Show I PELEGRAPHIO The Passion Play New York SThe remodelling of building ii which toe Passion Play is to be produced IB going on continuously continu-ously day and night Rehearsals of the vocal music under Mr 0 Weil composer com-poser and Mr F lasher musical director direc-tor are further advanced than any other part of the preparatory work In the chorus all of whom are competent mu dcians with young fresh voices there area are-a number of choir singer of this city The rehearsals of the dramatic force began be-gan on Monday Mr James ONeil who personated the Savior in the original production of the Passion Play in San Francisco was interviewed on the subject sub-ject of the acting required in this piece Looking at the play from an actors standpoint he raid it offers no inducement induce-ment whatever It is a sublime creation and requires the most rigid simplicity to be observed in every particular No acting nor even a suggestion of it can be tolerated for an instant It is essen ially a spectacular play a succession of beautiful scriptural tableaux It scarcely resembles an ordinary theatre perform nce No applause is allowed and no cat of characters is published Every thing is as unostentatious as it is tosiblo to make it Before production in Sun TranciBCo the most Rev JosS Alemany now Archbishop of California examined and revised it and accorded it bis urf qualified endorsement Wlthont h s approval ap-proval I should not have appeared in the rule which I sumed as I ama am-a Catholic myself and I have never before labored so earnestly to par form the duties allotted me for the rea Eons I have given I dont think his i impracticable for ameteurs it they are persons of intelligence and in thorough sympathy with the purpose of the work to be to trained as to give it most effective representation Among the properties pro-perties will be the reproductions of the furniture of the temple at Jerusalem the molten sea the ark with seraphim upon it the table of shew bread and he Alter of Sacrifice with a burt offering fering upon it The costumes which are making by Eva will be 850 in number and will coit from 3500 to 9000 Some of them intended for the multitude are quite simple but others are very rich and cottly The droese of Herodiaa and Salomi for instance will cost 600 each and still greater will be the value of two dresses of Pontius Pilate one a rich court suit and the other e golden armor Sixty Roman soldiers will be encased in steel ermor It is estimated that including in-cluding the cost of reconstructing the building this production of the Passion Play will have cost between 14000 nnd 515000 when the curtain rises the first night |