Programme 1954 – Chu Chin Chow

NAPIER OPERATIC SOCIETY INC.

Presents

CHU CHIN CHOW

MUNICIPAL THEATRE, HASTINGS
13th, 14th and 15th September, 1954

Souvenir Programme 1/-

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NAPIER OPERATIC SOCIETY (INC.)

1954 OFFICERS OF THE SOCIETY

President:   JACK HARRIS.

Vice-President:   KEN DOUGLAS.

Hon. Secretary: R. H. WIMSETT.

Hon. Treasurer:   F. W. MELHUISH.

Hon. Auditor:   I. L. PRIME.

Hon. Solictor [Solicitor]: W. WILLIS.

Executive Committee:
J. FAIRCLOUGH, W. QUARRIE, P. COX, S. HENNEY, E. COLLIER, G. HOUSTON, P. SORRELL, R. LAVIN.

THE PREVIOUS PRODUCTIONS OF THE SOCIETY
“The Gondoliers”   1908
“The Mikado”   1909
“The Geisha”   1910
“The Runaway Girl”   1911
“A Greek Slave”   1912
“Toreador”   1913
“Miss Hook of Holland   1914
“The Blue Moon”   1915
“The Geisha”   1921
“A Country Girl”   1923
“Floradora”   1924
“The Arcadians”   1928
“The Sunshine Girl”   1929
“Our Miss Gibbs”   1930
“Rio Rita”   1938
“The Belle of New York”   1939
“Boots and All”   1940

Early History of the Society –

The Society was formed in the 1880’s and there is in the Hawke’s Bay Art Gallery and Museum a Programme of the Society’s production of “The Mikado” in March, 1887. The Society also possesses a Programme of its production of “Madame Fauverti” in October, 1892.

Unfortunately, many of the earliest records of the Society were lost in the 1931 earthquake, but the Society can claim to be one of the oldest musical societies in New Zealand.

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THE STORY OF “CHU CHIN CHOW”

The story of “Chu Chin Chow” is that of the Arabian Nights tale of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves.

The play opens in the palace of Kasim, a wealthy merchant of Baghdad, who is preparing a feast to entertain Chu Chin Chow, a rich Chinese merchant.

Marjanah, a slave of Kasim, is informed by Zahrat, another slave, that Chu Chin Chow is actually the feared robber chief, Abu Hasan. Marjanah is loved by Nur-al-Huda, the son of Ali Baba, Kasim’s ne’er-do-well brother. Ali is hen pecked by his shrewish wife, Mahbubah, and he is much enamoured of Kasim’s head wife, Alcolom. At the feast Chu Chin Chow offers to buy Marjanah, but Ali, with drunken recklessness, offers “forty thousand pieces,” which he undertakes to pay in twenty-four hours.

Next day Marjanah and Nur-al-Huda find Ali in the cactus grove recovering from his over indulgence in wine, and, amazed, they hear the words “Open Sesame.” A rock opens and the robbers emerge. They enter the cave and discover fabulous riches.

Zahrat, in the slave market, disappointed at not being able to obtain her freedom, betrays Chu Chin Chow, who, in retaliation, decamps with the proceeds of the slave sale and orders the imprisonment of Zahrat in the cave.

Next day Ali Baba visits Kasim in the harem and pays the “forty thousand pieces” and discloses the source of his sudden wealth. The miserly Kasim enters the cave, but is discovered by the robbers and slain.

Zahrat is freed by Marjanah and Nur-al-Huda and bribes a cobbler from the bazaar to stitch up Kasim’s body. The cobbler, led blindfolded to the house, chalks a cross of blue on the door and babbles the secret to Hasan, who is in the bazaar disguised as a water carrier. Zahrat confronts Hasan, telling him it is Ali who knows his secret. With a double purpose she intrigues with Hasan to disguise himself as an oil merchant and introduce his followers, concealed in oil jars, to Kasim’s house, where the wedding of Marjanah and Nur-al-Huda is to take place.

Zahrat arranged with the steward, Abdullah, to pour boiling oil into the jars, thus killing the robbers, and finally she stabs Abu Hasan.

The plays ends happily with the wedding scene of Marjanah and Nur-al-Huda.

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EVA MOORE . . .

Eva Moore, who is the producer of the Napier Operatic Society’s 1954 production, “Chu Chin Chow,” is probably one of the best known and most successful producers of amateur musical comedy in New Zealand.

