By guest contributor Joe David
Photo credit: Patricia McDougall
There wasn’t a single dry eye in the room at the National Press Club after two performers finished singing their musical medley from the two-act operetta Esther, Sweet Esther – presented by Jeremiah Theatricals.
The original new operetta by Jeremiah and Wendy Ginsberg, based on the Biblical story of Esther, will be making a pre-Broadway visit to Washington for a one-night premiere concert at the National Press Club on Sunday July 30th. During the performance for the Host Committee Tuesday at the National Press Club, Esther took center stage where it joyfully released some of its musical magic to a spell-bound group of visitors from the media, theater and arts.
“The operetta isn’t just another musical in concert,” Wendy Ginsberg said. “With its Broadway-style delivery and uplifting message, it is more meaningful than the typical Broadway-bound production. Esther, Sweet Esther could be compared to Candide or Les Miserables with its strong theme, charming music and acting finesse.”
Megan Crowder, Denny Hollowell, Jeremiah and Wendy Ginsberg
At the meet-and-greet reception which featured two members of the 12-member cast, several of the songs were sung, each with power and beauty by professionally trained singers with broad vocal range. Soprano Megan Crowder, who began the evening with the poignant aria “If I Perish,” dramatically captured the full attention of the audience in her performance of this show-stopping aria. Denny Hollowell, a theatrical savvy tenor, accompanied her with several others songs. Together, they filled the room with an emotional excitement, which left the audience overwhelmed by the sheer magic of Jeremiah Ginsberg’s music.
The two-hour presentation, which was performed exclusively for the benefit of 50 select guests, is based on the Biblical story of Esther, the young Jewish woman who dazzles the King of Ancient Persia and becomes his Queen. It highlights the stirring story of an orphaned maiden who surprisingly becomes Queen of Ancient Persia and risks her life to foil the evil schemes of Haman, the man with the little square moustache out to destroy her race.
Wendy and Jeremiah Ginsberg, Nicole d’Amecourt, Megan Crowder, Denny Hollowell
“Esther, Sweet Esther is a light, witty and dramatic two-act operetta that appeals to all ages and all faiths,” Jeremiah Ginsberg said in talking about his latest production. “The timely presentation of this story about Queen Esther makes it more than just a story about a young Jewish woman in Ancient Persia. It is an uplifting reminder of hope for all persecuted people.”
Esther, Sweet Esther is the fourth in a series of musical productions based on Biblical themes by the theatrical team of Jeremiah and Wendy Ginsberg. Two of the arias from Esther received a standing ovation when they were performed at The Presidential Inaugural Prayer Breakfast in Washington, DC, January 21, 2013. Rabbi Jonathan Cahn, author of The Harbinger and The Mystery of the Shemitah, summed up the excitement of the audience that morning by stating succinctly, “The rendition of the two songs from Esther, Sweet Esther was wonderful!”
Denny Hollowell, Jan Du Plain, Jane Pennewell
Singing the lead songs in the musical presentation from the operetta on Sunday, July 30th at the National Press Club (grand ballroom) will be Washington’s very own Lubana Al-Quntar (Esther) who is currently in London appearing in Salomé at the Royal National Theater. Her rich and expressive voice with its impressive musical range has delighted audiences around the world. Some of Lubana’s notable appearances include: Opera Bastille (Paris), Opera Theater La Monnaie (Brussels), and The Royal National Theatre (London). Her other appearances include the Flemish Opera (Antwerp), Orchestre Philharmonique de Liege (Belgium), Flemish Radio Orchestra, and the Kennedy Center (Washington, DC).
Katie Ozga, Wendy and Jeremiah Ginsberg, Janet Scanlon
The Jeremiah and Wendy Ginsberg team have written and produced for the stage three other Biblical musicals, including two award-winners, Rabboni and Mendel & Moses. The talented couple have distinguished themselves over the years with their original music and their witty productions based on Biblical stories. Tuneful and Biblically accurate, their music and stories have delighted audiences and critics in both Los Angeles and New York.
Thomas Augustus Noll, Curtis, T. Bell, Jose Alberto Ucles
Jeremiah has earned a multitude of theatrical titles during his long career in show business, including producer, director, orchestrator, composer, lyricist and attorney. Wendy Ginsberg (producer and co-book writer), a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley, began her career in Los Angeles after studying acting with Charles Conrad, Winifred Keithly and Milton Katselas. She appeared in Funny Lady and Kojak as well as in print and commercials. Prior to meeting Jeremiah at an audition for Rabboni, she was a script reader at 20th Century Fox and wrote spec screenplays.
Megan Crowder who appeared Tuesday at the National Press Club is a Florida native with many impressive credits, including numerous concerts both here and abroad. While still in college, she premiered in the works of contemporary composers such as Libby Larson, Lawrence Siegel, and Michael McGlynn. She can be heard on the recording of Jeremiah Ginsberg’s song, Sing & Dance in Israel.
Connie Nash, Klara Sever, Gerry Eitner
Denny Hollowell has performed in three of the Ginsbergs’ musicals, Rabboni, Mendel & Moses, and in Esther, Sweet Esther at The Presidential Inaugural Prayer Breakfast and at Maranatha Church in Paramus, New Jersey. He sang with the Virginia Chorale and from 1992 to 2014 was a professional core tenor in the Virginia Symphony Orchestra Chorus.
Shahin Mafi, Portia Davidson, Myron-Belkind
Among the guests present were Lisa LeBourgeois, Embassy of Israel; Janet Scanlon and Katie Ozga, Willard International Continental Hotel; Gerald Krell, President, Auteur Productions; Portia and Michael Davidson; Sheila Switzer, AAFSW/State Department; Shahin D. Mafi, Azar Foundation for Children Around the World; Commissioner Alberto Ucles, DC Arts & Humanities Commission; Vera Danchenko-Stern, Artistic Director, Russian Chamber Art Society; Steve Shulman, Executive Director, Cultural Tourism DC; Leila Beale, wife of former Ambassador of Barbados; C. Naseer Ahmad, Board of Directors, The Embassy Series; Kim Weichel, President, PeaceXPeace; Curtis T. Bell, venture capitalist; Nicole d’Amecourt, Board Member, WIPAC; Vince De Paul, actor and producer; Elizabeth Webster, producer; and Myron Belkind, former President, National Press Club to name a few.
Leila Beale, Richard de Sonier, Ann Townsend, President, The Museum Exchange
A marvelous time was had by all. Based on the reactions of those present last Tuesday, the event on July 30th with its full concert version presentation, promises to be even more wonderful.
Tickets for the operetta are available through their web site www.esthersweetester.com. Jeremiah Theatricals is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation for the arts.
