The 20th anniversary season of the Canadian Badlands Passion Play came to a close last weekend.
Ticket sales, though strong throughout the year, suffered following the Southern Alberta flooding crisis.
“Ticket sales were well ahead of the previous five year’s average prior to the flooding but the rising waters brought a marked decline in bookings,” said Vance Neudorf, executive director of the Passion Play.
In the end, roughly 12,500 were in attendance throughout the Passion Play. Though down from the previous two years, attendance for the 20th season was average. In 2011, which saw the 100th performance, attendance was 14,040.
Critically, the show was well received by those in attendance.
“Reviews on Trip Advisor revealed the 20th season exceeded all expectations. Changes to the staging and flow of the play greatly enhanced the experience and a common thread to the reviews was amazement that a Passion Play of this magnitude and professionalism has been in operation in Alberta for 20 years and they had just discovered it for themselves. 96% of those responding to our annual survey say they will recommend the Passion Play to their friends,” said Neudorf.
Despite the flood, Mother Nature was largely kind to the Passion Play.
The weather was stellar for the run of the show and the Passion Play’ record of having only cancelled two shows due to weather in the past twenty years remained intact. At one point storm clouds approached the 2600 seat amphitheatre but the rain veered to the south and left the audience enjoying the performance in pleasant temperatures along with a gentle breeze,” said Neudorf,
Now that the show is over for the season, the Passion Play is looking forward to plans to enhance the site further, especially in the new Forum theatre space.
The Passion Play will return on July 10 next year.
How things have changed. The site of the Passion Play has changed considerably since the opening season in 1994 (left). The 2013 Passion Play, the 20th season, saw a slight dip in attendance this year due to the flooding in Southern Alberta. Roughly 12,500 people attended the show this year.