Farmington Passion Play Marks 40 Years With Six-Night Spring Run

The Passion Play of the Four Corners opened its 40th spring run in Farmington on Saturday, March 29, launching a six-night engagement that continues nightly through April 3 with three performances still remaining.

The live theatrical production, which stages the Passion of Jesus with a cast of community volunteers and local actors, is powered almost entirely by unpaid labor. Local church groups, regional performers, and an all-volunteer technical crew handle everything from stage management to lighting and sound, making it one of the most labor-intensive volunteer-driven productions in San Juan County.

That same community infrastructure has doubled as a practical training ground across four decades. Organizers have used the annual run to develop local stage technicians and introduce youth to theatrical production, a dual mission that has helped sustain the event across multiple generations of participants and kept the volunteer pipeline intact year after year.

For downtown Farmington, the timing carries real economic weight. The March 29 through April 3 window falls in a stretch of the county calendar with few competing major events, and the six-night format concentrates audience traffic in ways that benefit nearby hospitality and retail businesses. The production draws families and visitors from across the Four Corners region, not only Farmington.

Clergy and civic leaders typically attend select performances during the run, and organizers use the week to support nonprofit outreach programs aligned with the Play's mission. Volunteer needs extend beyond the stage: crew positions, concessions, and outreach support remain open through Thursday's final performance.

KSJE, which has spotlighted the production on its events calendar, directed listeners to local box-office information and encouraged advance reservations for popular nights. Organizers recommend arriving early for parking; accessibility seating and family viewing sections are available at the venue.

Forty consecutive springs is a rare achievement for any volunteer-driven production. The Passion Play of the Four Corners has now outlasted most of the arts programs that once shared the Four Corners spring calendar with it, returning each March with the same cast of unpaid hands keeping it running.