Omaha daily bee., 1910-09-30

With the final performance Of the 1910
Passion play this week, the little Bavarian
village Of oberammergau goes to sleep for
another decade. II will only come into the
public eye again in 1919 when the first
rumors Of the great religious spectacle OF
1890 begin to be heard and the Passion play
committee meets and elects from among
the simple villagers, the Christus. the Gaia
phas the St John. the Mary Magdalene'
the thieves, the prophets and all the other
principles who take part in the decennial
celebration of the deliverance Of the COM
munity from a plague of the middle ages.
When the plans are formulated for the
Passion play of 1870 there will be many
changes in the methods OF management,
for the Oberammergauerites have PROMISED
TO profit by some of the. unfortunate eX-
periences of the last five months. II is
probable that the contracts with tourists
agencies. who controlled the booking ar
/ rangements this year will be materially
modified in 1890, FOR great has been the dis
satisfaction, not only on the part OF Visl-
tors, but among the inhabitants themselves
who feel aggrleved at the lack of comfort
with which the spectators have had TO
| contend.
This is the first season that the Oberam-
mergau villagers have allowed agencies TO
make reservations for the Passion play.
Heretofore all negotiations have been con-
Quoted with the villagers direct, but this
year the prospective spectator was per-
mitted to go to a tourist office in London
or to branches in any of the great CONT
mental cities and ask that reservations
be made The tourist office, upon receiving
advices from Oberammergau, supplied the
/ applicant with slip giving the name OF
the villager with whom he was to lind
Accommodations in the little town nesting
in a hollow among the hills, on the banks
Of the River Ammer.
Getting off the crowded trains from the
city OF Munich. the visitor, his slip i'm hand
epplies at the tourist office at the realrosd
station. There he was supplied with
credentials 30 his Oberammergau host
Turning TO leave the station he was &C
costed' by one-only one-of large number
of long haired boys who stood silently al
the elbow of each visitor while he was talk
ing with the agent The boy heard the
name OF the villager at whose house the
stranger was TO stay and as the latter
turned from the office the boy Queried
"Herr-'s?" When the answer was yes
the boy quietly offered to take suit cases
and bags. and trudging slowly ahead
through the main street crowded will
people, conducted the sightseer TO hi
hosts home. There one found spotlessl!
clean quarters which varied in size an'
comforts according to the price paid-fron
500 to S6.25 a day. The rules Of the vii
H lage were that the visitor must stay a
II least two days in the town, the night pre-
Y ceding and the night of the play. Whethe
he remained the night of the play or rushe-
d back to Munich after o'clock, he mus
d pay for the two days otherwise he cou
not have been sure of securing his seat a
g the performance.
p The best seats in the vast theater wer
sold for $3.50 and they were not in tn
II front rows The seats very near the stag
h are not considered desirable. because Their
lie seldom a day in Oberammergau withou
n rain. Sometimes II is a very gentle Shove
and on other occasions IL comes down 4
i torrents Those who sit near the front ar
e subjected to all the discomforts of down
n pour in the open without any protection
for the theater is a vast auditorium wit
only three wallis. The stage is in the ope
h and the rain beats into the faces of tn
spectators who are seated nearest I'll
orchestra.
The Oberammergau theater ushers allo'
y no one to raise an umbrella during the pei
Torrance. II the rain Is uncomfortable III
ouly recourse Is TO leave the building. IN
actors are not deferred by deluges. The
costumes are OF rich velvet silks and sal
ms. but they have no thought for thes'
They come upon the stage apparently ur
conscious of all unfavorable weather cor
ditions. 1t frequently happened during tn
season just closed that rains and thunder
storms came at what seemed to be mos
= suspicious dramatic moments. On numel
Gus occasions during the erucifixion seen
there would flash from the lowering cloud
the vivid tongue of lightning which woul
illumlne the deathlike pallor of the CHRISTI
and the boom OF reverberatng thunder q
il echoed from mountain to mountai
seemed as IL the elements were in leagu
with the simple peasants In giving impre
siveness to their performance.
The audiences at Oberammergau were 6
interesting as were the performers. A lart