25 Years of Canadian Badlands Passion Play
By Laureen F. Guenther Times Contributor
Photo Courtesy of Ron Nickel
Over 150 professional and volunteer actors will re-enact the story of Jesus as told in the Gospel of Luke, this time as a musical.
The first Passion Play performances took place in 1994 – on the bare hillside of the natural amphitheatre – to sold-out audiences of 1,200 people who sat on the facing hillside to watch and listen.
The set has undergone significant changes over the past 25 years, with large buildings added, and the audience seating doubled. In 2012, the stage tripled in size and was raised eight feet, said Vance Neudorf, executive director. That year, a sound system was also brought in to accommodate the larger stage.
“This year the sound system has become much larger as we have a seven-piece onstage music ensemble as well as many more singers,” he said. “For our 25th season, we wanted to do something epic and unique.”
Neudorf, who’s been with the Passion Play for 10 years, has been through two script changes – starting with the Gospel of Matthew, then the Gospel of John, now in its third year in the Gospel of Luke.
“The Passion Play is now recognized globally in theatrical circles and tourism textbooks as one of the world’s best Passion Plays,” said LaVerne Erickson, Passion Play founder.
In 2013 the Passion Play received the Alto Pride of Alberta award from Alberta Tourism. In 2014, the American Bus Association named the event one of the top 100 events in North America. In 2015, it received the Alberta Arts and Culture Award of Distinction. And Canadian Badlands Ltd., the organization that was formed to market the Passion Play globally, is now Canada’s largest municipal tourism organization.
Yet, despite that far-reaching recognition, Neudorf’s greatest rewards come from close to home. For him, it’s “the joy of the volunteer actors and front of house volunteers,” he said. “The letters and notes we get from our guests who are deeply moved by the performances.”
And he knows the story changes people’s lives. “This story touches people deeply, and when you tell it in an engaging and creative way they hear it in a fresh way,” he said. “That opens the way to think more profoundly about their personal spiritual journey.”
Twenty-five years later, the play is performed in the same badlands setting, by a huge cast of mostly volunteers, and the story still tells of Jesus’ life and the impact he had on those around him.
But every year the performances are new. For 2018, the play is being reshaped into a musical, with brand new music by Luke Ertman.
“We are taking a step toward big musical numbers and whole-cast scenes,” said Aaron Krogman, who’s returned to play the role of Jesus, after playing it from 2013 to 2015.
“It’s not just a little bit of dialogue and then musical number and then little bit of dialogue, musical number. It’s much more integrated,” he said.
“There’s dialogue that’s sung and spoken back and forth. There’s tones of music in it, tonnes of singing. I’m so pumped about this year in a way I have never been before.”
The Canadian Badlands Passion Play will give nine weekend performances, from July 6 to 22. For tickets and more information, go to canadianpassionplay.com.
“The opening night is already sold out,” Neudorf says. “The word is spreading quickly that this is a year you do not want to miss.”