Money Woes Draw Curtain on TCC Easter Passion Play
By Stephanie Innes, The Arizona Daily Star, Tucson
Mar. 3–There will be no Passion play at the Tucson Convention Center this Easter.
The cancellation of “On the Road to Jerusalem” is significant for many Tucson Christians because it marks the first time in 30 years that there will be no local communitywide Passion play.
Funding problems felled “On the Road to Jerusalem,” which was performed the past two years, said the play’s writer and director, Michael Dohrmann.
Dohrmann’s play had replaced the long-running “Simon Peter” Passion play, which shut down in late 2005 after 27 years of performances because of copyright problems.
When the non-profit Simon Peter Productions disbanded, Dohrmann and a splinter group set about performing another play. In about four months they pulled together “On the Road to Jerusalem” in time for Easter 2006.
But they lost 90 percent of the donors who had funded “Simon Peter,” as well as many of the “Simon Peter” sets and costumes. There wasn’t much time for rebuilding and fundraising.
Like “Simon Peter,”"On the Road to Jerusalem” was performed during Holy Week and on Easter Sunday at the Tucson Convention Center’s Music Hall.
“It’s just sad and disappointing, but everyone understands we can’t go on without paying the bills,” Dohrmann said.
“I’m going to miss it. It’s been a part of my life for six years and I’m sure by Easter Sunday I’ll have the itch to do it again,” he added.
One of “Simon Peter’s” signatures was that it charged no admission fee and relied on donations. Dohrmann said last year he decided to charge admission, ranging from $5 to $15 per person, for “On the Road to Jerusalem” because of mounting costs. The play cost about $60,000 to produce.
But ticket fees drove the crowd size down and Dohrmann said the bills kept coming in.
For a core group of between 40 and 50 cast members who worked on both Passion plays, the cancellation is difficult. The group is like a family, said Larry MacFarlane, a 53-year-old water technician who played Joseph of Arimathea in last year’s play.
MacFarlane has been involved in both local Passion plays for more than a decade.
“It will come back. I’m praying for a new play, something that’s the same, basic idea as ‘Simon Peter,’” he said. “It really is disappointing, but we know it’s all in the Lord’s plan and whatever he’s doing, he’ll let us know by next year.”
“On the Road to Jerusalem” told the Passion story through the eyes of the Roman soldiers who ended up crucifying Jesus Christ. “Simon Peter” was about the final three years of Jesus’ life and focused on his ministry. It was told through the eyes of a doubter who becomes an apostle.
Dohrmann, 29, who used to act in “Simon Peter” and once directed it, is a filmmaker who is currently working on a full-length feature about Jesus’ resurrection.
He’s also got some of the “On the Road to Jerusalem” cast members involved in an international faith-based film competition called the 168 Hour Film Project. The contest gives filmmakers 168 hours to create a 10-minute film based on a Bible verse.
Though he’s busy on other projects, Dohrmann said he’d like to do whatever he can to bring a community Passion play back to Tucson.
While several individual churches have their own Passion plays, “Simon Peter” and “On the Road to Jerusalem” utilized cast members from all over Tucson to create a professional performance that appealed to a wide range of residents, he said.
“We’ve got to buckle down and fund-raise more,” Dohrmann said.
DID YOU KNOW …
The “Simon Peter” play was founded, written and developed by Tucsonan Katherine R. Genders in 1979. The emotional, elaborate musical was presented from the perspective of Simon, a doubter who became the Apostle Peter. Genders died in 2002.
“Simon Peter” was performed for 27 years and regularly filled up the 2,200 seats in the Tucson Convention Center’s Music Hall.
After Simon Peter Productions disbanded in 2005 because of copyright problems, Tucson filmmaker Michael Dohrmann set to work writing his own Passion play, which tells the Passion story through the eyes of the Roman soldiers who end up crucifying Jesus Christ.
The new play, “On the Road to Jerusalem,” was performed for two years, in 2006 and 2007. Dohrmann said funding problems forced cancellation of the 2008 performance.
The history of passion plays
Passion plays began in the Middle Ages. The most famous came about from a vow made by the German villagers of Oberammergau. The villagers beseeched God to spare their lives during an outbreak of bubonic plague during the 17th century and as a thanksgiving promised to perform a play every 10 years about Jesus Christ’s suffering, death and resurrection. The next performance is in 2010.
European immigrants brought the Passion play tradition with them to the United States in the 19th century, and modern Christians have added their own elements, such as music and special effects.
On StarNet: Read the “Desert Beliefs” blog for more coverage of faith and values at go.azstarnet.com/desertbeliefs.
–Contact reporter Stephanie Innes at 573-4134 or at sinnes@azstarnet.com.
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