THE "PASSION PLAY" IN NEW YORK.

Inangahua Times, Volume VIII, Issue 1285, 15 June 1883, Page 2

THE "PASSION PLAY" IN NEW YORK.

The production of Mr Morse's "Passion Play" in the Jerusalem Temple, New York, is described at length in the American papers. The scenes around the entrances were tumultuous, and hundreds of persons were unable to get near the doors. The feature of the first floor was the large number of lawyers and politicians, principally Hebrews. When the curtain went up everybody gazed with interest on the golden bulls, heifers, and other glittering animals lying around on the stage. The choruses of the presentation scene and the entire scene in Herod's palace were very cordially received by the audience. The massacre of the Innocents, and the dialogue between Christ and the Apostles by the Brook of Kedron, proved tame and uninteresting. The spectators yawned through them, and only marked their conclusions with the least possible applause. The scene dealing with the death of John the Baptist is far the strongest episode, and it was the success of the night. The acting of the Herod was excellent while Herodias and Salome were both good. The burst of approval which answered the message of retribution who announces the defeat of the Tetrarch's army was spontaneous, forcible, and thoroughly well deserved. The fifth act, which represents the trial of Christ before Pilate, is iv

! general character a repetition of that 'in Herod's palace. The scene is in the marketplace, and the perspective effects are admirable. The costumes, too, are varied, and the tableaux are artistically arranged, Tb3 motif 'is the struggle between a bloodthirsty populace and a conscientious ruler for the life of Christ. The Pilate of the evening, who had already appeared as Herod, had evidently strong dramatic instincts, and bis work did much to elevate the scene ; but the effect • was hopelessly marred, to those- who bore the telling words of the Gospels : n their minds, by the stupid substitution of a quasi-philosophic pleading in the: mouth of a Roman soldier. "It is finished," appears on the programme as a final act. It is, in fact, a tableau - vivant, rendered half invisible through an ill- designed gauze curtain and bad management of lights. It is ace tmpanied by a protracted " .nusic.il " composition, which is intended, it is said, .^-^b|^;the-^^q|^|^i^^^^;.- - simply enigmatical, and most of those who- stayed to hear it spent tireiriHtas" ' in wondering whether the singers and the orchestra would ever be able tofind again the key on which they started, or any other on which they would agree.