The Passion Play, Bavarian-style, is a magnet for tourists

By Verena Wolff Mar 23, 2010, 16:03 GMT

Oberammergau, Germany - Guests currently visiting the Bavarian Alpine town of Oberammergau immediately notice one thing: many of the men are wearing beards and long hair.

The long, cold winter in the Alps is not the reason behind this, but rather it's on the orders of City Hall: 'Starting from Ash Wednesday (February 17) we ask that you start letting your hair grow. For men, this also applies to their beards.'

Not all the locals must obey this command - only those who will be performing in the town's famous Passion Play which this summer is expected to draw tens of thousands of visitors to Upper Bavaria.

The region already has a lot to offer tourists, whether it's snowshoe trekking in winter or mountain hiking in the summer, or simply an all-round wellness vacation. Oberammergau is also famous for its wooden religious carvings and for the colourful paintings which decorate the walls of the town's buildings and houses.

But every 10 years, Oberammergau becomes a magnet for tourists because of its performance of the Passion Play, the Biblical story of the final days, crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Around 2,500 of the town's 5,300 residents perform in the play, whether in the main roles of Jesus, Maria, Pontius Pilate, the disciples Judas and John, as the priests and Roman soldiers, or simply as the populace of Jerusalem.

About 500 children take part as well, in addition to the 120 men and women singing in the chorus and another 60 people playing in the orchestra.

The history of the play goes back almost 400 years - to the 30 Years War (1618-1648) - when the bubonic plague was raging in the Ammergauer Alps and claiming many lives. In 1633, a group of citizens got together and pledged the town would perform the Passion Play every 10 years if the plague would quickly come to an end.

According to local accounts, the plague claimed no further victims and a year later, the villagers made good on their pledge.

The play was performed in the town cemetery - 'virtually on top of the graves of the plague victims,' notes Frederik Mayet, the 30-year- old who this year will be playing the Jesus role. Ten years ago he performed as the disciple John.

Under the local rules, only those who are either Oberammergau-born or who have lived in the town for at least 20 years are eligible for the Jesus role.

Traditions in Oberammergau are cherished - something which Passion Play director Christian Stueckl knows very well.

This year's production will be the third for Stueckl, who otherwise is general director of the Volkstheater in Munich, and he is planning a few changes. Previously, the Passion Play performances ran 9.30 am to 5.30 pm, including a three-hour intermission. Now Stueckl, for dramaturgical reasons, will have the play run 2.30-10.30 pm.

Rehearsals have been going on daily since November and will continue until the May 15 premiere. For Stueckl, the work began with the selection of his cast and reworking the scripts which are based on the New Testament Scriptures.

What will be totally new in 2010 is the stage scenery. Trees will frame the stage and the floor is being painted blue. The 12 so-called living pictures which depict scenes from the Old Testament and which, shown between the spoken text passages are integrated into the plot, are much more colourful than those in past stagings.

During the five-month summer theatre season, around half a million visitors will be descending on the idyllic Bavarian town to witness the play about the life and suffering of Jesus.

When the final curtain falls on October 3, the Ammergauer townsfolk will have once again managed to stage a major event. Certainly many of them will be happy to take a well-deserved vacation - and maybe pay a visit to the barber shop as well.

Information: www.passionsspiele2010.de; www.oberammergau.de.