The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-11-21
STORY OF PASSION PLAYS
BY F. p. MORSE.

i of boards, unroofed except for the stage and boxes, but a new iron building has ] recently been erected with room for 5000 spectators"
 The performance begins with tableau, ''The Tree of Life" the cross on a play is "The Entry into Jerusalem" in which the Christus first appears ass and surrounded by multitude sing ing songs of triumph "The Parting at Bethany and Christ weeping Over Jerusalem" are wonderfully acted by the Bavarian peasants. After that Judas is introduced and becomes the person who arouses the greatest interest among the people in the audience. In the next scene, "The Last Supper" the words Of the text are quoted almost entirely from scripture "The Agony in the Garden was Joseph Mayr's most difficult scene but he played it with wonderful dignity and feeling. "Christ Before Piate' IS the eleventh act of the play "The i Way of the Cross" and "The Crueif1X- 1 ion' are the two great acts of the play which ends with the "Resurrection, in which the Christus is seen for the last time standing on mount, in white ana glistening raiment holding in, his hand the resurrection banner.
 Few modern plays have presented the personality of Christ. In Paul Heyses Mary of Magdala,'' the voice of Christ is heard in the garden. As presented in this country by Mrs. Fiske, the voice Is not heard but one of the characters reports having seen the figure of the Christ In Ben Hur there is a scene in which the Nazarene is supposed to be seen but his presence is suggested by dag zling white light
 Within the past two years, however [ two plays have been produced which ln- directly but unmistakeably present fxt..t Inc 61~Cf nf was Charles Ram Kennedy's "The Ser want in the House. produced in America year ago last spring. The other IS Jerome K. Jerome's 'The Passing Of the Third Floor Back" which was put on in England last winter. and which Is now being presented at the Maxine Eiliott theatre in New York In the latter play the London lodger, played by Forbes Robertson, is accepted by the critics and public as symbolcally standing for the Son of God. In "The Servant In the House." the very name of the central character gives a clear hint to the bolical significance of his personality. The author calls the mysterious Bishop or Bernares Manson" which is unmistak- ably an inversion of Son of Man. careful reading of the text and stage directions removes all doubt of the auth or's meaning In the first act one of the characters says to Manson: who are you?" He replied: T am" and pauses at the ringing of the sanctus beu After a moment he continues: 'I am the servant in this house." A casual reading of that scene does not give one its full meaning. But by reflection one realizes that the Hebrew word that sig nifles God also means "1 am. In the last scene of this play Manson, in an- swer to the vcars question: ''1n Gods name, who are you?' replies, '1n Gods name your brother'' The author spells Name with a capital "N,' and his reason for so doing is quite obvious
 AS matter of fact. there has been no attempt made by the author to disguise the fact that Manson is at least the re- incarnation of the Christ spirit on the stage He admitted that fact to inter- viewers the week the play was produced. In recent article for publication he de- clared that the Bishop of Lancashire stood for Mammon as opposed to Divln- ity in the personality of Manson This Divinity, he declared, Is only the Divin- ity which exists in every man, but 1t is developed in an extraordinary degree In Manson. And in both 'The Servant In the House. and '"The Passing of the Third Back the Christ-like influence of the leading character is felt by every person in the play. Therein lies the secret of the power and vogue Of ''The Servant in the House"
 It is interesting to know that neither
 Charles Ram Kennedys play nor Jerome K. Jeroms's later and very similar drama has caused adverse comment. Both were passed by the English censor. and neither has been attacked by clergymen. In fact, "The Servant in the House" has , been warmly commended by ministers of the gospel, many of whom have made 1t texts for sermons in which they frank ly urged the members of their congrega- tions to witness the stage story of re- incarnated Christ. These two plays may be followed by too daring presentations of Christ on the stage, but in these two at least. the personality of the Son of God is presented Indirectly and the char acter is treated with the greatest rev erence and dignity. That undoubtedly explains the success of the plays. for both English and American audiences are easily shocked, and the day of the old