The independent-reporter., 1910-12-08

ing, eating his simple lunch which is
brought to him there that he may not
have his mind distracted by again be-
coming Anton Lang, the peasant, that
an American woman, you have all
seen her type, seeing Mr.. Lang enter
the room, rushed up to him and said,
oh. Mr. Lang, | want to congratu-
late you upon your wonderful act
lng!' Bowing low but without smile
on his tired face, he replied Thank
you Madam, | regard it as a great
mission"
l have often heard it said that the
people who take part in the Passion
play live their parts from little chill
dren. This is not so. The perform
ers are chosen to fill the parts by the
Town Council, which is composed of
twenty members nominated by the
villagers, together with the village
priest as honorary member. Every
detail Is entrusted to this committee,
whose final edict is law and from
whose decision there Is no appeal or
question. They begin their lives as
players some six months before the
opening of the play and during that
time and while the play is in pro-
gress they entirely lay aside their
own lives becoming John, Peter, or
Judas, and only after the last curtain
do they again become the simple viii
lage folk of Oberammergau, again
known by their Bavarian names.
Mary, the Mother of Jesus, is al
ways a young unmarried woman and
this year the part is taken by Ottilie
Zwinck, whose father Is the famous
Judas of three decades, before which
he was twice John. 1t is, of course,
the most important female role and
when in speaking with Mrs. Richards,
who congratulated her upon the great
honor which had been bestowed upon
her, she said: so long as | remained
with the father, | kept back my own
tears, but only until | was alone,
then. Ten years | had thought of
this hour ten years | had hoped and
prayed so often prayed before the
play of 1900, but | was too young
then and very delicate. Now, it has
all come to pass and | am so happy
Her face is the expression of the
beautiful soul therein and her voice
one of remarkable purity, strength
and sweetness.
Her father, Johannan Zwinck for
the third time took the trying part
of Judas. To friend, he said: 81
am not a Judas in my heart So
realistic is his acting that one sees
and feels with him, first to hate him
as the traitor of his Divine Master
and secondly to pity his terrible re-
morse for his awful deed
Mary Magdalena, the daughter of
1n, haa Ell
ed face and a wonderful naturalness
of expression.
John, the beloved disciple is Alfred
Bierling, a youth of eighteen. He
has a wonderfully beautiful face and
is believed by many to be the com
ing Chirstus of 1920.
Peter, the sturdy and staunch who
It last yields to temptation to shield
himself, is a fine looking man of some
fifty years with a face not at all what
you would expect in Bavarian peas
ant. His earnestness is what i'm
pressed me most.
Each and every performer seems
to have been made for their part and
with all their heart and soul they
enter into the play, SO that one al
most forgets that the scene is laid
in the Bavarian mountains and that
the people are simple German peas
ants but almost could one believe
that they were looking at the streets
of ancient Jerusalem, upon the Jews
and High priests of old and the suffer
ings of our Savior.
The Passion play, as given today is
something SO wonderful that | wish
you might all have seen it through
my eyes. or better still your own,
instead of only through my poor and
futile pen. | have read many arti-
cles, have heard many people express
their views, some from coldly criti-
cal point of view. others with preju-
dice in their mind and still others who
believed there could be nothing more
perfect achieved by man. One dear old
lady, the Mother Superior in con-
vent of Mercy, said to me: oh! no,
would not wish to see it. could
not look upon the sufferings of our
blessed Lord. as portrayed by man"
1t seems to me that an unbiased
observer must say that the Passion
play is a wonderful factor in history.
Aside from its religious influence, the
hnish and beauty of the play surpass
many of the very fine religious plays
that | have seen on our own American
stage.
Their stage Is uncovered except for
an arched affair In the center beneath
which the tableaux are given and two
entrances or porticoes on either side,
one the entrance to the house of Pi-
late, the other the house of the High
priest Annas
There are two sets of costumes
used. one the old ones. for rainy days
when the actors and chorus must
stand for hours wholly at the mercy
Of the elements, the other, the new
costumes which are used on sunny
days. We were 80 fortunate as to
have q beautiful day and 30 missed
M dafail 0f oil thu anlandid array