Canadian Badlands Passion Play

The Canadian Badlands Passion Play is a passion play performed annually since 1994 in Drumheller, Alberta, Canada. The play takes place every July in a natural bowl amphitheater found in the Drumheller Valley, less than 10 minutes from downtown. The unique outdoor location was chosen for the topographical similarity to the Israeli countryside surrounding Jerusalem, as well as the superb natural acoustics. It follows the story of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus found in the Gospels, told through drama and music, using over 200 volunteer performers. Every five years or so, the script is rewritten to tell the story from a fresh perspective. Each year, more than 10,000 audience members travel to Drumheller for the Passion Play, an area already known for tourist attractions like the Canadian Badlands and the Royal Tyrell Museum. Audience members come not only from all across Alberta, but also from around the world - some coming as pilgrims, others simply coming to see a massive theatre production.

In 1988 the founder of the Rosebud Theatre and Rosebud School of the Arts, Laverne Erickson, formed a steering committee and began gaining the support of local community organizations for what would become the Canadian Badlands Passion Play. The charter meeting for the establishment of a passion play was held in 1990, and thus was born the Canadian Badlands Passion Play Society. The Honourable Gordon Taylor, Former Minister of Highways for Alberta and Member of the Legislative Assembly for the Drumheller Riding, was presented with the title of honorary chairman for the society. During the 1960s, Mr. Taylor had put forth efforts in Drumheller to produce a passion play for the area, but the project was never started due to several factors.

The society set Summer 1994 as its goal for the first production of the show. 30 acres (120,000 m²) of land were obtained, in addition to another 65 acres (260,000 m²) owned in conjunction with the Drumheller Valley Ski Hill. In July of that year, the Canadian Badlands Passion Play held its premiere performance, filling the 1150 available seats. The original playwright, Kathy Covert, directed the show.

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