Passion Play tix for 2010 almost gone

Jesus casts the money-lenders out of the temple. Photo courtesy of Passion Play Oberammergau 2010

The Passion Play of Oberammergau comes around a little more often (every decade) than Halley’s Comet, but unless you book soon you’ll have to wait for the 2020 production to see one of Europe’s greatest and longest-running spectacles. When the bubonic plague ravaged Bavaria in 1633, the Oberammergau villagers vowed that if they were spared from further deaths, they would perform a play about the last days, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Except for hiatuses during two wars, they’ve been at it ever since. The 41st Passion Play takes place daily May 15-Oct. 3, 2010. About 2,500 of the 5,200 villagers are involved with the production, and the performers have been growing their hair and beards since Ash Wednesday 2009. Organizers expect the last of the combined one- and two-day packages of play tickets and lodgings to be sold out in the next month or so. For details (and connections to U.S. packagers), see the website: www.oberammergau-passion.com.

Posted by Patricia Harris and David Lyon, Globe Correspondents.