What’s special about the number 43? Well, I’ll tell you: it’s very different from the number one. When you take a look at Who Is Esther and you look at who wrote the music – well, that was me. Who wrote the lyrics? That was me. But to get it to where it is today, that was NOT me.
There are 43 other people, and probably more, who have had a definitive impact on getting it to where it is. Some were the early singers who played the parts. Some were the professional musical theater people from the workshop who provided input. There were scholars who provided a deeper perspective on the subject matter of the play, and dramaturgy that pulled it apart and substantially made it better as we rebuilt it.
There were also performance coaches and music directors who worked with the singers, and an audio engineer who was vital to the process. It’s almost funny to say, ‘Gee, there’s only one person’s name: Who is Esther by Randall Craig.’ But there is a lot more.
As we move toward the stage, it’s just going to get better – not just because of me, but because of the inputs of all these people with so much experience: the director, the musical director, and experts in costumes, lighting, staging, and dance.
Their creative input is going to take something that was actually pretty cool and bring it to the next level. So, next time you go to a theater performance and think, ‘Oh yeah, so-and-so wrote it,’ remember it wasn’t just them. It was a huge collaborative team that developed the play to the point where you see it on the stage.