Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1910-11-30
THE NEW PASSION PLAY.


There is to he new venture in
augurated in the field of the passion
play Not content with the present
production under Catholic auspices.
which has been given at Oberammer-
gau with success for several de-
cades, the promoters of the new play
win present for the first time next
summer the new life of Jesus" under
Protestant auspices, as contrasted with
the Catholic version at Oberammergau
the new production to be given at
Eisenach, Saxe-Weimar, the Cradle
of the Reformation.
The new pay will be presented not
by pesants but 10y the best actors that
can be recruited from the theatres of
Europe, the new version being by the
Herr Weiser, stage manager of the
Grand Ducal Court Theatre at Wei
mar, The famous little playhouse in
which Goethe's and Schiller's works
were first performed The Grand Duke
| of SaXe-Weimar and the Duke of Sake
Meiningen, the latter of whom is an
expert stage manager, as well as cell
ebrities of international reputation in
art and religion, have assured the
new enterprise their support, while
sufficient capital has already been
| promised to guarantee its adequate
financial support.
To those who appreciate worthily
presented dramatic productions the
announcement of the new venture will
come as a pleasing message, for the
new production should be triumph of
dramatic art and truth. What virtue
is there in having group of peasants
present religious drama in which
they are expected to lay bare by means
of depicting soul crises of the most
stirring and intricate kind the very
hearts of the heroes and keroines OF
the early days? Does man secure a
cobbler to plot the parabolas of cal
calcus or to fathom the mystery of
the fourth dimension? No more
should the unframed genius be ex-
pected to give an adequate interpreted
ton of the characters of the passion
play.
Almost without exception the crit
icisms that have been passed on the
Oberammergau production of the pas
sion play have come from persons who
are so frankly of an ecclesiastical turn
of mind that they either do not con
slider it reverent to notice the defic-
iencies in a religious production, dc
not approve of visiting the theatres
or have practically no knowledge OF
what real acting is. One would ex-
pect in advance nothing but a stero-
typed opinion of the passion play from
such "a critic" 20 it's grand" or I'll
was the most impressive thing I've
ever SEEN" is about all any of this Tx
can say about the passion play They
have no real knowledge of dramatic
art and truth, consequently they can
not tell why the passion play was
grand or impressive" They might
say the same thing of every dramatic
production their narrow vision per-
mitted them to see.
The religious playgoer is pledged to
see play only from a religious or
sectarian viewpoint He cannot for
that reason have the Inclusive vision
of one who is bound to no denomina-
ton or sect. The critic must first OF
all efface himself, if he would see g
thing in true relation. Perhaps the
criticism of Miss Rose Stahl, the &C
tress, has more genuine worth in it
than a score of others that have been
recorded. 1t is Miss aStahlis frank
opinion that some of the actors at
Oberammergau were orudely aping
the MANNERS of actors on the stage
which greatly detracted from their
work. Their simple, peasant interpre
tation of the characters was worth
something, while their pathetic as
sumption of some of the manners of
the stage, with no real knowledge of
the stage, was weak and vitlating. The
new passion play should be worth
while to Miss StaEl and to other an
preciators of genuine merit.