One of the more challenging aspects in the original Book of Esther is how misogyny is dealt with: in the end Haman (Ham) is hung, but the King gets off scot-free. There is no accountability. On one hand, it’s easy to say, “Well, he was the King,” or “We don’t know what happens AFTER the Book, that wasn’t written down,” or even “That was in biblical times—we shouldn’t judge what happened then by today’s standards.” On the other hand, we are living today, with today’s standards. We simply don’t abide by the sexual exploitation of women.
So when writing Who Is Esther, there was a conundrum: do I stick to the original story, where Mr. Verious is not held to account, or do I change the story and hold him to account? It is true that he moves from a dastardly exploiter (the initial scene with Vashti in his office) to a leader who tells Ham to fall in line (“She’s different; respect her”), to one that is incensed by Ham’s exploitative ways, and in The Event, dramatically fires him. So yes, I wrote the play so his character moves through an arc from bad to good—from exploiter to ally—but that doesn’t absolve him of his prior behavior. This character needs to change.
I’ll cut to the chase and share that in the next version of Who Is Esther, he will be held to account; this will also give me the opportunity to extend the length of the piece and add a number of new songs. I don’t want to spill the beans completely, but I will share a few clues: keep your eyes on the Schemers, and also on Uncle Mo. (And if you have any ideas, happy to receive!)
You can find Who Is Esther on Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram. Pick your favorite and stay in the loop.