Barre evening telegram. (Barre, Vt.) 1898-19??, 1901-11-13
STAGE IN Wisely RUINS
Historical Play Given In Sum-
mer by Swedish Peasants.
TO ATTRACT FOREIGN TOURISTS.
A ROOhess Church II the Theater.
Scene of Production Similar In
OberammerRau.

Some Respects to That Given at
Oberammergau.
| Actuated by desire to extend the
fame Of their picturesque old city and
convert its historical associations and
ivy clad ruins into cash by bringing
tourists, who seldom 80 there now, and
| at the same time to revive and pre-
| serve the memories Of the past the
good people Of Visby, writes William
| E. Curtis from Sweden to the Chicago
| Record-Herald, are trying to emulate
| those Of Oberammergau and are pre-
senting historical play each Sunday
| during the summer season. The cast Is
| composed entirely of home talent, the
costumes, scenery and properties are
all Of local design and manufacture,
and every one who participates is an
amateur, young men and women of
good families, who contribute their
services for no compensation but glory
and the admiration Of their friends.
Ossian Hamrin, superintendent Of
schools is the genius who suggested
and organized the affair and acts as
stage manager.
The play selected 10 inaugurate the
enterprise is entitled 'Santa Maria"
and was written by Zacharias Topeli-
us, a Finnish poet Of local fame, who
died last year. 1t is based upon the
first Swedish crusade, when Raimund
Gothic went from Visby to Finland
.rk
the Films from paganism to Christian
ity. Raimund was accompanied by his
beautiful daughter Sgrun, mission
airy named Angelethus and large
company Of monks.
This play is given within the roofess
walls of the old church Of st. Nicholas.
The bricks are ripe with antiquity, and
the wounds which time has made are
concealed by masses of English ivy
which hang in festoons from the arch
es. The pillars, the windows and the
arches that sustain the roof are almost
perfect. There is no more beautiful
ruin in all Europe. The stage is placed
where the altar formerly stood and Is
encrcled by the foliage Of the trees
Long tiers of pine benches rise one aft
err the other throughout the entire eds
fee and make Il striking contrast to
the mullioned windows, whose delicate
carving has endured for seven centu-
rieS.
The audience came from all over the
island, from Stockholm and from other
,.E 7 oil y.rfn tbn
capital of Finland, and other cities Of
that country. A row of excursion steam
ers was tied up at the dock, and spe-
cial trains from the uttermost parts of
the little island of Gotland arrived and
departed, so as to accommodate the
people who wished to attend the play.
1t was a solemn and thoughtful gath
erng. The audience seemed to be i'm
pressed with the romantic surroundings
and to appreciate in the profOundest
manner the Importance of the occasion.
We had been in and out of churches all
the morning, but nowhere did we feel
the air of solemnity so much. People
spoke to each other in whispers. The
prattle of children was hushed, and the
back into the shrubbery, feeling that
he was out of place.
The lines were rected in very anna
flourish manner, like schoolboys in
dialogue on Friday afternoon, and the
scenery and the costumes were of the
most primitive character The robes
were Of ordinary shifting, ornamented
with the commonest kind of colored
CLOTH The helmAts and the arrows We're
made Of tin by the local tnsmith, and
all the other properties had a home
made appearance. In such costumes
the priest and the warrior, the monks
and the beautiful maiden stood up and
detained their lines at the audience
without Evolutionary effect and with
the most awkward gestures. On an or
binary stage it would have been gro
tesque and excited ridicule, but in those
surroundings it was most impressive.
The spectator forgot the present His
mind was transported into the past. far
back into the centuries, and he seemed
to see real people doing real things up
on the stage.
Although rude, the play Is well worth
seeing. We went expecting to stay only
u few moments, but remained to the
end.
st. Nicholas, in which 1t Is given, Is
the best preserved and the most i'm
posing of all the ruined churches, being
1876 by 65 feet in size Two hundred
years ago it was the chapel of a Domin-
ican monastery.