Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1914-03-17
THE PASSION PLAY
BY S. X. KIsEUTzER.

parents, Hon. AMI Mrs. a. L..
Kreuzer, he saw the play given
in its entirety and he is thus able to
write the splendid and very realistic
description he has of the famous
play 1t is very interesting and es-
pecially so at this, the time of the
Lenten season. Knox is on his second
year as student in the Asheville
school at Asheville, n. C.-ED1
Every ten years in the remote
Bayarian town of ODer-Ammergau
there is given agres.t religious drama.
Some two hundred and fifty years
ago, nearly all the population of the
country, and this little village was
swept away by a great plague which
was at that time raging in southern
Germany. When the dreadful scoIrge
invaced the little town, the terrified
inhabitants made solemn vow TO
their God, that if they were spared
from further rayages of the disease,
they would perform the Passion of
Christ every TENTH year. AS if in
answer to this plea. the pestilence
ceased, and for this reason the humble
peasants have since felt it their
sacred duty TO carry out the solemn
promise of their ancestors TO portray
in dramatic form the various import
ant incidents in the life of Christ.
AS soon as this wonderful drama
emerged from its long obscurity, it
attracted worldwide attention. Hith-
er every ten years, flock thousands of
people from every corner of the glob e.
At first, we wondered where these
humble villagers obtained the dra-
matte ability that they display through
out the performance. However, We
soon realized that the giving of the
play is the most important event in
their lives. They are all filled with
the same religious zeal which comes
from lifelong study of the Passion
Play. The actors are chosen nearly
year ahead and often act until they
grow too old for it. They are then
given the roles of older characters or
act as directors The men chosen al
low their boards and hair to grow for
a year. Thus they really come to be
the Character they represent as nearly
as it is possible for any one to be
Added to this. the isolation OF the
little town keeps the people unspoiled
from contact with the great world.
1t is this simple, religious zeal and
experience that has made the great
Passion Play what it is today.
The play is given in huge theatre
situated near the end of the village
and is capable of holding four tbous-
and people. The stage is built to
represent part OF the city of Jerusa-
lem. A Building in the center, in
which the tableaux are given, repre-
sents the Jewish synagogue. At
either side were arched passageways
which represented streets. TO the
right and the left of each passageway
were two buildings. The house on
the right of the stage was that of
Annas the High Priest; that on the
left was the home Of plate, the
Roman Governor. The rest of the
stage was entirely uncovered, thus
leaving the actors exposed to the sun
or rain, The balance of the theatre,
devoted to the audience, was entirely
rooted over.
In the performance there are six
hundred and eighty-tive persons en-
gagged, including the chorus; out of
this number, there are fifty women
ano two hundred children. Altogeth-
er there are one hundred and twenty
five speaking parts.
Sharply at eight o'clock in the
morning the play commenced with an
overture by the orchestra, concealed
from view. As soon as the overture
was finished, the chorus drew out,
half from each side of the stage, and
swept gracefully together forming
semi-circle across the stage. They
were dressed in long white tUnics,
draped ove- with beautiful colored
mantles and girdled at the waist.
This band of twents-four persons
took the part of the old Grecian
chorus: that is, they explained and
interpreted the various scenes that
followed.
After singing, the chorus drew
back again, while the curtain rose TO
reveal Adam and Eve being driven
out of Paradise. These taoleaux are
taken from incidents in the Old
Testament which bear on the
events in the New. Thus each
tableau typities the act which
is TO follow, and is explained by the
chorus singing while we look at the
picture. When the curtain falls the
chorus resumes It's place and the sing
ing proceeds interrupted now and
then by the speaker of the prologue.
In this way the symbolic groups. acts
and songs glide into one. another
throughout the clay.
When the chorus left the stage,
we saw throng of people approach
from down the two streets. The
crowd came forward on the stage
eagerly waving palm branches and
crying, "Hosanna.' In the midst we
perceived the humble yet dignitied
figure of the Christ, as he rode along
on the back of NIUE. To him are
directed all their joyous shouts.
One thing especially impressed me
at this point in the play and that was
the large number of people who with
out seeming to be crowded, were
gathered on the stage az this one
tirae. When ] considered that nearly
seSen hundred actors were moving
about on the stage, it was hard to