Vaughan Road Academy - Acta Studentium Yearbook (Toronto, Ontario Canada)

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A t' T A S 'l' I' ll li N T I I' M Page 23 lIlDllfi.f7lIllllWll1a6llflll1l3S Princess Bulbulv has come and gone, leaving in her train many happy memorf ies to both audience and performer. For three evenings, the Vaughan Road Collegiate Institute endeavoured to prove that the time sacrificed to the dramatic art had not been wasted, and the enthusiastic plaudits of a packed house showed that the audience was quite convinced that the Qresult was worth the effort and time involved. Last years performance of the well' known H.M.S. Pinaforeu set a standard of perfection that it would seem almost imposible to equal, and while the music of Princess Bulbull' cannot be comf pared to the world famous strains of Sullivan, nor the libretto to the wit of Gilbert, we can claim a production of charm land entertainment, excellently performed, and more than adequately staged. The music, while light, was tuneful, and gave the aspirants to fame a splendid opportunity to display the promising talent of which the school can most certainly boast, and while the libretto was not outstanding in originf ality, it was a charming little lovefstory with the happy 'ending necessary to general enjoyment. Princess Bulbul is a very melancholy princess as the story opens. Her father, King Iamit, has betrothed her for polif tical reasons, to a neighbouring prince, a man she has never even seen, and whom, she is sure, it will be impossible to like. So her face and her life are shrouded in gloom, and so, therefore, must be the faces of the eight charming maidsfoffhonour who are her special attendants. These maids-offhonour, how' ever, are young enough, and imprudent enough, to allow a band of wandering pedlars to penetrate into the private gardens of the place, and the chief pedlar even succeeds in getting a private interview with the princess. He declares his love to the charming maiden, and she, though horrified at the idea of a princess being interested in a common pedlar, relents enough to promise him a farewell interview at the ball that evening, where she is to be formally betrothed to Prince Caspian, her fathers choice. Meanwhile, King Iamit is so delighted at having brought his diplomacy to a successful issue, that he has rashly promised to any lady who a husband would taken that if she asked him politely, as though in a jest he, the king, would make the man involved say yes. The princess, having fallen in love with the pedlar decides to take advantage of her fathers imprudence, and leading the stranger forward in front of the whole court prof claims that this is the man she intends to marry, and demands fulfilment of the promise. The king is only too def lighted to grant her request, as the sof called pedlar is in reality Prince Caspian who, like the princess, had not wished to marry without first seeing his chosen bride. He had conceived the idea of the pedlar masquerade in order to make the acquaintance of the princess. So all ends happily for this pair, but not so well for poor King lamit, for another lady, the Lady Ide, takes advantage of the situ' ation, and as he cannot say no, he is forced to marry her, though much against his will. Princess Bulbulu has one noticeable advantage over 'H.M.S. Pinaforeug it gives opportunity in minor roles, for at showing of what really can be done in amateur theatricals, Most operettas are written in a stereotyped style with arias for the principles, and choruses for the chorus. This is all very well in its place, but one always comes away with the feeling that there was much talent that

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Q24 AVTA STVDICNTI 'Ulf u A. CAST OF PRINCESS BULBULH

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Page 26 ACTA STUDENTIUM could have been better displayed. In this case, that feeling was conspicuous by its absence. First of all we wish to mention the two octettes. The maidsfof-honour were charming and graceful, and the sweet voices, the colourful dresses, and the finished effect of the movements and pantomine made a picture that will not easily be forgotten by its many beholders. Miss M. Waugh was responsible for training the girls' voices. The pedlars sang remarkably well, and their mis' chievous teasing of the maidsfoffhonor greatly amused the audience. Mr. Cunf ningham supervised the boys' voices. And now for the principals. VVe offer our most hearty congratulations to But Green, who had the difficult role of King Iamit to interpret. His rendering of the fussy, complaining, important little man was most skilful. It is not easy to play a comedy role. Gne shade too much of the farcical element, and the character is lost, and one shade too little and the audience is bored. Again conf gratulation, Bud. Through all the diffif culties of holding on your crown, and arranging your girth, you never for one moment, lost sight of your role, or allow' ed yur audience to do so. C. Schneider and G. Oliphant were excellent foils for the kingly jests. They played their parts well, anfd the walk land air of tghe Keeper of the Royal Spectacles was a thing to be remembered. The luguf brious air of the Keeper of the Royal Cashboxn was so real that one felt quite sympathetic every time the cashbox had to be opened. Isabel Stewart had a very difficult role to portray in the part of the Lady Ida, the Court Chaperon. It was not one to arouse the sympathy of the audience, yet it was so well sung. and so superbly acted that one could almost have wished for two heroines. We can heartily congratulate Kay Vousden on her Princess Bulbul. Her voice. though excellent, was almost over' shadowed by her acting. She made an instant appeal, even before we had heard her lyric soprano tones. Her gowns were beautiful, especially the white one worn in the last act. It was hard to believe that one was watching an amateur per- formance. Ralph Loney made a most picturesque prince charming or rather, Caspian His pleasing tenor voice fitted well into the part. Excellent, Ralph, we hope to hear you soon in an' other role of that kind. Eilleen Sheppard as Lilla and Walter Kent as Alain were also outstanding throughout the performance. Their roles were exacting and they filled them to perfection, They were necessary to every group and had to be on hand for every practice. Their final duet, We are happy as can be , took the audience by storm. Eileen was also invaluable as accompanist for the choruses while Joyce Edwards was engaged with the orchestra. Miriam Severwright and Stewart Steven gave us a charming duet, which, by the amount of applause it evoked, left no doubt as to the apprecif ation of the audience. The chorus not only provided an ex' cellent backgrown for the ensembles but it also delighted the audience with its color,movement and song. The Soldiers' Chorus and the Finales we could well have heard again and again. And how we all enjoyed the housemaids'f! The minuet and the country dance left pleasant memories of a wellftrained group, for which we have Miss Mason and Miss Haydon to thank. And we must not forget the moonbeams' Dance directed by Miss Prettiefthe whole en' hanced by the clever lighting effects. The orchestra under the able direction of Mr. Beale sustained its part in a man' ner which left nothing to be desired and showed the results of weeks of effort. And to Joyce Edwards our pianist, we owe more than we can say in these few words. Only hard work and patience could result in such a finished perform' ance. Joyce was ably assisted during the practices by Eileen Sheppard and Gladys Pedwell. Miss Tighe was again the director and stage manager of the operetta, and I think that she must feel very content with the result of her untiring efforts.