She is one of five sisters of theatrical fame. Carrie Moore, a star both in England and Australia, and Australia’s original “Merry Widow,” is one of the sisters. Edward German wrote the part of Honour in “Tom Jones” for her and her name appears in so many original scores in London that they constitute a record. Lillie Moore, another sister, toured New Zealand with the J. C. Williamson productions of “The Student Prince,” “Desert Song” “Arsenic and Old Lace,” “The Girl Friend,” and many others.

Eva Moore has played the leading soprano roles in all the Gilbert and Sullivan operas, also the “Quaker Girl,” “Merry Widow,” “Waltz Dream,” “The Geisha,” and dozens of others. She has travelled more than half round the world, many times – a thorough coverage of all the playable towns of Australia, then to China, Japan, Manila, Honolulu and extensive tours of Canada and the U.S.A. In New Zealand she has produced for Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Dunedin, Blenheim, Nelson, Palmerston North (where she created a record for both amateurs and professionals), Wanganui, New Plymouth, Hamilton, and once again Napier.

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1954 – PRODUCTION PERSONNEL – 1954

THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF THE SOCIETY

AND

Producer   Eva Moore
Musical Director   Cedric White
Ballet Mistress   Jean Ballantyne
Stage Director   Cedric Wright
Hon. Prompts   Ingrid Husheer and Rae Condon
Make-up   Leicester Bull
Lighting Director   Dick Tyler
Chief Mechanic   Ira Owen
Electrical Effects   Jack Isles
Properties   Edwin Brown
Wardrobe   Elizabeth Monrad
House Manager   John Fairclough
Assistant House Manager   Sid Henney
Secretary   Rodney Wimsett
Treasurer   Frank Melhuish

Oscar Asche’s Immortal Spectacle

“CHU CHIN CHOW”

Music by Frederic Norton

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CAST OF CHARACTERS
IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE

ABDULLAH (Chief Steward of Kasim Baba’s Household)   VAUGHAN GABITES
ZAHRAT AL-KULUB (a Slave)   LAURIE SWINDELL
ALCOLOM (Kasim Baba’s Head Wife)   JOY McNAMARA
MARJANAH (a Slave)    JOAN VAUSE
ABU HASAN OF KHORASAN   GORDON MADIGAN
KASIM BABA (a Wealthy Merchant of Baghdad)   REG JOHNSON
ALI BABA (Brother of Kasim Baba)    BOB ROSS
MAHBUBAH (Ali Baba’s Wife)   MARJORIE SEWELL
NUR AL-HUDA (Ali Baba’s Son)    JACK CRISP
MUKBIL (Auctioneer of Slave Market)   TED HERNIMAN
ZANIM (a Wealthy Lady of Baghdad)   “BILL” HERNIMAN
MUSAB (a Robber Lieutenant)   FRANK ENNOR
KHUZAMAH (a Robber Lieutenant)   JOHN SUTHERLAND
BABA MUSTAFA (a Cobbler of the Bazaar)   BOB HOUSTON
OTBAH (a Silk Merchant of Baghdad)   PETER SHIRLEY
BOSTAN (Mahbubah’s Servant)    JUDY PRICE
Solo Dancer – BETTY TREACHER

And Attendants, Robbers, Men and Women of Baghdad, Fruit Girls, Mannequins, Wedding Guests, and Slaves from the Desert, European Countries, Egypt, Java and Japan.

Producer   EVA MOORE
Choreography   JEAN BALLANTYNE

Scenery designed and painted by Will J. Conroy, of Wellington (late Savoy Theatre, London). Costumes designed by Molly Cook of Wellington and fabricated in the workrooms of the Auckland Operatic Society (Inc.).

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SYNOPSIS OF SCENES

The Play is set in Ancient Baghdad.

ACT 1
Scene 1.   Kasim Baba’s Palace   Once upon a time
Scene 2.   Marjanah’s Window   The same evening
Scene 3.   Cactus Grove   Next morning
Scene 4.   A Silk Stall in Baghdad   That afternoon
Scene 5.   The Baghdad Slave Market   The same afternoon

INTERVAL – EIGHT MINUTES

ACT 2
Scene 1.   Kasim Baba’s Palace   That evening
Scene 2.   Marjanah’s Window   The same evening
Scene 3.   The Robbers’ Cave   That night
Scene 4.   A Room in Kasim’s Palace   That night
Scene 5.   The Baghdad Bazaar   Next day
Scene 6.   A Room in Kasim’s Palace   The same day
Scene 7.   Kasim Baba’s Palace   The same evening

