The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1900-11-21
THE PASSION PLAY.
The Great Oberdmmergau Festival
as Seen by Dr.. Sinclair.


In the Presbyterian church Mon
day evening a large and hearty
gathering greeted DR.. John Sin
clair, whoselecture on the Passion
Play was graphic pen picture
from beginning to end; so that, be-
fore the lecture was done, the audi
ence seemed to feel as if transferred
to Oberammergau, to have looked
on people and scenes and the sur
roundings Of the play with nearly
as much reality as if they we're be-
held in real life, Several times in
his descriptions OF such events in
the life of the Lord as the agony in
Gesthemane and the crucifixion on
Calvary, the audience for several
minutes at a time sat breathless
and felt relieved when they could
breathe again. The descriptions
were wonderfully.lucid and the lee
ture as a whole would do great
credit to any OF the members of the
New York or Chicago bureaus who
are in the work of lecturing all the
time.
\ The first few minutes we're de-
voted to an account Of the passage
across the Atlantic in which sever
al funny incidents were recorded,
which put the audience in a merry
humor.
! An account was given Of the jour-
ney from London to Bavaria and the
lecturer gave the assurance that
travelling in Europe and living at
hotels were less expensive than in
this country.
| It was very difficult to secure
rooms at Oberammergau unless en-
gagged several weeks before. An
amusing incident was related Of a
little red haired lady from Boston,
who, by her vehement eloquence,
frightened Cook agent into giving
her three rooms at the hotel where
he had assured her that there was
positively only one room left.
DR.. Sinclair arrived there on Sat-
urday night and was awakened
Sunday morning about seven o clock
by the musical tones of the village
church bell His bedroom was
small and cramped but he was am
ply rewarded in the morning on
looking out of his two by two win
dows. He was on the outskirts of
the village and had full opportunity
of watching the villagers driving
their COWS and sheep and goats to
the pastures and afterwards re-
pairing to church for mass before
they entered the theatre to imper-
senate in the greatest event in the
world. The men and women all
wore their hair long and dressed
in loose garments to represent the
people of Palestine in the time OF
Christ.
The history of the play was pc
culiar. In 1882 a plague.visited the
village and 800 of its tinhabitants
fell victims to the plague. The
priests called the people together
and they vowed vow that as long
as time was they should offer a sac
rifice to the Lord every ten years
if He removed the plague. The
plague was stayed and the Passion
Play began. It was given in the
cemetery adjoinicg the church for
two centuries. 1t was removed to
! it's present site 20 years ago. Ten
years ago, the present theatre,
which holds 1000 people, was built.
It was barn like structure outside
but contained beautiful frescoes
and paintings inside. t. was en-
tirely open at the stage ends and the
audience looked all the time on the
towering hills, the gnarled old
trees and smoothly flowing Ammer
river. Birds perched themselves
around the stage works and sang
their songs while the play proceed
ed. A large cross stood on the
; summit of one Of the hills. That
: Cross and what it meant, was the
secret of the success of the play.
A chorus of thirty men and won.
en-. dressed in magnificent Eastern
costumes appeared before every
scene and sung sweet, classical
music. suitable to the. scene which
was to follow. Joseph Meyer, who
had nlaved the mart IF tho Christ fl,