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About The Oregon daily journal. (Portland, Or.) 1902-1972 | View Entire Issue (July 14, 1907)
V: , : THE OREGON ; SUNDAY JOURNAL ; PORTLAND, SUNDAY :. ;MORNING : JULY -Ji, ;r 1907 -rr 'I csnir i ' .1' '. flK AM ME R G A U'S famous Passion Play was rivaled recently by a thrilling pro duction, witnessed - by thousands, tn the little mission town of Santa Clara, which snuggles in the heart of California. With dramatic intensity seldom seen on the sget joo boy students of Santa Clara College presented this story of the life of Christ. They acted with all the fer vor such a great subject inspired, giving a finished, well-rounded production. It is a reverent production, this Ameri can version of the Passion Play, presented by educated actors, and differs from thes y famous play of the Oberammergau peas ants in that the presence of Christ is indi cated the chief actor in the tragedy of Calvary never appears upon the stage. I ROM far and wide visitors flocked to ..fcanta Clara on special excursions to wit ness the performance. So great was the crush that fahnloua' ttriw nffaraA' for seats, but refused. . : ' nai UUL 'V V YYt ' rJtil2 'v III i IOC thew- 7, ", ioun-! ever, ) nnr 3QI inr r 5? if l Ml Si 1X mm Him I I Iff; :vi--!K'.-v,',;;il..' i, , 0 7"y !n -k I: T 1 ,sr t t "J Thorst to secure tickets in the regular . Fire years ago" the play. whichis called way were admitted t each, presentation and 1fazareth;' was Lt giv at Santa Clara Co j ; ' 1 T7 j- , ieKB tomarK.ttie flltietn anniversary of the in- were locked, leaTinf many hundreds disconsolate stitution and the 125tlryea? since the founder outside. t . actor, Joseph I. Griamer, while this year's re vival was managed by Martin V. Merle, of the -, class of '06. Dealing, as it does, with the life of the Saviour, the drama is thrillingly filled with the influence of His presence, although He is not impersonated it any way. His pre.ance in the vicinity is suggested by light effects, the awe that comes upon the people whenever He is supposed to approach, and the reverence and deep feeling wit! which His name is always mentioned. The able handling of the naobs and remarkable scenio effec'3 add to, the intensely dramatic quality of the production. .V So fearful have the college fathers become .. t-iat the great drama might be put to commer cial usage and lose a great part of its religious 'message, that they have forbidden its production anywhere but within the college walla. The great dramatic part of the play is that of Judas, created originally by John J. Iva'n covich, who has played it' in all succeeding pro ductions. . : His acting is all verve and emotion. It is perhaps as real , to, hiin as to his auditors, and to-them it is a tremendous actuality. He is little more than a boy in years, and still his work runs the gamut of einotion--sublime, hysterical, fearful emotion.,-. , :.. AY . . , '' ' . "ITatareth".. opens on the plains of Bethle hem, . a , wonderfully -beautiful stage picture. Stars twinkle, and in their midst is seen, bright er than tie rest, the Star of Bethlehem that guides: the: wise'meri to '.-'the' manger. Shepherds guard their flocks by ; the glow pf the watchfire. ; "Jr H)k6W.-9(mang the Messiah, t ot"-f i . 07.r,;rTheiir-mt-gray-ofilM-BiontinK-lighV---r) come the wise men . of . the East and the emis- Banes ot .tjerod. ' & , - ' :-. Th' second rJiflntAr'ahnwA tlia -fhrnna .w. 1 ' ' . -'"'y " in Herod's, palacey where Herod,' learningr 'from" , , '. '. his emissaries the feport of the birth of the new tit -t . n Exag, of the-' Jews, orders' the : killing f every Written by Clay Greene.the. dramatist, male child of 2 years of age or younger. Here, who dedicated ;it, to the Rev. JKobert .-.K.'Xenna,, ... . too.lbcciir. the quarrel between iurchelaus, son of the play was carefully acrotinited -.by the coUege . Herod,, and4 Athias, son of. Jechonias, a wealthy lathexi before.they accepted it Its first produc- ptthlioanj Athias'; defiance tof the Jung,' and his tua waa Tinder the.;directioa of 'thev'Teteraa confession of belief in Jesus of Neaaretk : l-fit s it 1.1 V 4 i. In the house of Caiaphas, thirty-three year later, the third scene occur. The triumphal en try of the Naaarene into. Jerusalem is indicated by a dazzling white light to suggest His pres ence,, and by the waving palm tips seen in the streets below through the palaoo windows. Judaa appears before the Council of High Priests, and. though sorely tempted, refuses to betray his . Master.. In chapter four is seen Athias, now Matthew umj Apoaue, cnarging Judas with treachery, as he (Matthew) was present, unseen, in the coun- cil chamber of the high priests. Judaa. succeeds m allaying the doubts o his fellow apostles, and, with them, awaits the approach of 1 the Master. " Soene five is udou the Mount nf t. the Apostles comes Peter, who tells them of the kiss of Judas and the arrest