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In 1932.
troupe's leader and portrayer of Christ, late Josef Meier, and his wife, Claire Mume Meier, who played Mary, met with South Dakotans who proposed a Black Hills amphitheatre, following a Sioux Falls engagement in 1937.
Meier considered a number of sites for an outdoor stage and it was prime importance that a locality be found that would, because of its climatic and natural background, ensure success of play. There was a natural amphitheater in Spearfish, without need of extensive changes. And weather was stable in summer months.
The modern 6,000-seat Black Hills Passion Play amphitheater is largest stage in USA.
Outdoor performances began in Spearfish in 1939. Even today performances are every Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday at 8 p.m. during summer months (Bring a jacket, evenings are cool.). In its impressive size and arrangement, stage is in keeping with architecture of 2000 years ago. Some of buildings are 40-50 feet high, but they do not dominate setting.
In 1954, citizens of Spearfish and Josef Meier were presented with Freedoms Foundation Award for their achievement in community development. Soon Passion Play of Spearfish became a pilgrammage site. Camels, horses, donkeys, sheep, and doves lend to feeling of authenticity. You feel as if present at events that took place two thousand years ago.
The theater evolved from rustic pine plank seating to one of world's most comfortable venues with 6,000 stadium-style seats. Spearfish changed from a tiny isolated village to a community of 10,000 on nation's longest transcontinental highway, Interstate 90.
But for all progress in past 65 years, Passion Play would be recognizable to audiences who witnessed it in Germany long ago or in more than 600 U.S. and Canadian cities in recent decades. Twenty two scenes include Christ's triumphant entry into Jerusalem, Last Supper, betrayal by Judas, trials before Pontius Pilate and King Herod, Crucifixion, and Resurrection.
Josef Meier's daughter, Johanna, a well known worldwide opera phenom, along with her husband Guido Della Vecchia, produce Passion Play today.
While Play's upcoming anniversary in Spearfish, overall longevity, and massive audience numbers intrigue people, Johanna Meier noted: "We can't allow ourselves to let those things overshadow important story we are telling."
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