ORCHESTRA
Musical Director:   Cedric White.   Piano:   C. Bromley Hill.
Violins:   E. Collier (principal), D. Alexander, G. Wade, E. Dunn, D. Dowling, L. Williams, D. Hansen, E. Bruton.
Cellos:   S Girvan, S. Milne.   Basses:   B. Hansen, D. Smith.   Flutes:   I. L. Prime, E. Hocking.   Clarinets:   P. G. Blanchett, D. Mori.   Bassoon:   L. Abbott.   Trumpets: H. F. Vincent, R. Moore:   Trombones:   H. G. Cater, C. Turnbull.
Tuba:   R. Sweatman.   Drums and Tympani: E. Murnane.

NAPIER OPERATIC SOCIETY (INC.)

LADIES OF THE CHORUS-
Gwen Atkin
Barbara Day
Anne Gordon
Naomi Mooney
Treve Nockels
Judy Price
June Thomas
Jennifer White
Anne Briasco
Lillian Eddy
Pam Harvey
Diana Mooney
Bevereley [Beverley] Prebensen
Olga Rean
Robin Thornley
Betty Wetherall
Sally Barry
Betty Frost
Marion Hitchens
Valerie McCulloch
Pat Pollick
Mara Ries
Dawn Tindle
Yvonne Yates
Margaret Dinnan
Mona Fauchelle
Audrey Keehan
Gerda McCallum
Margo Paton
Dianna Sewell
Robin Woolley
Millicent Sorrell

GENTLEMEN OF THE CHORUS-
Barry Brebner
Cedric Catton
Matthew Farrell
Fred Linsker
John Sutherland
Les Salvigny
Rodney Wimsett
Ray Bennett
Terry Durney
Max Franklin
Paul Murphy
Paddy Sutherland
Harry Sykes
John Boswell
Ralph Dawber
Joe Hutchinson
Ashley Oldershaw
Gordon Smart
Noel Tolhurst
Brian Balding
Frank Ennor
Lyall Jackson
Keith Richardson
Peter Shirley
Colin Wells

LADIES OF THE BALLET-
Betty Treacher
Heather Bentley
Lynette Rivett-Carnac
Joan Lambert
Betty Crawford
Karine Jackson
Carol Lambert
Diane Rowell

BOYS-
John Collier
Rex Lorrigan
Bob Ross, jnr.
Neil Pettersen
Peter Sewell
Richard Spence

MUSICAL NUMBERS

ACT 1
Scene 1 – Prelude.
Song, Abdullah and Chorus; “Here Be Oysters.”
Entrance of Chu Chin Chow.
Chu Chin Chow and Chorus: “I am Chu Chin Chow.”
Dance: Flower Vendor, Solo Dancer.
Song, Marjanah and Chorus and Ballet: “Cleopatra’s Nile.”
Finale, Ali Baba and Company: “I’ll Sing and Dance.”

Scene 2 – Serenade, Nur Al-Huda and Marjanah: “Corraline.”

Scene 3 – Song, Ali Baba: “My Head.”
Song, Ali Baba: “When a Pullet is Plump.”
Robbers’ March: “We Are the Robbers of the Wood.”

Scene 4 – Trio, Ali Baba, Marjanah and Al-Huda: “Why Should I Repine?”
Song, Marjanah: “I Love Thee So.”
Duet,’ Marjanah and Ali Baba: “All My Days Till the End of My Life.”

Scene 5 – Song, Abdullah: “Behold, Behold.”
Recitative and Desert Dance.
Zahrat and the Ballet: ”Oh, Ye Who In Walled Cities Dwell.”
Chorus, Robbers: “We Are the Robbers of the Wood.”

ACT 2.
Scene 1 – Introduction.
Javanese Dance: The Ballet. Soloists, Betty Crawford, Betty Treacher, Lynette Rivett-Carnac.
Song, Alcolom and Chorus: ‘I Long for the Sun.”
Song, All Baba and Kasim Baba and Chorus: “The Grand Wazir.”
Song, Principals and Chorus: “Mahbubah.”

Scene 2 – Song, Nur-Al-Huda: “My Desert Flower.”
Song, Marjanah: “I’ll Build a Fairy Palace in the Sky.”

