And my high school graduation was held at the amphitheater. The scenery was the background of old-time middle east. The soldiers came down the path with Christ carrying his cross. From this second period, we have the Vienna Passion, the St. Gall Passion, the oldest Frankfort Passion, and the Maestricht Passion. Performances resume in May. Yet even this oldest of the Passion Plays already shows a tendency to break away from the ritual and to adopt a more dramatic form. A kind of off-limits petting zoo has sprung up beyond the arenas back entrance, with pens containing ducks, sheep, horses, two oxen, a donkey and three camels, just arrived from Ocala. WAUCHULA, Fla. With less than two hours until showtime, a man sits amid the backstage chaos and studies his image in a propped-up mirror. All costume, however, is contemporary, historical accuracy being ignored. She has also helped to decide whether youre a shop owner, an apostle or a member of the Sanhedrin. Today the best known plays take place in Kakw, Kalwaria Pacawska, the Pallotines' Seminary in Otarzew, and the most prominent in Sanctuary of Kalwaria Zebrzydowska. "[69] Christianity Today in Why some Jews fear The Passion (of the Christ) observed that "Outbreaks of Christian antisemitism related to the Passion narrative have beennumerous and destructive. The Synod of Strasburg of 1549 opposed the religious plays, and the year previous, in 1548, the Parliament of Paris forbade the production of The Mysteries of the Passion of our Redeemer and other Spiritual Mysteries. Following the events of World War II and the explicit support of Adolf Hitler for the play, several reforms and modifications were made. After 2 1/2 years as founding publisher of LakeWalesNews.net she's happy to still be an occasional contributor. [77] Furthermore, the Bible alludes to the complex political, social and religious reasons that led both Roman and Jewish people to demand that Jesus be crucified. [citation needed] Olesa's 1996 production surpassed the world record for the most people acting on stage at the same time, with 726 persons. Women later began to take part in the play. Other challenges, he says, have included his divorce years ago, which alienated many followers; a decline in attendance, due in part to competition from the Holy Land Experience theme park in Orlando; and other, curiously timed setbacks a car accident, a sudden illness that nearly prevented him from picking up his cross.