Omaha daily bee., 1902-02-07
Arthur Rollins John.on's Lecture.

In his lecture on THE Passion Play Of
1900" delivered at KountEe Memorial
church last night under the auspices of
post A, Travellers Protective association.
Arthur Boiling Johnson. an entertainer Of
splendid voice and pleasing delivery.
brushed aside without apology most OF the
magazine-created conceptions OF Oberam-
mergau that he might show the people of
that Bavarian town in their true and bet
ter light, He said they are not peasants.
but rarely cultured folk, and that the
Passion Play IL not the creation OF a re-
ligious frenzy. but the accomplishment Of
an intelligent and painstakinR dramatic
genius-plous but practical.
He denies, too. that there are or ever
will be any genuine moving pictures Of the
quaint religious speetscles and early admits
that his illustrations are posed subjects
selected from the 1900 original negatives
taken by himself. Rev. John j. Lewis OF
Boston and =. Burton Holmes OF Chicago
during q stay Of several weeks In Oberam-
mergau, while the play Of 1900 was being
produced. He strikes, with the hand OF an
iconoclast, the accepted tradition hat the
play originated In 1888, when the people
Of 0berammergau pledged God tina IL He
would stay the plague then devastating all
Bavaria they would produce, every ten
years, a drama illustrative of the Christ's
last days on earth, and gives the different
explanation that the plan adopted in that
year was simply one to produce at these
regular intervals what had been Produced
at irregular intervals for hundreds of years.
and says Of the plague that none is recorded
In history for that country for $50 years
on either side OF the date thai tradition
names. -
T b Views with which he illustrates his
lecture we're taken carefully and he pridee
himself on excelling In the color scheme
by reason Of having sent Mrs. Rose Bogart
Of Chicago to oberammergau to spend three
months studying this feature with the fur
Their aid of pieces of the costumes worn
In the pi&y by the three-fourths Of the
towns residents who were in the cast.
His s~tereopticon 10 the property Of Major
T. j. Mapes. who operated for John L.
stoddard for seventeen years prior to the
~latter's retirement from the lecture plat
form nve years ago. and who 10 with Mr.
johnson now. ~ 4Nf a"f'F ~t4'
Mr.. Johnscn's talk, aside from the SALIENT
points Just given, is merely an interestins
description of q town distinctly more mod,
ern than It Is credited with being. and
made unique by the presence Of a produc.
tion absolutely without parallel or coun.
JerparC The pictures are OF the mos
impressive Of the seventeen acts and
twenty-five tabIeaux Of the play Of 1900; o.
the oberammergauers on and on the stag,
who impersonated the principal charac.
tiers; Of the wondrous theater in which tn,
play was given to a daily attendance o
thousands from many lands: Of the route I,
oberammergau and Of scenes about tn,
town incident to. but in no way ~connecte,
with the play.
, Perhaps because he was a newspaper ma,
until sent to Bavaria by a syndicate. Mr.
Johnson appears to care little for tradition
but much for fact, and tells what he know
q without especial eloquence. but t. withou
waste Of words.
: Tonight at the same place and under IN,
same auspices. he tells Stories OF the Oh
South and the New:'' tomorrow night b
, talks Of '"rhe Paris Fair OF 1900" Bot
: lectures are to be illustrated. The attend
ance last night was squite large.
. At the special request Of the Board q
Education and for the beneft Of the teach
ers and pupils of the public schools. Nj
Johnson will repeat THE Passion PLAY
Saturday afternoon.