The Passion Play, against whose production at the New York Hippodrome under the auspices of Morris Gest and David Belasco, New York Jews protested as engendering prejudice, has proved a theatrical failure. It was announced yesterday that after a run of six of the scheduled eight weeks, the production would be closed Saturday.
It is common knowledge on Broadway that the Passion Play has done a very small business since the opening night and that it has been losing money heavily during the past week. Even the cut in prices to one-half which Mr. Gest instituted two weeks ago failed to fill the Hippodrome with any notably large audience.
Mr. Gest declared that he would take the Passion Play with the Freiburg players on a tour, opening in Scranton, Pa., on June 20. It will then be shown in Buffalo and Toronto, from where it will proceed to the Pacific Coast. Mr. Gest expects to produce it in the Los Angeles Bowl. The Freiburg players came to this country in the fall and were playing in the Middle West when Mr. Gest made arrangements for the New York production.
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