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Leonard Bernstein's theater piece, MASS, was created for the opening of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. on September 8, 1971. It was directed by Gordon Davidson with additional texts by Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Schwartz (with one couplet by Paul Simon), sets by Oliver Smith, costumes by Frank Thompson, and choreography by Alvin Ailey. In MASS, Bernstein looks at the issue dramatically; it is subtitled "A Theatre Piece for Singers, Players, and Dancers." Bernstein had always been intrigued and awed by the Roman Catholic Mass, finding it (in Latin) moving, mysterious, and eminently theatrical. The piece follows the liturgy exactly, but it is juxtaposed against frequent interruptions and commentaries by the Celebrant and the congregation, much like a running debate. There is stylistic juxtaposition as well, with the Latin text heard electronically through speakers or sung by the chorus, and the interruptions sung in various popular styles including blues and rock-and-roll. On the narrative level, the hour-and-a-half-long piece relates the drama of a Celebrant whose faith is simple and pure at first, but gradually becomes unsustainable under the weight of human misery, corruption, and the trappings of his own power.