New-York tribune., 1919-12-16
Madison Square Garden Is
Filled for Opening Here
of Religious Spectacle
With a Chorus of 5000
Spirit of Church Upheld
One of Queerest First Nights
i'll Theatrical History Has
New Type of Audience

1t Is long way from the Christmas
cantata they used to give in the Sun
DAY school Of the church back home TO
The Wayfarer," which was offered as
q church entertainment in Madison
Square Garden last night. The differ
ence was as great probably as, say,
that between the morality plays Of
early England and the Passion Plav at
Oberammergau.
The Wayfarer" is intended tn bo
the answer Of the Church to the charge
that the war just closed is proof that
the Church has failed in the worlds
hour of need. First produced last
summer at the Methodist convention
in Columbus, Ohio, it has been brought
to New York in much the same form.
and is being produced under the au-
spices OF the lnterchurch World Move
ment. Briefly the Wayfarer is a COM
poslte picture of you and | and the
rest of us, heart sick and weary over
the years of bloodshed and pillase He
asks himself if the great cataclvsr,
predicted in Revelation is not at hand,
II the war is not symbol of the ap-
proaching "end Of the world" The
Wayfarers sick fancy is encouraged
by Despair, who leads him to a battle
field in Flanders, shows him a violated
village and urges him to forsake all
faith. But before Wayfarer can yield
understanding comes and offers to
prove to him that Christ is a living
force in the world
Faith Shown Triumphant.
Follows then a series of episodes,
beginning with the rivers of Babylon
where the chosen people, suffering un-
der the rule of the oppressors, see
their faith rewarded by renewed hope
in the coming OF the Messiah. Next
the Wayfarer is exalted by the birth
of Christ and the demonstration of
his power through the healing Of the
blind and the lame, only to fall again
into the clutches of Despair when
Jesus is crusifcd. Then come the
Resurrection and the final episode that
depicts the nations of the world as
sembling their flags under the banner
of the Lord.
The producers of "The wayfarerv
frankly admit that it is neither
drama, pageant nor opera. Neither do
they claim any great amount of origi-
nality for it, having borrowed freely
from drama, pageant and opera with
.hc sue purpose OF tctlinB story.
AS a whole they have told the story
we'll Few spectacles seen further up
town where the lights are brighter can
compare with "The Wayfarer" in the
magniticencc Of the scenery, the bril-
lance and the beauty of the lighting
effects and the richness of the cos
tuning. 1t is a hardened sinner in
deed who cannot feel the urge of such
music as "Holy Night" Verdi's
praise Ye," the "Hallelujah Chorus"
and similar selections. Nor was all
Of the music borrowed several of the
selections being the creditable work
OF henry Hadley, under whose direc-
ton, by the way, large orchestra
played maenfcently. The immense
chorus, said to contain 5000 voices,
probably viii improve with little
moro practice.
Queer First Night
The principal spoken parts were by
Walter Hampden as the Wayfarer,
Blanche Yprka az Understanding. and
opportunity was given them, and Madi-
son Square Garden is not adapted for
dramatic reading. Of the soloists, Theo
Karle sang with splendid effect
The big structure was filed, and it
probab bly, was the cueerest first night
that New Nork ever saw. The hardened
theatcr goer was conspicuous by his
absence; it was church congregation
that filled the chairs.
There was one innovation, by the
way, that might be adopted with good
results farther UP town. When it was
announced that the curtain would go
lp at 8 o'clock it seems that it did not
mean $3.50, or even S:15, with the re-
suit that large part Of the audience
missed the first scene
The engagement Of "The Wayfarer'
is for five weeks.