The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1910-12-18

and for almost four hundred years it
has been represented every decade.
1t is this VOW which gives it its pc
culiar religious character and makes
1t an act of worship for all who take
part In it. The speaker of the Pro-
logue refers to it when he says:
Pray with us now, pray, for again
the hour has come wherein we pay
the sacred debt we vowed long
since to yield to our God
The play being in fulfillment Of a
VOW made by the parish, none but
natives can take part in it. A year
before the performance, a committee.
OF which the parish priest and Bur
gomeister are ex-officio members, Sc
lects the persons for the different
parts. All accept the parts assigned
to them in a spirit of obedience. They
practice faithfully through the year,
and all are perfect I'm their parts be-
lore the first performance.
The theatre in which the perform
ance takes place is plain but solid
structure. It has over four thousand
seats. The stage is open % wind and
weather and the performance is new
er interrupted because of bad wealth
er. The seats for the audience are
under shelter. There is very little
artificial scenery; the background for
every scene being the pine-clad hills.
There are about thirty perform
ances during the season, the first one
being first Sunday in May and the
last towards the end of September.
When the crowd is too large to be
accommodated one day an extra per
fofmance is given on the following.
Day Of the Performances
On the morning of July 18th, there
We're no late s1eepers in the village
AT five O'Clock there was a lecture
IN English by a Protestant minister.
III the town hall and a High Mass,
attended by all the performers in the
church. After mass it was a hasty
breakfast and rush to the theatre.
The play begins at eight o'clock.
There is an interval for rest from
twelve TO two and the last scene is
over at six o'clock. Five minutes
before the appointed time every seat
In the auditorium was occupied We
heard the sound of cannon from
the hills and ere its echoes had died
away the speaker of the prologue ad-
vanced TO the centre of the stage and
the great play had begun
1T would require a more skilful pen
than mine to do full Justice to what
followed No words can adequately
describe it. TO be appreciated it must
De seen. 1t is a faithful representa-
ton of the sufferings and death of
Jesus Christ: vivid recital of the
story that transformed the world,
Before each scene there is tableau
representing some scene from the old
Testament which prefsures the
scene from the new to follow, the
chorus meantime singing, to the &C
compartment of solemn strains, the
explanation.
The play opens with the driving of
the buyers and sellers from the tenn
pie. Here We see the man God. in
al! His majesty, procIaiming that
His Fathers House is a house OF
prayer and Furnishing those who would
make it a den of thieves. From that
moment We forgot Anton Lang. the
actor. We were transported back
through the centuries and saw .Iesus
as he walked amongst men. We saw
him as He must have appeared to
His contemporaries and understood
that story, so familiar to all, more
clearly than ever before. For four
hours we followed that sacred story
We listened to the merchants plot.
ilng to enSnare Him. We sat speIl-
bound during that wonderful scene
at Bethany, when Jesus leaves His
Blessed Mother of that moment. The
Apostles did not realize the signif
canoe OF that last journey to Jerusa-
lem. Mary did.
Christ Central FIGURE.
There are many who claim to con-
line their gaze solely to the sublime
central figure of Christ in the xospel
story and walk with ayerted face past
the group OF the holy women. Plant
such people in the theatre Of Oberam
mergau, let them look with dry eyes
ii they can--upo1 tie leayetakine
at Bethany. and then as the universal
SOB rises from thousands of eazers
they will realize, perhaps for the first
time, how intense the passion of SYM
pafhy which they have sealed un. how
powerful the emotion to which thew
forbid themselves to appeal. The
most pathetic figure in the Passion
Play IS not Christ bu, Ills mother.
mere is in Him also subiimity. She
IS simply pathetic. And after Mary.
the mother, comes Mary the Maeda-
iene. Never did their story appear
as IN the Passion Play No Influence
was SO powerful to move the vast
audience to tears. Amidst the gloom
OF the terrible tragedy these two wo-
men stand one, radiant as angels of
bod, the true ideals Of the woman
hood of the world.
me entry into Jerusalem was Won
derful IN the acting Of the multitude.
one felt like joining with the crowd
IN singing Hosanna of the Son of
DaFld. Then came the solemn scene
OF me Last Supper with the discourse
OF Jesus to His Disciples and the in
stitutlon of the Eucharist. This ma
luraIly led to the betrayal of Judas.
Inc part Of Judas was played with
consummate skill. We felt our hearts
1!ed with pity for the unfortunate
DI6clpie, An awful object lesson of
what love of gold will bring upop A
man. 1t changed the whole nature of
! the Disciple. At first he meant no
wrong, He was economical. He world
save Then came dishonesty. which
was quickly followed by loss of faith.
! point which the Gospel does not
warrant but which Saens ,a+,,rot