TORONTO — With Purim around the corner, Beth Tikvah Synagogue’s music director, Eyal Bitton, saw it as the perfect opportunity for an in-concert performance of his play about Queen Esther.
Eyal Bitton, Beth Tikvah’s music director, wrote the musical Miss Persia: The Musical in Concert and his wife, Michèle Tredger, plays the lead role of Hadassah/Esther.
“The seeds of this show actually started in 1997, while I was working on a musical The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz put on by the Yiddish Theatre of Montreal. I remember being very stimulated by this new field – I just tied onto musical theatre the year before,” said Bitton, 38.
“I never really grew up being a fan of musical theatre, but in 1996 I was starting to have ideas for a very dramatic musical, which turned into The Child [similar to a King Arthur legend] and at the same time I had this burst of creativity.
“I wondered what Dreamworks and Disney’s take on the Esther story would be. I’ve always enjoyed Aladdin and Beauty and the Beast because of their style and wide audience appeal,” he said.
Striving to use Jewish tradition and history as a springboard, Bitton believes Jewish literature to be “ancient and rich, starting with the Bible’s wonderful timeless stories that are universal. Having resonance with Christians as well as Jews, why not use them as source material?”
Bitton began creating Miss Persia in 1997 but got sidetracked writing and producing The Child, King David the Musical and Moses the Musical Saga.
“At one point I had to put it [Miss Persia] aside because The Child came together more quickly. Every year there was always a project that took priority. But since I’ve been at Beth Tikvah [nearly five years] developing programming with the musical committee and Cantor Tibor Kovari, I thought this year might be the right occasion for this show.”
After presenting his idea to the synagogue’s music committee last September, Bitton revised and wrote additional solos, duets and chorus numbers in his two-act play centring on the strong, courageous female character, Hadassah/Esther, played by Michèle Tredger, his wife.
The couple met when Tredger auditioned in Montreal for one of Ayal’s plays. Recognizing her talent, he enlisted her help in recording a demo tape of Miss Persia in 1998.
Tredger, a Quebec City native, has performed in Second City’s production of Tony ’n’ Tina’s Wedding; HMS Pinafore (at the Drayton Festival Theatre in Drayton, Ont.); King David the Musical (Winter Garden Theatre); and Moses the Musical Saga. She co-hosted The Producers and The Directors, which aired on Bravo and Star TV.
Miss Persia’s 15-member cast includes Vancouver actor-singer Martin Lindquist as Haman. The production’s keyboardist is Greg Gibson, the associate musical director of Lorraine Kimsa Theatre for Young People.
Miss Persia will be presented by Musica Beth Tikvah on Sunday, March 16 at 7:30 p.m. It will be performed in concert, without costumes or a set. “It’s like a stage reading – the full cast is on stage during the entire production, stepping forward if they’re involved in a particular scene,” Bitton says.
“If it’s a really good show it can be performed on an empty stage without costumes. I don’t want people to judge this based on the set. Let the work stand on its own.”
For tickets to Miss Persia, call 416-221-3433, ext. 354. General admission $25; reserved section $36; students and seniors $18; and under 18, $10.
For more information, visit www.musicabethtikvah.com and www.eyalbitton.com.
www.eyalbitton.com