Calgary actor Connor Suart potrays Jesus in the 30th edition of the Badlands Passion Play near Drumheller. Badlands Amphitheatre / C.Schatz Photography

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For the past 30 years, the Badlands Passion Play has been one of Alberta’s top tourist attractions.

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Over these three decades, more than 300,000 people have seen this live reenactment of the final days in the life of Christ, in the largest outdoor theatre in Canada near Drumheller.

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“Although most of our guests from outside Alberta come from across Canada, we have had visitors from Germany, Ireland, the United States and India,” says Alyssa Neudorf, the artistic director of The Badlands Passion Play.

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This year, the cast for the play is 80 members, 65 who are performers, seven musicians and 20 production people. Half of these are volunteers, with the other half being professionals and semi-professionals. There is also a donkey, two horses and pigeons.

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“After more than six years in the play, our donkey doesn’t need handlers anymore. She knows what is expected of her and just does it. The pigeons we release come back in the evening expecting to be fed, so they are as well trained.”

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The Badlands Passion Play runs in a natural amphitheatre near Drumheller. C.Schatz Photography

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This will be the last year for the story as told through the gospels of Matthew. In their gospels, the apostles Matthew, Mark, Luke and John gave their versions of the ministry of Christ, from his baptism to his crucifixion and resurrection. Matthew was initially vilified and despised because he was a tax collector, which explains why he understood the plight of the prostitute Mary Magdalene. Christ welcomed both Matthew, who was also known as Levi, and Mary into his inner circle as symbols of his love for and acceptance of everyone.

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Nathan Schmidt plays Matthew, with Kelsey Krogman as Mary, and Calgarian Connor Suart in his second year as Christ. Neudorf says, “The first actor to play Jesus was Hunter Barnes in 1994. Connor is the 16th actor to play the lead. It is a challenging role, both in the approach to exploring the character and in its physicality. The actor needs to be prepared to move around our large outdoor stage, up and down the hills. There is an emotional weight as they explore the themes of love and suffering, and ultimately hope. And then we put them in rigging to raise them up the cross. It is a challenging role to cast, but our actors have risen to the challenge.”

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It is not just the actor who plays Christ who needs to be athletic. The actors who play the angels also have to climb the hills at the back of the natural amphitheatre for the play’s big finale.

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Though the Passion Play has been a staple of the Badlands Theatre, the new Arts Centre at the Badlands Amphitheatre will allow the site to operate year-round. According to Neudorf, “we have been able to expand our programming into the fall and winter months. This year, we will be producing Journey to Bethlehem, an interactive Nativity story, which will be on sale soon. While we explore the life of Jesus in the summer, we will have the opportunity to tell the story of his birth this winter, in November.”

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The Badlands Passion Play runs weekends from July 3 through July 19. The first Friday, July 3, is already sold out. Friday and Saturday shows are at 6 pm. with Sunday shows at 4 p.m. The show runs 150 minutes with a 20-minute intermission.

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