The Kansas City sun. (Kansas City, Mo.) 1908-1924, 1919-03-22
1.-THE DUBOIS DRAMATIC CLUB"
is THE TALK OF THE TOWN.

is THE TALK OF THE TOWN.
At the Auditorium Theater last Fri.
day evening, Mrs. w. 7. Osborne. di.
rectress, presented the Du Bots ORA.
matte Club in the thrilling four-act
drama, THE Traitor" a play that was
richly worth going to see. Dealing
as 1t did with the conditions of the
North and South during the Civil
War, interesting in its material and
forceful in it's situations, proved to be
the one desired kind of local enter.
tainment the Kansas City public
wanted to see.
This drama was played before a
packed appreciative audience, who
gave roars of prolonged applause,
Kisses, and even screamed out as
thrilling climaxes we're scored by a
cast which showed superior training.
The biggest comment about the
play was that every character was
exceptionally good. The first act was
In ideal farm yard with DR.. NJ. B.
Jones as Farmer jerks was consid.
cred by the audience who greeted
him with roars of enthusiastic APP
plause as one of the star actors of
the play. He scored some telling eli
makes that brought down the house.
Mrs. Essie Lewis, as Addie, Farmer
jerks daughter, was equally as good.
She very cleverly portrayed a country
girl in love, and received prolonged
applause and enthusiastic demonstra.
tons from the audience, which as.
sured her that she was playing well
her part.
Those Of us who do not look to see
character roles handled with excep,
tional skill by amateurs have every
reason to congratulate Mrs. Clara e
Adams upon her sympathetic and
strongly dramatic portugal of the
Southern Girl, who would have hel
Northern lover desert the North and
fight for the South.
In the second act the enforced
pathos of her work was especially
telling, There vas much in the play
for serious reflection. j. b. Cespedes
as Captain Fernbrook, who was will
ing t sacrifice everything, even the
girl he loved, when duty demanded
was truly the hero of the play anC
effectively portrayed the same. He
carried his audience throughout the
play.
Sylvester smith, as The Traitor
held from beginning to end He
handled the role OF villain with eX
ceptional skill, playing so as to re
ceive the Kisses from the audience
He was especially clever in Acts :
and 3. Henry Cox, as Colonel Burton
and Archie Madison, as Lieut.. Bur
ton, son OF the Confederate Colonel
were both very strong leads.
One of the most compelling dra
matte seem in the whole play was
brought out by Mr.. Cox and Mr.. Madi
son, in search for the spy, who es
capped through the chimney. Mrs
Ella Lawson, as Mrs. Burton, tht
mother of Diana and Lieut.. Burton
displayed an ability which was ont
of the most striking features of thu
POI lAloAlSS. Ii hlOhuAGlltOh VI hCl
voice, the Southern infections, made
it seem that she herself was a typica
a~ristocratic Southern mother. vii
liam Marshall, as Lige, the servant
was a ''scream"-that is the onl.
word TO use in describing how HI
confidence of the audience so strongl!
until they yelled Come on Lige'
when thrilling climaxes were being
scored.
Mrs. A. Mae Chandler was as
equally good in her portrayal of Aunt
Chloe. Her costume and her makeup
and Southern dialect was indeed very
good, and she played her part well.
The costume of the entire cast was
rich and attractive. Mrs. Lula Madi
son, Kansas City's lyric soloist
brought down the house by the rem
dition of "Mammy's Chocolate Sol
der Boy Mr.. Edward Boatner, the
favorite, returned repeated encores
each time captivating the audience.
Some of the leading white citizens
were in the audience, who expressed
themselves as being agreeably sur
prised and highly entertained. They
stated that they knew of the Negroes
great singing ability but did not know
before of the high class dramatic act
ing ability.
The management of the theater
paid glowing compliments to Mrs,
Osborne, as the trainer of the cast
and to the entire dramatic club of the
rnlnnncrfnl rnnditinn of the nlnv