In 1932, Josef Meier, a native of Luenen, Germany, brought a small company of actors to the United States to tour with a passion play. It was performed in German, destined for a limited engagement in German theaters, churches, and German-speaking communities. Political and economic conditions in Germany were already deteriorating during this time, and Meier determined to remain in America, to found a permanent home for the play. He translated the play into English, hiring American actors to replace the German-speaking cast. As he booked tours across the United States, Meier continued to seek a suitable permanent outdoor location for his production, mentioning his quest to the public in interviews across the nation. En route to the West Coast, Meier presented the Passion Play in Sioux Falls, the only town of size within South Dakota at that time. A group of businessmen from the Black Hills attended and asked Meier to examine possible sites in their area. He chose a spectacular natural location in Spearfish, and in 1939, an amphitheater was constructed and became the home of the renamed Black Hills Passion Play of America.

In 1932, Josef Meier, a native of Luenen, Germany, brought a small company of actors to the United States to tour with a passion play. It was performed in German, destined for a limited engagement in German theaters, churches, and German-speaking communities. Political and economic conditions in Germany were already deteriorating during this time, and Meier determined to remain in America, to found a permanent home for the play. He translated the play into English, hiring American actors to replace the German-speaking cast. As he booked tours across the United States, Meier continued to seek a suitable permanent outdoor location for his production, mentioning his quest to the public in interviews across the nation. En route to the West Coast, Meier presented the Passion Play in Sioux Falls, the only town of size within South Dakota at that time. A group of businessmen from the Black Hills attended and asked Meier to examine possible sites in their area. He chose a spectacular natural location in Spearfish, and in 1939, an amphitheater was constructed and became the home of the renamed Black Hills Passion Play of America.

Throughout the Americas, performances deriving from medieval European rituals, ceremonies, and festivities made up a crucial part of the cultural cargo shipped from Europe to the overseas settlements. In 1583, Sir Humphrey Gilbert sailed from Plymouth, England, to Newfoundland, bringing with him "morris dancers, hobby horses, and Maylike Conceits" for the "allurement of the savages" and the "solace of our people." His voyage closely resembled that of twelve Franciscan friars who in 1524 had arrived in what is now Mexico armed with a repertoire of miracle plays, religious processions, and other performances. These two events, although far from unique, helped shape initial encounters between Europeans and indigenous peoples; they also marked the first stages of the process that would lead—by no means smoothly—to a distinctively American culture. Ritual Imports is a groundbreaking cultural history of European performance traditions in the New World, from the sixteenth century to the present. Claire Sponsler examines the role of survivals and adaptations of medieval drama in shaping American culture from colonization through nation building and on to today's multicultural society. The book's subjects include New Mexican matachines dances and Spanish conquest drama, Albany's Pinkster festival and Afro-Dutch religious celebrations, Philadelphia's mummers and the Anglo-Saxon revival, a Brooklyn Italian American saint's play, American and German passion plays, and academic reconstructions of medieval drama. Drawing on theories of cultural appropriation, Ritual Imports makes an important contribution to medieval and American studies as well as to cultural studies and the history of theater.

Every ten years since 1634, the Bavarian village of Oberammergau has performed the world's most famous Passion Play, recounting the last days of Jesus Christ. In 2010, presenting the play for the 41st time, the village broke with tradition to offer a new interpretation for a post-millennial, international audience. Drawing on interviews with villagers and international responses, this collection of new essays provides an analysis of the play by scholars who attended. Topics include changes in response to charges of anti-Semitism, how the play defines the village, how the performance changes the audience, and a comparison of Oberammergau 2010 with American Passion Plays, Indian pilgrimage drama and other German Passion Plays.