This week’s Travel cover features the granddaddy of all outdoor Passion plays, the one in Oberammergau, Germany, which is staged only one season every 10 years. But other performances based on the life of Christ take place each year in the great outdoors of America. Here are a few of them:
South Dakota: The “Black Hills Passion Play” opened for its first summer season in 1939. This year, the outdoor show runs now through Aug. 31 in Spearfish. (800-457-0160, or at www.blackhills.com/bhpp)
Arkansas: “The Great Passion Play” has opened on its 33rd season, running now through Oct. 28 in Eureka Springs. (800-882-7529, or at www.greatpassionplay.com)
Tennessee: “The Life of Christ Passion Play” unfolds in the Smoky Mountains now through Oct. 31 in Townsend. (865-448-9080, or atwww.1-search-engine.com/jesus-drama.htm)
North Carolina: “Worthy Is the Lamb” is staged beside the White Oak River June 30-Sept. 16 in Swansboro. (800-662-5960, or atwww.worthyisthelamb.com)
Texas: “The Promise” is a musical on a mesa top, now through Oct. 28 in Glen Rose. (800-687-2661)
Note: Dates above indicate a show’s “season.” Performances generally take place only on selected days within the season.
For the complete list and details, send $5 for the “2000 Directory of Outdoor Drama in America” to: Institute of Outdoor Drama, CB 3240, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3240; or access the Web site www.unc.edu/depts/outdoor/ (the Web site as published has been corrected in this text).
