Archdiocese of Newark has a long history with the Passion play – now it’s back
The Archdiocese of Newark was once home to the longest-running Passion play in the U.S., which ran in Union City from 1914 to 2018. Now, that Lenten tradition is returning to the Archdiocese – albeit in a more modern form.
“No Greater Love” — a vibrant musical drama that celebrates the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ – will be performed on April 2 at 4 p.m. in Newark’s Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart. The play is a production of the Xavier Company, a unique group of performing artists in residence at St. Francis Xavier Church in New York City who perform original works focused on themes of faith and social justice. Pasqualino Beltempo and Nikki Casseri play the roles of Jesus and Mary, respectively.
“The story [“No Greater Love”] is told through drama, song, and dance,” said Father Bismarck Chau, rector of the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart. “All the actors are Catholic, and it’s their mission to bring this story that changed the world alive.”
Father Chau is no stranger to Passion plays, having performed in the Archdiocese’s original Union City production as well as his own parish’s play growing up in Brooklyn. After seeing “No Greater Love” in Montclair at the start of Lent this year, he booked it for the Cathedral for the last week of Lent, saying it was “powerfully inspiring.”
“The Church has always used art to reflect God’s love for us. The Passion play dramatizes the Gospels and brings them alive for us,” Father Chau said. “Our main goal for the audience is that they enter deeper into Holy Week [after seeing ‘No Greater Love’].”
“No Greater Love” has received positive reviews from critics, too. Writing for The Ecumenist, Father John Kelly called it “an impressive and moving rendition of the passion which qualifies as a hymn of reconciliation.” Father Kelly, who has reviewed over 30 Passion plays around the world, also lauded “No Greater Love” for its multicultural cast while noting that the play is free of the anti-Semitic overtones found in some other Passion plays.
Passion plays originated in the 14th century by the Catholic Church from the tradition of singing the Gospels in different parts on Good Friday. It was first performed in Latin and later in German and other vernacular languages. In time, the plays evolved to be more dramatic than liturgical in form, involving elaborate props and well-rehearsed action by up to 200 actors. Later, other Christian groups began to write and perform Passion plays.
In the early part of the 20th century, Passion plays were so popular within the Archdiocese of Newark that Union City housed two plays simultaneously about one block apart. Debuting in 1914, the Passion play “Veronica’s Veil” at the St. Joseph’s Parochial School Auditorium in Union City was dubbed “America’s Passion Play” by the New York Times. It was so popular that, in 1932, the Archdiocese of Newark erected The Passion Play Theatre (known today as the Park Performing Arts Center), a 1,400-seat theater where the Holy Family Roman Catholic Church put on the Passion play featuring a mostly local German-American community cast of players, make-up artists, costume and set designers, lighting technicians, stagehands, ushers, and a full-scale orchestra. According to a New Yorker article written in 1934, “Veronica’s Veil” was very well-received: “More than a million people have seen the plays since 1915. They come from everywhere, Catholics, Protestants, Jews. This year a priest came from Texas & a Bishop from Spain.”
Father Kevin Ashe, former executive director and producer of the Park Performing Arts Center, is credited for moving the production from a “parish play” to a professional musical. Father Ashe told Jersey Catholic that buses filled with “Catholics and Protestants alike” with $15 tickets would line up outside the theater nightly for four to five weeks during Lent.
Father Ashe also recalled that the producers and directors at The Park Theatre occasionally adjusted the show to keep up with changing times. This included casting a Black man in the role of Jesus in 1997 – which stirred some controversy – and adding music around the same time. Complaints about anti-Semitism in passion plays caused the script to be altered in the 1980s.“We became a model for dealing with the anti-Semitism that was rampant in Passion plays,” Father Ashe said. “We changed the dialogue to make it very clear that Christ and his disciples were Jewish.”
And Jesus’ sentencing was just as much at the hands of the Romans as the Jews, he said.
But with demographics changing in Union City and Hudson County, attendance dwindled, Father Ashe said. “Veronica’s Veil” ceased production sometime in the 1990s, and the Passion play at the theater ended in 2018.
Another area Passion play also died out in 2013 after two decades of popularity. Felician College hosted “The Jesus Story” performed by the Bible Baptist Church for 24 years. Thousands came out for the week of free performances in the college’s 1,400-seat theater.
One of the most famous Passion plays has been performed in Oberammergau, Germany every 10 years since 1633. During the plague, the villagers promised to perform the suffering, death, and resurrection of Christ so no more villagers would die of the plague. The promise has been kept until today with the most recent production in 2022.
The Xavier Company was founded in 1982 and is a unique group of performing artists in residence at St. Francis Xavier Church in New York City. The professionally trained actors, singers, and dancers perform original works focused on themes of faith and social justice. “No Greater Love” will take place on April 2 at 4 p.m. Admission to “No Greater Love” is free, but those wishing to attend are asked to contact the Cathedral so a headcount can be kept. For more information, go to newarkbasilica.org/nogreaterlove.
Featured image: Xavier Company, a unique group of performing artists in residence at St. Francis Xavier Church in New York City who perform original works focused on themes of faith and social justice will be performing “No Greater Love” on April 2.
