Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1898-01-13
The Little Duchess.

Inc Little Duchess, which was pre-
sented at the X. p. Opera House, last
Saturday and Monday nights by local
talent, under the direction of Mr..
Clifford Reeves, was by far the best
home performance ever seen here. The
play is an exceptionally strong one
and the wardrobe, stage effects used
throughout the play We're special. The
cast was composed of the best local
talent, assisted by Mr.. Robert Rice, of
Audubon, who takes the part of Old
Peter Robbins in Mr.. Reeves perfor-
nance, at Audubon. He played the
part here to perfection and frequently
brought down the house in the comic
situations between he and Mrs. T. J.
Carmichael who played the part of
Lura, and played it better than many
professional people would have done.
His portrayal of the part of Old Peter
would have done credit to profession
al, and the verdict of all was that Old
Peter Robbins was all right. Mr..
Clifford Reeves, the director, of the
play, took the difficult part of John
Ainsworth and we venture to say the
death scene of Ainsworth, in the third
act, was the strongest dramatic scene
ever seen on our stage. Mr.. Reeves
deserves great credit in rehearsing the
cast and bringing out the different
roles as he did. Mr.. Will Brinkerhoff
was Sir Leslie Gordon, the villain, and
the part could not have been put in
better hands. His makeup was fine
and as scheming villain, he showed
he knew how to carry out the part.
Henry Graham, the school master, was
taken by Mr.. Chas. BRENNAN, and to
him deserves great amount of credit.
His climaXes were well worked up and
were brought out clear and loud. He
also doubled Squire Hawkins and
completely surprised the house by the
the way in which he mastered the
part. Mr.. Geo. Henshaw was Lawyer
Carter and his exactly, precisely, just
to dot, made hit. He worked with
ease and grace and carried out the part
all through the play in good shape.
Mrs: J. T. Carmichael was Lura, The
Little Duchess. She put life and vim
in her work-as the rough Soubrette in
mischief. She kept the house in a
constant roar of laughter; and after
wards in the emotional work she also
did herself great credit. Her special
ties were good. She has a sweet, pa
thetic voice and was loudly encored.
Mrs. George Henshaw took the part of
the Duchess of Arland and carried out
her part nobly. She made fine APP
pearance and spoke her lines in a
faultless style. Her climax scene with
Ainsworth, in the third act, was
watched with great interest and you
could have heard a pin drop in
any part of the house. Last but not
least comes Helen Stubbs-The Giddy
Old Maid. This part was put in the
hands of Mrs. Fred Delahoyde and she
made an instantaneous hit with the
entire audience the moment she made
her appearance on the stage. Her con-
ception and portrayal of Helen Stubs
was perfect. In fact not one profession
al in hundred could have played the
part any better. Her love-making
scenes We're simply killing and the au-
dience was kept in continual uproar
Another pleasing feature of the per-
formance was the piano playing of
Miss Mollie Delahoyde. This added
greatly to the entertainments. The
music and songs were from the house
of Witmark & Sons, Chicago, and
We're enjoyed muchly. On the whole
the play was success, artistically, but
was not patroniZed as well as it should
have been. After the play Monday
evening the members of the company
We're given banquet, in the Opera
House, by Mrs. Fred Delahoyde, Mrs.
j. T. Carmichael and Mrs. Geo. Hen
shaw. After refreshments they spent
a few hours in dancing. Then the
members of The Little Duchess return
ed to their homes, wishing the Thurs
day Club, Mr.. Reeves and the entire
cast another performance, in the near
future as successful as The Little Ouch
eSS.
The progressive ladies of Westtield.
Indiana, issued Woman's Edition u
of the Westfield News, bearing date of
April 8, 1896. The paper is filled with
matter of interest to women, and we
notice the following from correspon-
dent, which the editor printed, realiz-
ing that it treats upon matter of vi
tai Importance to their sex: "The best
remedy for Group, colds, and bronchitis
that | have been able to find is Cham
berlain's Cough Remedy. For family
use it has no equal. 1 gladly recon-
mend it," rs and soc sizes for sale by
c. w. Houston, Extra; A. H. Roberts,
Audubon.