Viktoria and her Hussar

By THE CHIEL
Handicapped by conditions without
parallel in the history of the stage
in Melbourne, owing to the dispute
with the Actors' Equity (see page
3), the musical play "Viktoria and
Her Hussar" was presented at His
Majesty's Theatre on Saturday night.
Although members of the equity re-
frained from demonstrating either
inside or outside the theatre, ab-
sence of the chorus imposed a heavy
strain on the principals.
It was a courageous gesture on the
part of the cast to undergo the or-
deal m the circumstances; that they
carried the show through success-
fully was a still higher tribute to
their courage. Wherever the merits
of the dispute may lie, there was no
doubt as to the feelings and sympa-
thies of the audience. The keynote
was struck before the curtain rose
by the prolonged applause that
greeted the appearance of Mr Claude
Flemming in one of the boxes.
The music by Paul Abraham pro-
vides some pleasing and well-remem-
bered numbers. Chief among these
are "Sweet Love's Dream" and
"Petals of the Plum," in both of
which Gladys Moncrieff, as Viktoria,
scored heavily. Fred Murray as Count
Ferry Hegedus, and Miriam Lester as'
O Lia San made a notable success of
their infectious and hilarious duet
"Mousie." Herbert Browne's "One
Girl Only ni the World For Me" was
another highlight.