| Show THE PASSION ILtY New York is greatly ewer cd over the coming presentation in that city of the Passion Play representing re-presenting the crucifixtion of the Savior The press and the pulpit have both protested against the production pro-duction of the play yet their protests pro-tests seem to have only the effect of exciting deeper interest in the coming performance A theatre has been specially built or rather reconstrueted for the purpose 10000 has been Pjent for costumes and paraphernalia and as much more for the hire and instruction of the multitude of people who are to take part in the play No money has been spared where it could be spent to advantage and it is predicted that those who are backing the enterprise with capital will find their investment profitable i The author Salmi Morse was atone at-one time a San Francisco journalist His play was written in that city and performed there two or three I years ago but was a miserable failure financially and otherwise He tried to produce it in New York some time ago but public sentiment was so strong against it that he abandoned the scheme temporarily tempora-rily Now however that he has gained a proper degree of notoriety for himself and his play he will go ahead and make money defying what is called popular prejudice I The idea was caught by Morse from the realistic representation of the Passion every ten years at Ober Ammergau There the occasion is I in the nature ofa religious festival the performances occurring daily for two or three weeks attracting spectators by thousands from the surrounding country The Scripture Scrip-ture text is preserved where ever possible and the scenes made to correspond with the Bible descriptions Morses play is said to be a much superior production to that played at OberAmmergau Everybody says it is revolting to the Christian mindand it does seem sacriligious to represent that most solemn of all solemn events upon the mimic stage but why it should be revolting or sacreligious it Is difficult dif-ficult to say It is in no sense a travesty any more than Shakes peares plays are burlesques of the historical events they represent It is possible that the effect of the representation rep-resentation will be bad upon the public mind but in just what way this will occur we have yet to see explained The religious newspapers have been especially es-pecially severe in the assaults upon Mr Morse and his play yet they have not said why the representation representa-tion should not be made beyond that the subject is something that ought not to be vulgarized into a theatrical performance The argument argu-ment may be good and yet it is not clear It ought not to lessen ones reverence for the Savior to witness a mock representation of the event that opened the way for mans redemption re-demption The last performance the Passion Play in OberAmrner gau occurred over two years ago and the Catholic World at the time contained a long and entertaining account or me solemn ana interesting interest-ing representation Below we give an extractrom that account which will convey to the reader aclear idea of Mr Morses coming performance in New York The soldiers stand as if on paradenever for a moment losing sight of the fact that they are on duy The mob is a verita ble blood thirsty rabble and it mocks its meek and helpless victim with all the fiendish malignity born of ignorant and brutal passion The priest Joshua comes forward and rend Ring of the Jews Babl he ironically cries if thou art TT King of Israel come down now from the cross that we may sea and believe Caiph is not behindhand He saTed others be yells Himself he cannot save Annas exclaims He trusted in God let Him now deliver Him if Ha will have Him for He Eaid1 am the SOD of God And the words come from the cross II Father forgive thorn for they I know not what they do And now the thief on the Jelt wags his head and tauntingly cries Ye if Thou be Christ save Thyself and us whereupon thoother malefactor humbly exclaims and we hang upon his words in a sort of mule ecstaeyLord remember when Thou 01111681 into Thy King me Dg dom The Redeemer casts a look full of tenderness upon this man who repents even at the seventh hour this egrand type of repentance for ever more and says Amen I say unto thee this day thou shalt be with me in Para disc As these words were spoken a sob rose from the audience We never move our eyes from the central figure we share his torturas The prolongation of his amounts to agony dumb pain a gnawing a yearning for the end Our heat leaps into flame as a soldier rudely repulses Mary who now endeavors to advance to the foot of the cross A cen turion orders a spice to ha rtTonrert o Mary and her following The soldiers press back the murmuring priests and the exasperated crowd Mary iTagdalene stands near the foot of the OIPs The Madonna is oa the right Behind 111 John Joseph or Arima1he and WlcoaeuS down weighed with years are at a little datsBcc Lazarus is on the left In edvance of a group of women of Jerusalem There Me not I many unmoVCI1 in that vest audience as the Redeemer in a voice of exquisite tenderness exclaims to the Virgin Woman behold thy son aid then to St John Son behold thy mother This 5s a wondrous a picture pic-ture Mary supported by the women her white face upturned to hl < r dying son who e f tee is bedewed with the sweat of de + tc Magdalene her long hair bunging over her shoulders leaning her head KKBinsi the wood of the cross John the very impersonification of manhood grief I thirst conies from the cross II He is athirst says a centurion and callbth for water A soldier fills a spot ce with vinegar and raises it to his mouth Then comes the cry from the Redeemer Eli Mi lamma subac thaniMy God my God why bus thou forsaken me The cry causes the audience audi-ence to quiver What doth be meant asked two of the Pharisees He calleth for Elias is responded Let us see if Elias remote take him down is the taunting reply of paipbaE And now the awful moment h i at hand when the Son of Stan is to yield up the ghost Already Al-ready have convulsive movements of his body announced that the end is near Once again he lifts up his meek yet agonized ag-onized face and crying with a loud voice It It is consummated Father unto Thy hands I commend my spirit the bead sinks lowly upon the breast and all is over Maier has been suspended fully twentyfive minutes and the strain is immense He is supported at the back by sort of corset with a loop that fits into a clasp attached to the cross while the wrists are fastened by bands invisible to the audience and his feet rest upon a ledge Nevertheless the fatigue of remaining re-maining in one position and upon such slender support is almost unbearable yet never for one second Toes this wondrous won-drous actor present any physical torture to interfere with the sablimity of the role he is culled on to perform and his acting is euporb at tho close of the scene as it Is at the commencement Christ dies There is a sound as of thunder thun-der in the distance the elements are set loose the sun is darkenedho earlbeals blackness falls upon the world Terror reigns supreme Indescrlable fear seizes upon the ep cUtors The centurion exclaims ex-claims Indeed this was ajust manlTruly he is the Son of God and many are convinced con-vinced with him A man rushes in with the tidings that the veil of the Temple is rent in twain Caiphas declares it tho work of Beelzebub Jehovah has had nothing to say to it II Let Uil go he cries It and see what hath taken place But I will immediately return tor leap not rest until 1 nave seen the limbs broken and the bodies cast into the deep grave of malefactors The executioners execution-ers place ladders against the crosses upon which hang the two malefactors and with heavy clubs proceed to break their bones This realism is almost revolting It is horrible to lee these brawnv brutes raise their clubs and let them fall with a dull thud on the limbs of the malefac torslimbs that actually seem to break under the force of the blow It is horri ble to ECO the heads of thee wretches sink lower and lower as the life is beaten out of them and as the last blow is struck over the heart to behold the bodies quiver |
