The play The Passion paints a beautiful yet heartbreaking depiction of Jesus’ life as he lived on Earth.
The production was put on at the Word of Life Church in Greensburg, something they do annually. The tradition started in 1994, when it was performed with costumes borrowed from St. Vincent College and with a cast so small that many of the cast members had dual roles.
Now, the production has evolved into a Broadway-worthy show that runs on multiple dates during Holy Week. The attention to detail was astounding, from the use of real animals to even minute details that viewers might not notice at first glance.
For example, for the scene depicting Palm Sunday, the actor portraying Jesus rode in on a real donkey from the center aisle of the auditorium to the stage. Real goats were used at Jesus’ birth.
For the crucifixion scene, the nails were placed at Jesus’ wrists instead of his palms, which is actually medically and historically accurate, contrary to popular belief. Again, this is a detail that might not be noticed by a casual viewer.
The acting especially stood out. Every actor was on point with their performances, even down to the baby who played Jesus at his birth.
Chad Szulc, who played Jesus, portrayed the role perfectly. He captures the composed yet assertive nature of Jesus and his teachings. This made the crucifixion scene even harder to watch, considering how connected the viewer felt towards Jesus by the end.
Jim Doran, who played Pontius Pilate, also did an amazing job of depicting the intense nature of the character and the conflicted feelings Pilate had towards killing Jesus.
The performance was filmed and can be viewed here.
