Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1879-05-16
THE PASSION PLAY.
A Description, by Dion BOuClcauIt, Of
the Remarkable Representation
hOwled Down In San
Francisco.
speciaI 70 the Courier.Journal.

opeclal 70 the Soufler-JOurnai.
New YORK, May l3.-In a pri-
vate letter to a friend in this city Mr..
Dion Boucicault writes the following
interesting sketch of the notorious
Passion Play, which he saw in San
Francisco
| saw the Passion Play at the Grand
Opera House last night. 1t was beau
titul. IThe house was very poor. |
doubt if the play would be permitted
in the East. 1t creates a peculi ar
feeling. The city fathers of San Fran
cisco passed an ordinance expressly
to squelch this performance. 1t is
contended that they exercised their
constitutional powers in doing so, and
0'Neil is now before tho Plate Of
the Slope" who has not yet passed
judgment on the matter. Mean
while the management has with
drawn the play. AS there has
been no objection to Moses in
Egypt" and The Prodigal Son" the
Witch of Endor as there is no eb-
lection to Elijah" Saul" Para
disc Lost and biblical plays, ora
torios, etc, the question arises, where
are we to draw the line2 What
biblical subjects are tolerable, what
are tabOoed? If admissible into
music and painting two elements of
the divine), how much further into
the art may they gO2 Where is the
line to be drawn? The principal OBJ
lection to me in THE representation is
the vulgarity of some of the perform
ers. To doubt Simon, Peter and John,
and all,the disciples were what we call
vulgar men. but we have put q halo
round them, and the actors wear a
halo like a billieock. Again, in the
scene representing the Last Supper
the stage is divided thus: On the left
is a fantastic shanty open to the audi
ence Just big enough to hold the table
and form a frame to De Vinci's
picture. The other half of the
stage is a wood, intended to
represent the Garden of Gethse-
name. | suppose. Well, after supper,
Christ leaves the table and goes
outside to pray. During his few
words all the disciples inside simulta-
neously droop forward with their faces
down on the table, ranged in regi-
mental sleep, as if the wine had got
the better Of them. Judas" comes
back with two military police officers
and a crowd, and Jesus Christ " is
arrested at supper. This rather
crowds into one spot and one time in
cidents that occurred otherwise. The
last scene, the ascent into heaven, was
an attempt to initiate my last scene in
" Faust and Marguerite" but it
was only partially and i~mperfectly ac-
eomplished. 0'Neil looked very well.
but spoke in a monotone. He has a
slight brogue, Which fell like a com
pliment to the Irish population. By
the way, while looking at this play, it
occurred to me how would it affect me
to witness the performance of the
Stabat Mater with scenic illustra-
ton, dividing the composition into its
parts, and accompanying each part
with a tableau of the great masters
The bearing of the cross, the raising
to the cross, the crucifxion, the de-
scent from the cross, the ascension.
The chorus to be invisible; the voices
to be the d Magdalen y (soprano), the
I" Virgin" (contralto), "St. Peter +"
bass, Joseph of Arrimathea "
(barytone), st. John F" (%tenor), form.
ing the group at the foot of the cross.
| confess that | did feel that such
a ceremony, if well executed, would
have inspired me with worthy senti
ments, and even more than the "0ber
ANN ergann' performance. The OBJ
%jectionable feature in all passion plays
is the utterance Of any words not
found in the gospels, for who can put
words into the mouth of our Saviour?
1t is offensive to my dramatic soul to
hear familiar expressions ia the
mouth Of God, or hear the words in
the text altered or paraphrased in any
way.
Boucicault did not intend this for
publication, but the recipient of the
letter declares hal it is too good to
keep. The actor and dramatist is
now crossing the plains, aud he will
reach New York to open on the 10Th,
in the Grand 0pera-house, in one Of
the Irish plays in his repertory. He
brings back a trunk full of California
gold.