as the principal illustrated ! songs. NORTH SYDNEY COLISEUM. While the roller-skating season claims the rink at the North Sydney Coliseum, moving pic tures are shown by the management in the adjoining hall. In this way a double entertain ment is provided. There are three skating sessions daily. Sacred concerts to-night at the Lyric and: Co lonial Theatres in George-street are announced by the- J.: D. Williams management. .- ??.-The Royal ;Ha,wai'ians closedviheir Sydneyi^ea son at tfie- Y:^f:.C/AP Hali'Klasf; sights gXfii^rge audience applauded 'the vocal and instrumental numbers.' ' ~t. «..'-. Sacred-pictures will be shown to-night at the Bijou, near the Glaciarium. Compositions by Kstlier Kahn and May SummerbcHc will bu included in Miss Lillian Frost's organ recital at the opening- of the Girls' Realm -Exhibition in tlw Town Hall on Wednesday next. '