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Reiss clearly studied every curly chestnut lock of a man dressed as Christ for the Oberammergau Passion Play, but the exaggerated yellows and reds he uses for his brother and son flirt with caricature.

OBERAMMERGAU, Germany — This is a town of wild-haired men.

But Stückl, who was born in Oberammergau and still lives here, even while also leading a theater about 55 miles north in Munich, stuck with it — his grandfather played Caiaphas, his father played Caiaphas, but he knew early he’d rather run the show.

Both men grew up in Oberammergau and are sons of Turkish immigrants.

“The passion play has a really important role for the community of Oberammergau because everybody participates,” said Andreas Rödl, the town’s 37-year-old mayor, “the people onstage, the people that sell woodcarvings, the people that sell coffee, the hotels and the gastronomy.”