On Mon, 19 Apr 1993, Alex Rosenheim wrote:
 
> Carol,
>    I believe the term "Morality Play" refers to a play that has characters
> that represent archtypes of personalities even more than in normal theatre.
> You may have heard the phrase "Passion play" used in a similar manner.  This
> type of theatre is what the ancient Greeks thrived on.
>
>           I hope that clears things up a bit,
>                            Alex Rosenheim
 
Alex:
Not to be too pedantic about such things....
"Morality Plays," or "Moralities," were medieval verse plays, such as
"Everyman", that personified or allegorized such things as Virtues
and Vices. They were  themselves later variations on the early medieval
"Miracle Plays," which were based more closely on sacred texts or lives of the
saints. "Passion Play" tends to refer to a Miracle Play that centers on the
events leading up to Christ's death and resurrection.
The history of the cinema is greatly indebted to these works, and a great
number of early films recorded performances of Passion Plays. Noel Burch,
among others, has written perceptively on these films. Contemporary
theater and video artists, such as David Gordon, have taken on aspects of
this type of theater to great effect.
James Schamus