Are you planning to attend the Passion Play in Oberammergau in 2010?
 

Just wondering. I was in Oberammergau last summer (charming village) on a stormy afternoon when I wandered into one of the largest religious goods store in the center of town. It was pouring rain and there were few people about. In discussion with the proprietor, he said that he and other business owners were very concerned about the financial success of the 2010 performance because of the economy and other factors. In the past, he explained, the play was performed in the day time with a break for lunch. Folks then wandered about the town, often moved to purchase religious memorabilia.

After much local controversy, it was determined that in 2010 the play would start in the afternoon with a break for dinner and then continue into the evening. From a pragmatic point of view, he and other shop owners felt that they would have less traffic under these circumstances. He feared that many visitors would “do” the nearby castles in the morning, attend the performance in the afternoon and evening, then leave with little time for exploring the town.

Obviously, the economy of Oberammergau and the surrounding area is dependent on the Passion Play which is only performed every ten years. For those interested in the event, you might read OBERAMMERGAU, The Troubling Story of the World’s Most Famous Passion Play by James Shapiro.

Are you planning to attend?

Yes, we are.

We attended in 2000 when the "usual" mode of operation included the 3-hour lunch break with the continuation afterward. The change in timing next year will be interesting.

I cannot comment on the "effects of the economy" since we will again be attending individually rather than using a tour operator. Tickets went on sale last year..or at least reservation requests opened and we did not get our very first choice in dates so who knows how it will go?

The play itself has been mired somewhat in "controversy" for DECADES. There are numerous stories about "anti-semitism" and the "changes" which have taken place in the presentation. In 2000 during the Maundy Thursday/Last Supper scene the actors all wore prayer shawls and then Judas hanged himself using his later on. The "special presentation" for Adolph Hitler supposedly cast one of the few non-Nazi party members in the town as Judas.

As to the notion that people do the castles, attend the performance, and "then leave"..that may or may not be the case. There are a limited number of "performance only" tickets available; the others REQUIRE you to take a two-night hotel package along with your tickets.

I have heard that demand for the Passion Play is well down on previous occasions. With the world mired in recession, and since a good proportion of visitors are from English-speaking countries suffering from the effects of credit crunch, unemployment and high euro, many tour operators who booked tickets in advance now find themselves unable to shift them with a tour package and will be forced to dump them on the open market. Some English tour operators have reported 50% drop in demand.

I attended in 1960. I actually liked the play better than the book.

I attended in 1980 and once was enough for me. Apparently, the summer I was there it was rather hot and I was way over heated at the Passion Play House.

My Mom was born and raised in Oberammergau. Although she lives in the states now, I still had 5 relatives in the play of 2000.

I am going in November of this year. I love the deserted Oberammergau vs the over crowded Oberammergau.

The Passion play is not the draw for me - the local people, food and relatives are my draw but I hope the economy improves and people go!

Rowdy

I plan to go in September. Does anyone have suggestions regarding best dates or days? I am flexible, but I want to catch a day at Oktoberfest (18 September through 3 October) while I am in the general area. Also I was planning to book the PP ticket and 2 nights accommodations using the PP's system. Anyone had experience with that? Thanks, Kathleen

In the past you might or might not have been able to get play only tickets but accroding to the post above perhaps that won;t be so hard next year.

If you Google the Passion Play you'll come up with the Play's website and I suspect you might get tickets directly from them...if there is to be a "dump" of tickets as mentioned above I suspect there may already be evidence of that on the internet.

As to best dates and days...as i mentioned in my own earlier post, a certain number of tickets are given over to the hotel package which requires two nights in a hotel...I have no idea what percentage of daily tickets this might be, however.

We plan to attend.

In 2000 we waited until late summer to make reservations. We had no problem getting what we wanted. We got a package that included lodging, play tickets and meals. We booked directly off the Passion Play website with no problem.

We do not have reservations for 2010 and don't plan on making them until early summer of 2010. We'll likely go for a package similar to what we had in 2000. We'll see what happens.

OK - really dumb question - isn't the play in German? or is it in German some days, other languages other days? Alec's reference to English-speaking attendees made me wonder. How does an only-English-speaking person follow the dialogue?

Yes, we think so. We haven't bought tickets yet, however, and I don't think we'll do a package tour. I think we'll get a hotel somewhere in the area, take in a day's performance and then back out. DH gets awfully cranky when in a crowd for too long...

KJSTUMP

Yes, it's entirely in German. You will get a programme with English translation. But then again, if you know your Bible, it's not difficult to make out the main dialogues....

The program!! I had forgotten about that - I gave up trying to read the program while the play was going on. There is never a dull moment up there on stage!

Since we will be attending with a start in PM and a break for dinner where would you suggest we have lunch before the play and a snack after the play, which will probably be around 11PM?

oberost: If you have tickets with overnight accommodations, then lunch before the play is included.

We'll be there too. Late August. Getting older, not too many decades remaining.

Just got back from Oberammergau. My family and I saw the play July 4, 2010. From my observation, the theater was full and the stores nearby seem busy. I love the play but most especially the music.
Just a tip if you're planning on going, bring a pocket flashlight so you can read the text when it gets dark. Bring a sweater too because it gets cold at night.
Overall it was a nice experience.