Theatre Production - Miss Hook of Holland

Mr. Paul Rubens has an extremely nimble gift, both musical and lyrical, and it has never been displayed to more advantage than in the "Dutch Musical Incident" which is now nightly filling the Prince of Wales' Theatre. Many have been the countries that have been taxed to supply the colour scheme for the musical plays of recent years, and it was a happy thought on the part of Mr. Paul Rubens to place his action in a country that has been closely identified with England in the past, and which has so preserved its national characteristics as Holland. We were not in ignorance of these original features, for most of us have a more or less familiar knowledge of the Dutch school of painters, and more than one of our black and white artists of the present day have used their pens to good purpose in delineating the country and its inhabitants. Mr. Rubens has proved himself a clever opportunist and he is reaping the reward which his enterprise deserves.

Immediately on the rise of the curtain the eye is pleased with the quaint charm of the costumes and the picturesque environment of the Cheese Market at Arndyk. Forthwith, a pleasant sense of satisfaction takes possession of the spectator, and holds him fast in its thrall what time he is on the borders of the Zuyder Zee or in the interior of the Liqueur Distillery at Amsterdam. As in the majority of pieces of this kind the audience is scarcely more concerned with the plot than the authors (Mr. Austen Hurgon is associated in the "chatter" with Mr. Rubens) and a few words will suffice to give the reader a rough outline of the dramatic material of which "Miss Hook of Holland" is composed.

Mrs. Hook made her exit from a troubled world when her husband was about thirty years of age, and as some compensation for her departure, she bequeathed him a legacy in the shape of a daughter, who, in addition to a pretty face, and an excellent voice, possessed a remarkable aptitude for business. By the force of her character and her shrewdness, plus her invention of a wonderful liqueur, Mr. Hook eventually finds himself at the head of a thriving establishment and with a considerable fortune at his back. One day he happens to drop from his pocket the recipe of the precious liquid, and it is picked up by a loafer who, for a consideration, passes it on to Captain Adrian Paap, a dashing officer in love with Sally, and who thinks the possession of the little piece of paper will considerably help his cause with the Distiller's daughter. But the young lady has given her heart, and that she intends to follow up with her hand, to a handsome bandmaster, and being, as I have said, a lady of some force of character she carries her point and brings the piece to a satisfactory ending.

PRESS REVIEW

(Lloyds Weekly News [UK] - 3rd February, 1907)
PRINCE OF WALES'S

The long-talked-of musical comedy, Miss Hook of Holland was produced here on Thursday evening to a crowded audience. It was described as "a Dutch musical incident in two acts, with chatter by Paul A. Rubens and Austen Hurgon, and jingles and music by Paul Rubens." Mr. Hurgon was brought in through the unfortunate illness of the gentleman first named, and he has to bear the responsibility for a "book" that had not too much to recommend it. The story was of the simplest, but it took just three hours and a half to tell it. It was built round a document that contained the recipe for the making of a wonderful liqueur known as "The Cream of the Sky."

Some misguided individual declared in advance that for this reason it resembled A Scrap of Paper; but the adventures that befel Sardou's piece of paper were highly ingenious, and there was nothing particularly Ingenious in the little difficulties that arose when Mr. Hook, the wealthy proprietor of a distillery at Amsterdam, lost the recipe which his only daughter had drawn up for the drink which he was the first to taste. The recipe fell into the hands of a lazy loafer, one Simon Slinks, who was only fond of work when it had something to do with bottle, the corking of which, in his opinion, was quite unnatural. Uncorking them was more to his liking. He sold the paper to a Captain Paap, who thought to use it as a means to secure the distiller's consent to his marriage with his daughter Sally; but when he found that Mr. Hook hated soldiers and would suspect the finder as a thief he passed it onto Van Vuyt, who was the bandmaster in his regiment and who found more acceptance in Sally's eyes. The bandmaster secured his lady-love and the captain found another sweetheart in a comely damsel known as Freda Voos.

