Mexico Missouri message. (Mexico, Audrain County, Mo.) 1899-1918, 1905-10-12
"rHR PASSION PLAY"
Mrs. w. ]. Bryan in the Common.
er Tells Of Something so Old
Il is New.

Every mdBaAiu6 anu many news
papers gave detailed accounts Of
the wonderful Passion Play enact.
ed there and of the thousands who
hocked to witness it. Each writer
emphasized the fact that only once
in ten years is The Passion Play
presented. You may imagine my
delight 10 learn that this year an
exception had been made and that
something worth whild was doing
in Obersmmergau.
The village lies quite encircled
10y mountains and no railroads
have yet ventured there. The out.
err world was quite unaware of the
existence of this little place until
twenty or thirty years ago. Then
the newspaper men raised a mighty
shout. Come quick" said they,
I'VE have found something SO old
that il is very new indeed. Nearly
a thousand years ago England saw
our Christ live and die and live
again in these strange plays. Long
after, Germany's peasants won.
dered and wept at the same sights.
But they all forgot. Only little
Oberammergau remembered. Come
aud see living fragment of the
long dead past" And come they
did. The rich, the poor, the ig-
norant, the learned, the priest, the
scOffer poured thru the mountain
passes aud broke the quiet of the
valley. Oberammergau awoke and
learned about the world.
The village shows the trace OF
foreign fingers. Old Gasthauses
are slyly growing into large no,
els; he shop windows are full oI
ouvenirs for travellers; the girli
are not often in peasant dress til,
young men wear their curIs with I
more jaunty air.
Are you wondering, as | did
why the peasants play this year,
High above the town on noun
tain side stands the answer; tn,
three figures of the crucifxion
done in white marble and of gi
gantic size. This group was giver
to Oberammergau by King Lud
wig, the Second, thirty years age
this summer. The play which we
see was given then in honor of the
king aud Of his gift and is now re-
peated for the first time on this thu
anniversary of that occasion. Tit
play tells the story of King DayiC
and between acts, tableaux from
the Passion Play are presented, S,
that when the curtain goes dowI
on the final act one feels that h
has seen not only the life of Dayi
but the real pith of the Passio
Play as well.
/ wish ! might give you clej
idea of the stage. | had gathered
from reading that it was hug
platform with the Oren sky an,
twitterimg birds with the audience
also under the canopy of Heaven
but this is not altogether true.
Imagine a huge shedlike builC
ing with a curving roof. All Lin
coin readers will be interested {
know that the general shape of tn
interior of the building is an exec
! t counterpart of the Ljncol
A litorium. Here are seats for fOu
thousand people The floor slope
IL the front, the orchestra sits in
neat little box next to the stage
all quite comfortable and moderl
In this building IScenled The frui
Of the foreign invasion. In IL
good old days the peasants sureI
did not fare we'll. The stage is
large platform, built of not tC
smooth planks and open to the SIX.
In the center from left to RICH
but at the back a box-like houi
has been built, severely Grecian
style. This is the real stage, Il
acting is done on the platform, Il
focal point is always inside, al
one could see with his minds e!
the players scurrying under tn
shelter if rain came. To the rig
and left are porticoes and arch
thru which one catches glimps
Of the fat roofs aud turrets of j
rusalem. The stage disappoint'
me.
The drama is PLAYED by Ave hui