Scene 3 – Spirits of the Jewels: The Ballet.
Chorus, Robbers: “We Are the Robbers of the Woods.”
Song, Abu Hasan and Robbers: “The Scimitar.”

Scene 4 – Song, Alcolom: “Any Time’s Kissing Time.”

Scene 5 – Song, Baba Mustafa: “The Cobbler’s Song.”
Chorus, Fruit Girls: “We Bring Ye Fruits.”
Song, Otbar and Mannequins: “From Cairo, Baghdad and Khorasan.”

Scene 6 – Duet, Alcolom and Ali Baba: “How Dear is Our Day.”
Trio, Abdullah, Ali Baba and Alcolom: “There be Lampreys.”

Scene 7 – Song, Abdullah and Attendants: “Olive Oil.”
Finale, the Entire Company; “On With the Wedding.”

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Back row: Ali Baba (Bob Ross), Abdullah (Vaughan Gabites), Kasim Baba (Reg Johnson).

Front row: Marjanah (Joan Vause), Nur-al-Huda (Jack Crisp), Zahrat Al-Kulub (Laurie Swindell), Alcolom (Joy McNamara).

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NAPIER OPERATIC SOCIETY (INC.)

CREDITS
Assistants to Wardrobe Mistress – Mrs E. Field (Principals’ Wardrobe) and Shirley Sutherland; Miss P. Spriggs (Chorus Wardrobe) and Miss J. Lamberg, Miss B. Williams, J. Corbett, Mrs K. Douglas and Mrs E. White; Mrs E, Collier (Ballet Wardrobe) and Faith Johnson and Pam Garden.

Assistants to Property Director – T. Billington, Jo Kulsdom, Jock Stevenson, W. B. Spence, Erin O’Rourke, R. Ingle, L. Fleming.

Assistants to Make-Up Supervisor -Bonnie Houston, Mrs. Spence, Mrs. M. Sorrell, Miss C. McDonald.

The Auckland Operatic Society (Inc.) for the loan of all scenery, costumes and properties.

Murray Roberts and Co., Ltd., for storage space.

The Daily Telegraph Co., Ltd.,

Hawke’s Bay Herald Tribune

Messrs. Kirkman and Rossiter. Ltd., Mr. G. E. Milne, Chas. Kent, “Victor” Paints, Napier Repertory Society – for loan of electrical equipment.

Mrs. V. Tidy and helpers for teas for cast.

Jock Stevenson and Gavin Black for loan of donkeys.

Mr. and Mrs. George Plested; and also the large team of willing helpers.

Design of Programme Cover – Ian Barber, Napier.

COMING ATTRACTIONS.

Sept 17th, 1954 – Sept. 25th, 1954   NAPIER IDEAL HOMES EXHIBITION
Sept. 18th, 1954 – Oct. 2nd, 1954   NAPIER WRESTLING ASSOCIATION – NEXT WRESTLING BOUTS
Oct. 6th, 7th, and 9th, 1954   NAPIER REPERTORY SOCIETY – “TEN LITTLE NIGGER BOYS”
Nov. 6th, 8th and 13th, 1954   NAPIER FRIVOLITY MINSTRELS – “THE QUEEN OF HEARTS”
Nov. 20th, 1954   NAPIER ORPHEUS CHOIR

JEAN BALLANTYNE, Ballet Mistress, is an Advanced Teacher of the Royal Academy of Dancing, London, and has trained with well-known teachers both in New Zealand and overseas. In the course of her dancing career Miss Ballantyne has been closely associated with the Amateur Theatre, and has been responsible for numerous Children’s Recitals, including the production of Sir James Barrie’s “Peter Pan” in 1953. Her Senior Ballet toured the Hawke’s Bay area for the Community Arts Service in 1947. Miss Ballantyne was responsible for the Ballets in the second Auckland production of “Chu Chin Chow” in 1952.

CEDRIC WHITE has directed the Musical side of the Society for many years. He was a member of the original “Kiwi” Concert Party and remained in England under a Government Education grant and passed through the Royal Academy of Music. On his return to New Zealand he toured with the J. C. Williamson organisation, but eventually settled in Napier, where he is in practice as a Public Accountant.

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Back row: Otbah (Peter Shirley), Khuzaymah (Frank Ennor), Musab (John Sutherland), Mukbil (Ted Herniman), Baba Mustafa (Bob Houston).

Front row: Bostan (Judy Price), Mahbubah (Marjorie Sewell), Zanim (“Bill” Herniman).

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