A fan favourite show down Highway 9 in Drumheller has had to push back their season one more year due to COVID-19. 

The Canadian Badlands Passion Play has told the story of Jesus Christ for over 25 years. The organization carved a natural stage out of Drumheller's landscape and has hosted millions of guests. 

According to Executive Director of the Passion Play, Vance Neudorf, they just couldn't go forward with the show this year. "We were ready to go, we had our auditions, we had our actors chosen, we built all of the sets, we were just waiting to see if we could get enough people in the seats to afford the budget and hire all the staff, but it just can't go forward this year." 

Neudorf explained that they hire over 3,500 actors for their production, and usually, they are able to hire them from pre-sales of tickets that come in around Easter. He said that this year, the buyer confidence wasn't there to buy a ticket in July. 

It was a tough decision for Neudorf to swallow as the last three years have been the toughest the Passion Play has seen. In 2019, before the pandemic, it was one of the rainiest seasons they had experienced and it caused them to have to cancel shows. 

"In 2019, we had the worst season on record, we had to cancel three shows and had to borrow money to get forward anyways. So, we were a little behind the 8-ball already, and then 2020 came along, and wow." 

He said that they have only 1 per cent of tickets sold, and very little in the bank. Neudorf explained that the play is currently running on fumes. 

Despite not being able to host their biggest event, they are still hosting a Roots, Blues, and Barbecue event which will feature bands of those genres and also some delicious BBQ food. 

To learn more, you can head to the Canadian Badlands Passion Play HERE.