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The Great Passion Play (Click to select text)
The Great Passion Play The Great Passion Play was produced by the Elna M. Smith Foundation and performed in Eureka Springs, Arkansas in September of 1998. The beautiful scenery of the Ozark Mountains was the setting for this outdoor production. The play opens with an introduction of Jesus by scripture. "In the beginning was the word, and the word was made flesh to live among men." We, the audience, immediately see Jesus and his twelve disciples on the hillside outside of Jerusalem. Jesus is warning the twelve disciples of the persecution that are to come. The audience is able to see how the Sanhedrin Counsel, chief priest and elders of Jerusalem, want Jesus removed because of the following that Jesus has among the people and how they are conspiring against Jesus. The overall structure of the play has several story lines. From Jesus' triumphant entry into Jerusalem, his illegal arrest and trials, his death on the cross, and his resurrection and ascension into heaven. The climax of the play occurs after Judas betrays Jesus. The soldiers and an angry group of people go to Jesus in the garden. They tell Jesus that they are looking for the man who claims to be the Son of God, the Messiah. At this point Jesus steps toward them and says, "I am he". The guards arrested Jesus and took him before the Sanhedrin Counsel. The crisis of the play is when Jesus is crucified upon the cross. He dies an agonizing death and it is not until his death that many of the people believe that he was the Son of God. The reversal took place and the play shifted when Jesus was raised from the dead in the tomb. He has now fulfilled what the prophets have foretold and he appears to Mary and the disciples. The element of discovery in the plot is when Jesus rose from the grave after fighting with Satan in the bowels of Hell and the Son of God is victorious. There were several conflicts and arguments in the play. The Scribes and Pharisees are questioning Jesus in front of the temple. They seem to try and trap Jesus into answers that would turn the people away from him but Jesus responds to their questions wisely and avoids their traps. In the upper room while the disciples were partaking in the Last Supper, Jesus tells them that the one who is to betray him is in the room with them. Jesus tells Judas "whatever you must do, do it quickly". Jesus was arrested in the garden and Peter, James and John want to run away or fight for their freedom. Jesus stays and surrenders himself to the guards. Jesus confronts the guards and allows the arrest as he knows it is the will of God. Jesus is also tried for alleged crimes before the Sanhedrin Counsel, Pilot, and Herod, immediately after his arrest. The trials are a mockery of the justice system of the times. Pilot is left with the ultimate decision on Jesus' fate and he washes his hands of the situation and allows the angry mob to decide whether to free Jesus or Barabas, a convicted thief and murderer. The mob wants Barabas to be released and Jesus to be crucified. As Jesus is in the sealed tomb the fight between Satan and Jesus is heard as Jesus wins the battles and takes the keys to the gates of Hell. The Great Passion Play is the story of Jesus' last week as recorded in the bible. It takes place around 33 AD in and around Jerusalem. The play tells of some of the miracle Jesus performed and the trials he went through before he was crucified. It tells of the resurrection and ascension into heaven The theme of the play is that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that through him you can enter into the kingdom of heaven. The significance of the play opens ones eyes to the fact that Jesus came to earth and suffered and died on the cross for each of us. The production was set in the beautiful Ozark Mountains. The scenery was built along the hillside and used to perfection. The palaces and temple where at center stage with the dirt road in front of them. The hillside behind this set was used as the garden in the Mount of Olives. Elaborate costumes of many colors could be found on characters in scenes from the streets, temple and in the woods. The robes worn by the characters were striped with different colors. Some cast members adorned brightly colored costumes accented with rhinestones. The costumes were relevant to the period of time of the play, and although realistic they did not seem to overpower the physical features of the characters. Herod's attire seemed to fit his boldness of character. The Roman soldier's wore beautiful gold helmets and breastplates. Lighting, sound effects and props were all used as technical elements in this play. Their appropriateness was accurate as well as functional. The minute details cannot be relayed in this analysis. My attention and concentration were held captive throughout the play by the performance of the characters. As the sun went down in the mountains lighting was used to accent the brightness of day and the moonlight glow of the night. The lighting also was used to achieve dramatic effects throughout the play. Spotlights were used to show the character that the audience should be concentrating on. The sound effects were appropriate and used timely. The music brought about the tension of the play from soft as Jesus spoke to his disciples to loud as conflicts arose. The props were excellent from the horse drawn chariots to the flock of sheep that ran through the streets. The props were well used to help create the time of the play. The most spectacular event in the play is when Jesus ascends to heaven and Jesus is lifted off the stage and floats skyward as the lights fade away. The play was a tragedy in the fact that the hero, Jesus, had to die such a tragic death and be raised from the dead before people would believe in him. As the play begins Jesus is talking to his twelve disciples outside the city. The scene shifts to the center of the stage and the audience is introduced to Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin Counsel. The action begins almost immediately as Jesus makes his triumphant entry into Jerusalem. Jesus is at the temple healing the blind and unclean and he is questioned by the scribes about whom taxes should be paid to, Caesar or God. Jesus tells them that you should pay unto Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's. Jesus tells his disciples of his impending death and the end of time. He warns them of false prophets and tells them to beware of them. During this time, as Jesus is preparing for his death, he still helps those in need and continues to teach his disciples. In the scene at the upper room in the city Jesus taught by example that one should be humble and willing to serve others as he washed the feet of a disciple. Throughout the play, members of the Sanhedrin Counsel were plotting out ways to entrap Jesus where they could put him to death. They found one of Jesus own disciples, Judas, and paid him to lead them to Jesus so that they might arrest him. They gather an angry mob to follow them and they found Jesus on the Mount of Olives, in the garden. Judas betrays Jesus with a kiss and the guards arrest Jesus. The trials of Jesus are a mockery as he was taken before the Sanhedrin Counsel and found guilty of blasphemy. He was then taken to Pilot, who felt that Herod should try Jesus. Jesus was then taken before Herod, and Herod, after belittling Jesus, sent him back to Pilot. Pilot, still finding Jesus an innocent man, had him flogged thinking that the people would want to release Jesus after this. The angry mob still wanted Jesus crucified. Pilot then, as was a custom, ask the people whom they would rather have released, Jesus or Barabas. Barabas was a convicted thief and murderer. Pilot washed his hands of the situation and told the people that Jesus was in their hands. The people cried for the release of Barabas and wanted Jesus crucified. Jesus was hung upon a cross until his death. He was placed in a tomb and in three days an angel appeared and the stone which sealed the tomb was rolled away. Jesus appeared to Mary and his disciples after he arose and told how the prophecy was fulfilled. Jesus was sent to this earth to give the people a new way of salvation. He was scorned beaten, ridiculed, and crucified. Jesus rose again as the savior and because of his examples people believed in him. The actors and actresses were well suited to their rolls. Each actor appeared comfortable in his or her roles. The physical description accented the character that they portrayed. Jesus was an averaged sized man that was strong, forceful, meek, and humble. Herod was portrayed as a large boisterous man and fit the character very well with what we know about Herod through the bible. The disciples each played their roles well with Judas appearing as a slim shifty eyed character and Thomas as a head shaking negative type character. The tempo of the play was suspenseful. The music was well used to reflect the mood during scenes. Conflicts and drama were precipitated with appropriate pattern of sound. The music seemed to highlight each upcoming event and the tempo was mainly upbeat. My personal evaluation of The Great Passion Play is very positive. My attention was caught and held throughout the entire production. The action keeps your mind in constant motion, which does not allow for boredom. Overall, I enjoyed the play very much. The production and all elements involved appeared appropriate. As a member of the audience, I was able to reflect on my knowledge of the bible and follow the play to its conclusion.
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