Although there was not much wit in the dialogue which the authors called chatter there was abundance of tune in the music; there was plenty of colour in the quaint Dutch costumes, and there was a good deal that was pretty and attractive in the Cheese Market of Arndyk, which was the stene of the first act, and in the interior of the Amsterdam Distillery, which did duty for the second. Mr. G. P. Huntley's part as Mr. Hook was but a poor one, yet he made much of it and had only to open his mouth to get a laugh. When by way of curing the gallant Captain Paap of his love attack he advised him to go home, take a warm bath, put on some warm clothing, and give the dog a run, the house simply roared. It was not exactly what he said, but the funny way in which he said it that found ready favour with his hearers. Mr. George Barrett was wonderfully droll as the leader of the lazy loafers, and there was some excellent singing by Mr. Herbert Clayton as the Captain and Mr. Walter Hyde as the bandmaster. "The Soldiers of the Netherlands", by the former, made one of the big hits of the evening.

Miss Isabel Jay was charming, as usual, in the part of Hiss Hook, and in her songs "Flying Kites" and "Little Miss Wooden Shoes", with chorus and an accompaniment of sabots, was enthusiastically applauded. Miss Gracie Leigh was very amusing as Hook's servant, Mina, and her song, ''The Flying Dutchman", may be recommended as certain cure for melancholy. Notwithstanding the lateness of the hour at which the curtain fell the audience remained to cheer the author and composer, and to give Mr. Frank Curzon assurance of another success.

In an entertainment of this kind the chief consideration is the musical numbers and the comic incidents. Happily, for the success of "Miss Hook of Holland" it is crammed with taking ditties, and it gives ample scope for the comedians to display their especial gifts. Primarily and principally the seeker for an evening's amusement will ask if Mr. G. P. Huntley is provided with a good part. The answer may be given in the affirmative without a moment's hesitation. Moreover, he has a character which is totally different from those he has represented previously in the metropolis. Provincial audiences were long familiar with Mr. Huntley as an exponent of eccentric elderly individuals, and that was considered his "line." It was in London that he first made a "hit" in young men parts. In the present instance he plays the old Dutchman, the father of the fascinating Sally, and a very artistic sketch he gives, quite in his own inimitable manner. Next to him in unctuous drollery stands Mr. George Barrett as Slinks the "loafer." Mr Barrett, who comes of a good acting stock, proves his worth by the genuine humour with which he invests the part. But both Mr. Huntley and Mr. Barrett have to make way for Miss Gracie Leigh as the maidservant to the Hooks.

Miss Leigh has a pert, insinuating manner which is irresistible. Humour sparkles in her eyes, plays about her lips and dances around her toes. To hear her sing the song in which we are told of the various reasons why "The Flying Dutchman" flew, or to hear her describe in vocal phraseology the different coloured petticoats she has had presented to her by various admirers, is to bear away a memory that it will take years to dim. In quite an opposite direction, but with equal certainty, Miss Isabel Jay impresses her audience in the title role. Miss Jay depends for the greater part of her success on the tunefulness of the vocal numbers and her artistic manner of singing them. She has been provided with some taking airs, from among which I may select for special mention "Two Little Wooden Shoes" and "Flyaway, Kite," and needless to say that Miss Jay acts the part with every feminine grace and charm.

A manly young lover, with an effective tenor voice, is found in Mr. Walter Hyde, and excellent vocal support also comes from Mr. Herbert Clayton. The minor parts are well filled and a pretty bevy of ladies, with their masculine equivalents, make up an efficient chorus. The piece is delightfully mounted and dressed, and altogether "Miss Hook of Holland" is such an entertaining young personage that no one will regret paying her a visit.

It is quite the exception now-a-days in musical comedy to discover a play without a single gown suitable for modern wear. "Miss Hook of Holland" is distinctly Dutch, and evidently inordinately proud of the fact, since every tiny item connected with her wardrobe and those of her feminine friends is accurate in every detail to the minutest degree. It is a liberal education in Dutch matters sartorial to interview the various costumes in this play, and Miss Isabel Jay in the title role has shown that she can do other things charmingly besides singing and acting, for she herself designed the first dainty frock which she wears. Built of maize-coloured cloth in a soft shade it has a broad border at the hem of orange coloured mirroir velvet above which in zigzag design comes an embroidered galon in shades of yellow and pink outlined with narrow black velvet. The underbodice is of white muslin and displays a pointed vest edged with galon across which are arranged masses of fine gold chain held with gold ornaments. Her white chiffon apron is bordered with handsome real lace and at her side swings an orange velvet pocket held by black ribbon velvet and a dainty little notebook on a silver chain. Her Dutch cap which surmounts this is of finest white lace with the orthodox gold ornaments and orange-coloured rosettes. This dainty lady's second frock is built in a soft shade of pale blue silk with a white collar and cuffs and a dainty little blue cap with white points turning back from the face, while a number of handsome silver ornaments do their decorative duty, and as a suitable accompaniment to the song she sings, Miss Jay wears pale pink silk stockings and wooden sabots. Her last gown is even more elaborate and displays a white satin skirt veiled with pale blue chiffon with a panel both back and front of white brocade, decked with blue embroidery and a network of silver stars. It is laced together on the sleeves and at the sides of the skirt with blue satin ribbon, at each end of which hangs a silver ornament tasselwise. This is crowned by a becoming lace cap and completed by blue silk stockings and kid shoes to match, while Miss Jay also wears a splendid assortment of pearls and diamonds.

