Travel


By Carol Mueller


Otto Huber, deputy director of the


2010 Passion Play in Oberammergau,


Passion O


Mueller, a freelance writer and editor, is a member of Lutheran Church of the Ascension, Northfield, Ill.


36 The Lutheran • www.thelutheran.org


The Play: It takes a village


Germany, gives a pre- performance lecture for English-speaking ticket-holders in the new theater, which has a retractable roof.


berammergau. In English the word translates to “above the Ammer River.’’ But Christians the world over know this picturesque village in Germany’s


Bavarian Alps as the Passion Play town. For one season each decade, in the years ending with zero, the towns- people reenact the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus for audiences that pack their playhouse from mid-May to early October. It’s a big production for a small town. More than half of Oberammergau’s 5,000 residents have a hand in the Passion Play, whether on stage or behind the scenes. Since all the actors are local, visitors are tempted to play spot-the-actor/guess-the-role. Hair is the tip-off. Notice the deliveryman with shoulder-length hair and a long white beard? He could be Caiaphas. And the woman in the shop with hair down to her waist? Maybe she plays Mary. Or maybe she’s just an extra. Whatever their roles, these people are the face of the Passion Play, part of a cast of 1,500 to 1,600 players. Except for those with lead roles—and there are two actors for each main part—they are all volunteers. They haven’t given up their day jobs, but just before 2 p.m. they leave work, hop on their bikes and head for the big playhouse on one end of town to fulfill their part of a centuries-old promise.


CAROL MUELLER


Close behind


them is an eager audience, some of whom have waited half their lives to see this play. At 2 p.m. a horn sounds


An Oberammergau couple arrive early at the stage entrance to the playhouse to change into their cos- tumes for the Passion Play. The cast is huge, with most participants playing extras.


a stirring fanfare throughout the village. Tourists fin- ish their shopping and diners pay for their lunches. It’s almost time. Throngs of people spill into the streets of Oberammergau and head for the playhouse, expensive tickets clutched in their hands and expectation written on their faces.


And above it all, high on a mountaintop overlooking


this picture-perfect village, stands a cross. From town, the cross seems small and distant, but it symbolizes every- thing that transpires in Oberammergau this day. Welcome to Passionsspiele 2010, the longest running play in history. It was born of a promise made in 1633 as the bubonic plague swept through the region, killing many in its path. The people of Oberammergau prayed for their lives and promised to portray the “Passion, Death and Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ’’ every 10 years. From that day on, nobody in the village died of the plague and a year later the first Passion Play was performed. “We’ve kept our promise for more than 340 years,’’


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