A Goal Realized

DJ served his mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in what was then called the Germany South Mission from 1971-1973. While on his mission, he heard about the Passion Play produced every 10 years in the tiny village of Oberammergau in what is referred to as Bavaria in the midst of the Ammergau Alps.

The Passion Play dates back to a vow made by the residents of Oberammergau in 1633. At that time the plague was raging in the entire region, and many were dying. The people vowed to portray the "Passion, Death, and Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ every ten years. From that moment on, not one person succumbed to the Black Death." The faithful residents of Oberammergau have kept that promise. DJ decided on his mission that he wanted to see this Passion Play some day.

Ten and a half months after DJ returned from Germany in April of 1974, we were married and spent a lot of time that first summer going through DJ's mission pictures and talking about Germany. DJ shared his desire to go to Oberammergau, and we decided we would go---someday.

I'm not sure if we ever planned to go in 1980 because we were both in school and wanted to start our family, but seeing how we didn't graduate until 1977 (two kids, two changes of a major, and one transfer to a different university will do that to you), had baby # 3 in 1979, and then her subsequent heart surgery and death in March of 1980, a trip to Europe just wasn't on the radar!

As I remember, we thought 1990 would be be do-able---you know, in all our naivity, we thought things would settle down and be easier then. 1990 brought pregnancy #8, and our darling Abby, in the middle of teaching seminary, DJ's busy career, and six other kids involved in dozens of activities----oh, and not a dime extra!

2000 brought our first grandchild, Rachel's wedding, another one in college, multiple kids in braces, hiked insurance rates from teenage drivers, and a business trip to six countries in Europe that I got to tag along on! There just wasn't time or money to squeeze in one more thing!

Well, our transfer came this year,******2010******, and we realized (well into the moving process) that this was the year of the play! We couldn't book tickets for the longest time because of so many unknowns, and then it was a matter of working with the schedule, finding accomodations, figuring out how we would get there, etc. Well.......we figured out a time, got a wonderful room in Garmisch, and went to Germany with a lot of hope that we could get one of the few remaining tickets for Saturday's performance at the box office because they weren't selling them on the internet anymore. The next day, Sunday, October 3rd, was the last performance of the season.

Saturday, we were up fairly early, but really knew deep-down that we should have rolled out of bed before dawn. We got ready, had a wonderful breakfast at the guest house where we were staying (should have grabbed an apple and run), and the clerk at the desk told us after checking on the internet that there were only 20 tickets left! We drove to Garmisch with a prayer in our hearts, hope for a miracle, and a tad bit of anxiety. We found a wonderful parking place just blocks from the theater which was a total blessing because they run shuttles in from parking lots on the outskirts of town. We were told at the information office that there were about 20 tickets available at the ticket office and A LINE that she didn't know the length of, but the day before it had started forming at 5:00 a.m. (did we think that no one would want to go besides us?).

(The carved relief above adorns the front of the theater). We went to the ticket office which wasn't opening until noon and got in line (a fairly good-sized line), and we waited and waited and waited. Mathematically, it didn't make sense, there were more bodies in front of us than 20, and even at that, people could be buying more than one ticket a piece; but we waited anyway---full of hope that our dream would come true (I had not decided by this time I couldn't call it a goal. If it was really a goal, we would have been a lot more pro-active for the last 36 years).

This beautiful mural of The Last Supper was on the ticket office wall, but we were on the other side----waiting........ and while we waited, DJ went to get Euros and lots of them just in case we came across a ticket scalper! While we waited, I read an entire book. It was a great little winner of the Newbery Award, written in free verse, about the dust bowl in Oklahoma in the mid-30's.

The theme of Out of the Dust was hope, which I found ironic because I was standing in that line with nothing but hope that I could get a ticket to see why humankind can have the greatest hope of all! Every once in awhile people would come from somewhere with tickets to sell OR tickets that they had found for their friend or family member in front of us and the line got shorter---not by much and only in front of us because lots of people were now standing behind us.

As we waited people began to come from every direction---mostly in waves indicating that yet another tour bus had unloaded its cargo. There was a wonderful sea of humanity speaking different languages, dressed for the cool weather, and equipped with blankets and umbrellas. Some would wander off and visit the near-by gift shops. Some would enter the theater to see the exhibits in the lobby or to make a visit to the WC (water closet). Others would find a seat on a nearby bench, and others would get in line behind us.

Once in awhile we got to see people dressed in their native costumes.

But mainly, we just waited and the masses continued to arrive. At some point before noon, an official-looking gentleman came by the line and said that he had no guarantee how many tickets there were---it could be 2 or it could be 20, but he implied that there weren't enough for everyone in the line. We wavered, but we hung on. The line seemed to get quite a bit shorter, but DJ pointed out that it was because people had folded up their camp chairs and were pressed forward in a tighter configuration.

People continued to deal. A few found tickets elsewhere, but then the same gentleman came back and said there were 30 tickets and no one could purchase more than two. We counted...it didn't look good, but we had invested a lot of time and maybe, just maybe, some of those people in front of us would only buy one ticket!

The box office opened. Sales were painfully slow as people looked at the available seating on a map. We moved up ever so slowly and when we were the fifth couple from the counter, the clerk came out and told us that the tickets were GONE. But...he assigned us a number, took our names, and told us to be back there at 2:00. People with reserved seats had to pick their tickets up by 2:00---if they didn't, they went up for sale. We grabbed lunch at a cute little cafe and ate on their patio, visiting with a wonderful couple from Virginia who had just been on a Pilgrimage in Spain. We went back and got in line and even though there were people trying to crowd in front of us who had been assigned numbers, our name was called, and we got two of the most wonderful seats in the middle of the middle section, mid-way back in the theater. Couldn't have been more perfect. I felt badly for whoever didn't get their tickets and for those behind us who possibly didn't get in, but felt like the Lord had definitely answered our prayers.

This is the theater. The close to 5,000 seats are covered, but the stage is largely in the open. There is a pit for the orchestra in front, and the actors accessed the stage from five openings in the set, and from stairs down below as well.

(Only took this shot to remember how beautiful the surroundings were outside!)
The play lasts about five hours. Roughly 2:30 to 5:00 and then a break for dinner, starting again at 8:00 and ending near 10:30! They do not allow photography during the performance, but the play beautifully depicts the Savior's last days commencing with his ride on a donkey into Jerusalem---a real donkey, I might add. There were times when there were live sheep, doves, camels, and a horse on the stage as well. Nothing was spared. There was the orchestra like I mentioned and an Oratorio-type chorus which performed---both incredible. The costuming was well-done, the acting superb. The script was written to include many of the Savior's teachings from earlier in the New Testament as well as recounting some of his miracles, etc. so as to inform someone not familiar with scripture or a non-believer about his life, his love, his compassion, and his strength. Every so often within the play, there would be a vignette or tableaux with motionless actors depicting a scene from the Old Testament in the rear center stage. The program said they were to aid in theological analysis, but I was so reminded of the many times when I taught Old Testament how many of the prophets and their lives would actually be a "type" of the Savior and his life. It was quite amazing seeing it all brought to life.

(A quick shot right before the second-half showing the darkness outside and an idea of what the roof was like). The acts depicting the last supper, the Garden of Gethsame, the betrayal, the trials, Judas' hanging, the crucifixion, and resurrection were very realistic and gave one a lot of food for thought. I came away with an increased love for the Savior, a heightened awareness of his power, his love, his suffering, and his majesty; and I left the theater so grateful for the hard work of the people of Oberammergau and their willingness to share it all with me and the rest of the world.