Dainty little Miss Eva Kelly looks perfectly charming in her frock which may be described as a symphony in blue and white and silver. The gown itself is in blue and white striped silk, a broad band of blue velvet encircling the waist, beneath which comes a pale blue satin ribbon tying in front with a bow and ends. White lappels adorn the vest of the bodice, and her white apron is of softest muslin, while a cap of exquisite white embroidery and delicate lace is encircled by a band of pale blue satin and profusely adorned with typical silver ornaments. Pendant silver chains also appear upon the front of the bodice with excellent effect.

Miss Gracie Leigh, who might perhaps be correctly dubbed the "Princess of the Petticoats," wears two typically suitable frocks. The first is of royal blue cashmere, the entire surface being divided into large squares by double rows of very narrow white braid. The bodice shows a white vest edged on either side with folds of emerald green cloth, this in turn being bordered by a wide band of red cloth which encircles the yoke and comes down the front of the bodice, displaying large gold buttons for its ornamentations, similar cloth forming the cuffs upon the sleeves. Her apron of blue and white cotton check in a large pattern has a distinction given it by a thin outline of red which marks the squares so effectively, this gown being accompanied by the orthodox sabots. Dull heliotrope cashmere goes to the composition of her second dress, the skirt being bordered by a band of alternate black and white squares. The bodice, accurate to the minutest detail, bears a vest composed of plaited black and red ribbon surmounted by a similar plait of emerald green and yellow. Mauve and white check cotton in a rather small design forms her large apron and her lace hat is mounted above a quaint little cap of blue and red brocade.

Miss Mercer makes her first appearance in a striped moire gown of rather dull colouring and a black cashmere apron, while her very large white lace cap has hanging lappels and is adorned with a bright red rosette. More elaborate is her second frock built of chocolate-coloured sateen figured in blue and red. The bodice is of chocolate-coloured velvet held by a black velvet waist belt and laced up at the back. The undersleeves are of white spotted muslin and a fichu arrangement of the printed sateen is draped around the lace vest, while a very gorgeous apron of pale blue and white silk brocade with handsome insertions of lace over it and a bow and ends of Pompadour ribbon in the front complete the gown. Gold chains are arranged across the bodice, and above her small muslin cap with its gold ornaments she wears a large hat of white straw, lined with chocolate-coloured satin and displaying two bands of velvet around the brim.

One of the most pleasing features in "Miss Hook of Holland" is the wonderful display of dainty lace Dutch caps with their quaint little gold bands beneath the cap which extend round the back of the head and finish above each ear in various quaint designs. One of the most fascinating shows a handsomely wrought side piece of silver work surmounted by spiral cones of silver wire completed by pendant amethyst drops, while clusters of violets appear at the sides of the cap. The next thing worthy of note is the exquisite blending of delicate colouring which is typified in each and every gown which is worn by the ladies in the chorus. It is only necessary to describe one gown to give our readers an idea of the charms of colour. Imagine a plain skirt in a delicious shade of pinkish red surmounted by a bodice of pale resida velvet with much quaint embroidery in shades of pink appearing on the bodice, while the pointed vest is liberally embroidered in a bold design and artistic colouring. This gown, surmounted by one of the caps I have just described, is completed by a spotless white apron, the upper portion of which is in blue and white check.

As a novelty for country fairs and society bazaars a Dutch village would come as a pleasing change, and I am sure that the many costumes now on view at the Prince of Wales' Theatre will serve as most accurate and explicit examples of the dress suitable for the occasion. I understand that it was not without considerable travels and much research that Mr. G. P. Huntley and his colleagues managed to secure the various items of Dutch feminine finery. That their efforts are more than crowned with complete success is proved by all who make the fascinating "Miss Hook of Holland's" acquaintance.

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