of Jesus in the Gar den of Gethsemane. i Then follows the sixth scene,' which is laid in the palace of Herod II, formerly the boyi Archelaus. To him come Matthew and his' aged' father, Jechonias, who plead eloquently for tha Master's life. But Caiaphas and his priest en ter and urge that Herod put the Nazarene to death. ' i Herod asks Caiaphas where the Messiah is' to be found, and, turning toward the entrance, Caiaphas exclaims: "Behold Him, standing there I" At this point the great light streams through the arch, and Herod sinks back on his throne overcome. Then, pulling himself to gether and rising to his feet, he commands in a thunderous voice: "Jesus of Nazareth ap proach 1" Slowly the light moves on toward1 the stage as the soft tableau curtains quietly deaoend. This is one of the most thrilling situations in the sacred drama. Scene seven is the courtyard of Pilate's palace, with the merchants of the Temple and, the populace demanding' the release of the rob-1 ber Barabbas and the life of Jesus. "Crucify Him! Crucify Fiml" they cry out; "His blood i be upon us and upon our children 1" Again the I light indicates His presence, and another great I scene is acted, ending with the sentence of Pilate and the famous washing of the hands. I In the next scene the disciples are shown in a walled garden on the road to Golgotha.. It is here that the march to Calvary is depicted so thrillingly that the audience sits spellbound. In the distance) the cries of the mob are heard, and the disciples fall upon their knees. j bnouts grow louder as the mob approaches, and soon the roar of the invisible multitude be comes positive hurt to the auditory nerve, ' " Stones are flying, and the procession is passing on the other side of the wall.- One sees above the- wall, moving slowly, the spearheads of the Roman legion, and the air is thick with missiles and pierced with mocking cries against . the "King of the Jews." THRILLING SCENE OF THE CROSS Presently above the wall, in a cloud of hard-. flung stones, appear the top and part of the cross beam of a great, gaunt wooden cross. The sky islmost blindingly alight, and in this bril liant, startling atmosphere, the cross quivers, totters and sways in the unseen arms of its fast weakening supporter. . , This gTeat scene reveals the dramatio pos sibilities of suggestion. It thrills and permeates the innermost recesses of the soul. That great black cross, vibrating painfully in the tense, luminous atmosphere, rising and falling and swaying with the feebleness of its unseen sup-! porter, enveloped in the roar of the invisible! multitude is a masterpiece of dramatio presen tation. ' I Nor does this great act end with the passing! of the cross. Directly , the Apostles leave the, scene, to follow at a distance to Calvary, Judas enters, torn, disheveled and maniao-like in ap pearance, with his crime of the betrayal stamped lie meets those who bribed him, but his ap- peal to them meets only repulsion, and, after an intense scene, in which he flings the thirty pieces of t blood iioney into the faces of the high priests, the unfortunate wretch curses his be trayers and rushes forth to hang himself. The ninth chapter carries the story to its end. One sees the interior of the Temple at the third hour of the crucifixion. The fearful mul- titude is gathered in the darkness that over spreads the earth. The high priest stands un steady on the throne, bu refuses to give ear to the appeals of the mob. , Pilate enters in a frenzy and beseeches Caiaphas to undo, as far as possible, the wrong done the Nazarene, but the priest is hard, firm and relentless. Pilate threatens, him, and the high priest orders his sol diers, to hurl the governor from the Temple's roof. ' Just at that moment the sins of men are expiated,-for dfc Calvary Christ, the Saviour of the world, hafi expired. As the command of Caiaphas .is tittered, the populace is thrown into mortal terror. Lightnings flash and thunder' roars. The' earth rocks with fearful violence, the great col-, umns of the Temple sway nd t6tter; then, with a terrific erash, theNsupporting arch of the Tem- j pie gives way, and comes shattering down before -the eyes of the people. " f : The Temple's veil is -rent in twain, and out 'through the ruin of it all are seen, in the vivid, lightning flashes', the three gaunt crosses on tha ' 1 hill of Calvary. The Apostles rush upon th; -scene as the high priests and the frenzied pop-1 ulace flee in flight, and Pilate, 'falling on his' jmees ai ireters leet, receives tne disciple's! blessing, and the glory of Christianity is 'fore-' told.' ' " .V:'Rf"X?"-:v '" j At this point the lights softer' into darkness,! out of which comes, clear and strong, the dosing picture of the drama, the sepulchre, with the ! stone rolled back, and the angel of the Lord standing in the entrance with hand upraised an$ finger indicating that He, the Saviour of the world, has risen. - ; 4