Story Behind The Song

This full-length stage musical (comprised of 18 songs) is based on the Old Testament story of Esther, a young Jewish girl who became queen of the Medo-Persian Empire approximately 2,500 years ago. During this era the twelve tribes of Israel had been conquered, vanished from their "promised land" and forced into captivity by the surrounding nations. Hadassah (Esther's original Jewish name) has been raised by her older cousin Mordecai after the death of her parents in the Medo-Persian capital city of Susa. Mordecai is a humble gatekeeper at the palace of King Ahasuerus. The king throws a great feast replete with gluttony, drunkenness and lust. He orders Queen Vashti to appear before his rowdy all-male guests so they may admire her beauty. She refuses, and is banished from the king's site forever. The king commands his royal guard to search the empire for a new queen. All the beautiful young virgins shall be brought to his palace. Hadassah (now renamed "Esther" by Mordecai to hide her Jewish lineage) is selected. The king and Esther fall madly in love at first sight. Haman, the king's evil prime minister, uses a Persian dice game called "Purim" to trick him into authorizing the killing of the Jews. Queen Esther reveals her Judaism to her husband in order to spare her people from genocide. Esther's heroism and faith is now remembered in an annual Jewish holiday known as the Feast of Purim.