Costumes, Broadway tunes, and the story of Queen Esther took center stage Sunday when Congregation Ner Tamid’s Religious School staged a Broadway Purim Spiel and Carnival.
Purim is one of the most joyous holidays on the Jewish calendar, commemorating a time when the Jewish people living in Persia, now Iran, were saved from extermination.
As part of the celebration, Congregation Ner Tamid’s Religious School students, in full costume and make-up, performed a spiel — a comic dramatization of the Book of Esther, the central text describing what transpired on Purim — set to the tunes of well-known Broadway ballads.
Songs planned for the performance include “Megillah of Life” (“Circle of Life”) from “The Lion King,” “Little Men” (“Little-Girls”) from “Annie,” “Matchmaker” from “Fiddler on the Roof,” “You Need Me” (“You’ll Be Back”) from “Hamilton,” “So Long, Farewell” from “The Sound of Music,” “We Will Not Bow Down” (“Seize the Day”) from “Newsies,” “Before the Spiel Passes By” (“Before the Parade Passes By”) from “Hello Dolly,” “Naughty” from “Matilda,” and “Seasons of Love” from “Rent.”
After the performance, the celebration continued with a Broadway-themed carnival featuring games, activity booths, train rides, karaoke, giant inflatables, water balloons with Congregation Ner Tamid Rabbi-Cantor Jessica Hutchings, sub sandwiches, Jeremiah’s ice cream cups, coffee and donuts, and more.
The event also included spinning gragers, walking around in costumes, and eating hamantaschen, traditional Purim bakery treats.