|
[:] Home
[:] Order Tickets [:] Contact Us/Directions
[:]
History [:]
[:] Photo Album
[:]
ZION PASSION PLAY - HISTORY
"Wasn't it like a fire burning in us when he talked to us on the road and explained the Scriptures to us?"
Gospel of Luke
The Zion Passion Play, a spiritual drama depicting the life, ministry, trials,
crucifixion, resurrection and ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ, has been one
of the unique ministries of Christ Community Church, Zion, Illinois, since 1935. From its
simple beginning as an Easter pageant, it has become one of the foremost
Passion Plays in America.
In 1935, Reverend Jabez Taylor, a young minister with artistic talent, was asked to prepare
an Easter pageant with a schedule of three performances. Due to public demand the
Pageant ran for twenty-seven performances in Shiloh Tabernacle, a large wooden building
with a seating capacity of 8,000. Recognizing both the gifts of Rev Taylor and the
potential for wider outreach ministry through sacred drama, Rev. Taylor was sent to the
Holy Land to photograph and make sketches of where Jesus walked, as well as to purchase
some costumes, in order to make the Play more authentic. Upon his return, Rev. Taylor
rewrote the script and prepared new scenery for the 1936 performances. Interest was high
and thousands came to see the performances which were given on Thursday evenings and
Sunday afternoons and evenings from March through June.
In 1937, after only two performances, Shiloh Tabernacle was destroyed by fire with
only a few pieces of equipment, wigs and costumes being salvaged. To avoid disappointing
the many who had planned to see Zion Passion Play, the Chicago Civic Opera House was
rented for three Sundays and more than two hundred fifty cast and stage members traveled
into Chicago for the presentations, using costumes and scenery from various operas.
Plans were soon underway for a new building, Zion Auditorium, with a
2,000 seating capacity. Twenty-eight canvas drops, 25 feet high by 50 feet wide,
were prepared by Rev. Taylor, and for the next twenty years Zion Passion Play was
presented on Sunday afternoons during April, May and June.
In April of 1959, the Church again suffered a disastrous fire, completely taking Zion
Auditorium and gutting the four-story educational building and offices. Miraculously,
all the costumes and wigs were saved and an outdoor stage was prepared on the original
Church grounds to complete the 1959 season.
In 1960, as Zion Passion Play could not be presented in Zion, it seemed an opportune
time for many of the cast to visit the Oberammergau and four other Passion Plays in
Europe. Though these Plays were good, the cast felt that Zion Passion Play had an even
greater ministry and they were inspired to revitalize the Play production. For the next
eight years Zion Passion Play was performed in the newly constructed Waukegan High
School West Campus Auditorium.
After visiting other outdoor Passion Plays, Rev. Taylor, with the Church Board,
decided to build an outdoor theater next to the new church facilities. An 1100 seat
amphitheater with a 100 foot stage with two large turntables for rapid scene changing
was built and the Play was performed two nights a week during July and August for the
next eight years. However, cost of maintaining equipment open to the weather and
cancellations due to inclement weather led to serious consideration of either
terminating the production of Zion Passion Play or of building a new auditorium
for it, and other church related outreach ministries.
The congregation of the Christ Community Church was asked to make that decision
and they voted to continue the Play and to erect a new building. The present Christian
Arts Auditorium with a 522 seating capacity, a large stage with two twenty-foot
turntables, an orchestra area, a new Allen organ and a light and sound control
room above the foyer is the result. Rev Taylor, though retired since 1976, again
prepared the new scenery and rewrote the script using the more understandable
New American Standard Version of the Bible.
Shortly after the close of our 1986 season, Rev. Taylor went to be with his
Lord, whom he had served so faithfully. We continue to present the life of Christ
in sacred drama as a tribute to our author/producer, Rev. Jabez Taylor, for the glory
of our wonderful resurrected Lord.
Over the last several years, the Passion Play has undergone a number of changes,
including a redesigned set, new lighting and a new script based on the New International
Version of the Bible. The performance season is now three weekends in the spring,
generally around Good Friday and Easter. And yet, the message is still the same -
the message of Jesus Christ, whose life, death and resurrection give us a reason
for hope of life eternal and abundant life on earth through a relationship with Him.
[:] Home
[:] Order Tickets [:] Contact Us/Directions
[:]
History [:]
[:] Photo Album
[:]
|
