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Civic Theatre 267 Queen Street, Auckland

1929 - Civic Theatre Ballet

The picture palace was not merely a cinema. It offered a kind of complete entertainment world. At the Civic there was a 10-minute show before the movie with a corps de ballet doing syncopated jazz-age dance steps, a 30-piece orchestra rising up on a golden barge and a mighty Wurlitzer organ rising up on a huge drop. There was a cabaret and restaurant in the Wintergarden downstairs to go to afterwards, although no alcohol was served. A small boy with a trumpet announced the end of intermission.

Pretty girls chosen for their looks (and athletic abilities at walking up and down over 100 steps repeatedly) were dressed in harem outfits, to go with the fantasy Middle Eastern interior.

Music was an inherent part of this entertainment totality.

Contributed by Greg Lynch -