m ! mams wfewla mmmem i .
And when they were come to the place,
sctors, one on uu rignt oano, ana mi oiacr db we ieitE. muc,
An Actual Photograph of the Impreaaively Staged Scepe of the) Crucifixion, Aa Presented
at Oberammergau. The Role of Chriat I a Taken by Anton Lang. Marta Veit, as
Mary, the Mother of Jesua, Kneels at the Foot of the Cross.
: I
.. . - i
How the Devoid Impersonator of
the Saviour Vast OM Temptation
m . l . i a .
When a Movie
j Him a Millionaire's
Income, Choosing to
Remain a Poor Potter
in an Obscure Village
"N
O, nerert If I became rich, I fear
that I would no longer be worthy,
to appear In the role of ChrisjLw
In these simple words, at the same time
proud and. humble, Anton Lang, who for
thirty years past has enacted the; role of
Jesus Christ in the Passion Play at Ober
ammergau J Bavaria, has renounced an Im
mense fortune, offered him by American
motion picture producers, on condition,
that :he would! come to the United States
and engage in a filming of the sacred
drama here, j
By accepting this offer he would' obtain
a salary greater than . that of kings or
presidents. Ha could have limousines, a
private yacht, palaces, country estates,
rare books, travel, luxury and adulation
all the material good tilings of this world
that fame and riches can command. .
By refusing it he remains a Bavarian
peasant, living to the end of his days in
a. tiny and humjble cottage, working with
hJs hands at' th potter's trade to gain a
simple livelihood f rom day to day, never
traveling beyond" the sight of his own
native mountains.
? By accepting- the offer of the American
prodocets ' he would make thousands of
dollars every Week hundreds of thousands
.every year.. : ' ;..
By refusing it; he Is dependent npon his
own Physical labors for a mere livelihood
--and for playing the role of Christ in the
Passion Play at Oberammergau he re
ceives J625 oncej every ten years! He
has been paid less for all nls Passion Play
work together than some cabaret dancers
get every week. : y
, At the same time Anton Lang was of
fered a huge salary to come to the United
States, motion picture producers urged the
people ofj iOberimmerg au. to - accept
$1,000,000 fpr the simple pxlrUege; of nlm- 5
tog the Passion Play there. ,
The elders of the v'llare denounced th
tfer - as a - "profanation." : after , Anton
Lang's personal refusal to, accept the exeat
which i called Calvary, there they crucified
i - r. r 1 . s
Promotor
Marta Veit; Who Portraya he
Mother of Christ, Attending to Her
Domestic Duties in Her Modest
Home in the Village
sums that have been offered him had set
an example now, followed toy the Tillage
as a whole. !; : !i,'V. .5 ;--
The devout spirit In which Anion Lang
refused the offer,' that , would make iitu
rich is the same spirit that actuate4 all
who participate in the Passion.Play, which
the people of the little' town at Obersm
mergan have been producing for centuries.
- Three hundred years ago the Villagelwaa
threatened by plague, and the reverent
people made a solemn vow that If th
plague were stayed the passion of Chriat
should be represented every ten years by
the villagers as an act of veneration. The
f if feP Pj f 1 7i;: w iV ? s '
plague was stayed and they have kept Never before were there so many nier
their vow;: from generation to generation; ;T4 leans tn the audience, t And there were
IT. nlranM 1la t AntTlt&sf thai HivnlarlV- -T'Mnati PrtHe1i-ll'ji rf alt ttm ffiwfa.
Cf its representation. But no- past war
ever brought so profound an upheaval in
moral and material-values as the recen.t
worm war, ana .many ao naa seen ma
Passion Flay in the old days were doubt-
I
Htm and the xnale-
of Oberammergau.
ful that things could be as they were in
the past, when it was announced ! that the
Passion Play would be revived. this year.
"Was it possible, they asked, that th
men and women of Oberammergau could
still be inspired by the simple faith, the
candid piety, the absdrptionf in the Christ
story in which -they had been reared. Their
fears were natural, but. happily, they were
groundless. The recent presentation
Showed that the old devotion was not dead
rather, that it had received a fresh lm-
pulse. , '
People went from everv civuixed eoun-.
trr of the elobe' to see the nerformance.
tian nationa. It made no difference; that
' the people of Bavaria were of a country
, that .had been an enemy In the warr-that
many, of tne participants in : tne sacrea
drama had actually served (chiefly In non-
CepyrishW 182S, by Zntemattoaal reatue
fir BTTjOlrjOrt I
W J M WTsWM, I
S y
4 i 7 2 i -TA
' ' ; 'vf , V- - - V--- "
aa: :
Yeit Who nact the Roles of Jesus and Mary in the Oberammergau Passion Play.
combatant roles) in the German,, army
Here all differences were forgotten, and
no more beautiful performance of the
sacred play, no more devout and sympa
thetic audience was ever seen at Ober
. ammergau.
- Edward O. Kendrew, widely-known cor
respondenjt and writer, stationed in Paris
as correspondent for "Variety," made a
special trip to Oberammergau this year
for the performance, and describes It as
the most impressive spectacle he has ever
witnessed. Incidentally, he tells many In
teresting facts never before widely known
In America. ' , . - "
The play," he says, "Is presented. In a
-structure In the form of a huge modern
barn, with a capacity of nearly 6.e00.r one
end being open to the weather, where the
stage is situated. This stage Is only partly
covered, the canopy of heaven being the
4. shelter of the greater portion. ' The first
, ten rows of the orchestra stalls in the Im
mense building constitute the cheapest
seats, being exposed to the sun or rain,
just like the actors. , , ' ,
'"Many changes were made ln the .cast
this year, due to losses In the war, though
the ancient custom of. a family supplying
the person for the same role from genera
tion to generation has been adhered to as
far as possible. No special make-ups or
wigs are permitted, the villagers growing
their hair and beards suitable for their
intended parts months before the rehears
ais commence.
For the third time Anton Lang took the
role of Christ. This year there was a new
Mary Martal Vet, daughter of a wood;
carrer, who served as a nurse during the
war and who sella picture postcards at
Oberammergau as a means of livelihood.
It is contrary to tradition for a married
woman to have' a part tn the Passion Play'
but there Is one exception. Ottilia
lervka, Iae - nat BrtUia Kiahu
to
The Most Impressive Photograph Ever
Zwick, the girl: who formerly impersonated
. Mary (who afterward! married and is now -a
widow), is still allowed to appear in' the
drama, and is the understudy for Marta
Veit. j ' -
"A cannon shot announces the opening
of the theatre,"! Mr. Kendrew continues.
"The doors are thrown open at a quarter
to eight In the morning, and by eight
o'clock the audience is seated; the orches
tra ; commences withj the stroke of the
clock and the doors; are closed. During
this musical Introduction we are told that'
the players.; numbering 600, repeat a -prayer,
after which the chorus enters the
open-air stage singing a prelude, calling on
mankind. to how low in adoration before
God. ; . ;: X
i Then the curtain' of little covered
. central stage Is drawn aside, exposing a
tableau: of the banishment of Adam, and
Eve !rom the Garden f Eden The curtain
quickly, hides ,this picture, which , Is fol-;
lowed hy another,' The" Adoration rof the
Cross," while the singers kneel, explaining
in the chorus the sacred purposes' of the. .
performance., t -j- : '-i,
"Then the real play begins, on the vast
.main stage, by the entrance of Jesus Into
Jerusalem, and successively takes up the
various incidents of the last days ot the ,
life ot Jesua on earth, ending with th -crucifixion
antf the resurrection-,
"The entire play lasts from, 8 a mv until
6 p. o. It pauses at mid-day for an in
terval of two hours. Promptly at two tne
building is as-ain filled with the same au
dience, using the same cardboard ticket:
first "allotted for the day ; a??--; -'h
' The most Impressive scene of alL-perhaps,
- Is ; the 1 crucifixion. 'The curtain, of
the central stage rises on the scene of
Christ being nailed tq the cross.. The two;
thieves are already suspended. Then the
cross is -erected - and Christ Is sees hang-
Jesus said unto her "Woman
what have
do with thee? Mine hour is not yet come.
St. John. 3:4. , I
, Taken of Anton Lans and Martai
ing in agon. : Anton Lang in this role is
suspended in a realistic manner for more
than twenty minutes. He ht a only the
slightest supports for hands an I feet, most
of hisjwelght hanging from ' si eel corselet
concealed beneath bis garmen s and fast
ened to the cross. ! The greates : endurance
is" required. - v vijw " - r
The ! remainder of the cryciflxibn scene
is also carried out -With the most Intense
realism. "The thieves, are beiten by the
execatipnera," says Mr. (Kendrew, j "to
hasten their death, and are finally taken
down. A Boman soldier pierces the side
of Jesus and the flow of bloodl Is- realistV.
cally showp. v iThe -famous picture f "by
Rubins, In the Antwerp Cath jdral. The
Descent from' the :Cross, Is ml mtely por
trayed,. Joseph of Arimatbea and Klco
demni' mount a ladder.with th other fie
voted - f riudg 'y from Bethany a ; the foot,
and i they carefully withdraw the nails,
lowering Chriat for burial an enthralling
stage-set. - This is followed by the resur
rection, - and the play ends after having
held j the audience -spellbound in religious
ecstasy for eight hours.--! ' f '. -; ;j -."The
village performers are not profes
slonal actors, but they act' with deep sin
cettty actually feeling the parts they are
called on to Impersonate. I The Passion '
Play; I am told, has never been( so lneplp
Ingly and beautifully produced - as this
year." i . ; . j
The spirit which prompted Andrew'Lang
to refuse the offer which would jmake him
a rich man if he woujd come to America
and -play for . the mqtion pictures "la ap
parently shared by all the players ia-the
sacred drama a spirit which neither wars
nor upheavals have been able to change,
andV which makes the Passion Play ai
s Oberammergau, the most remarkable pro
duction of Its 'kind, the; world! has eve)
known; . , i
i