The BYU-Idaho Theatre Department is putting the finishing touches on its stage play of “Esther” in February.
The play is an adaptation of the French Neoclassical era performance written by Jean Racine, which explores the story of the biblical character, Esther.
The Theater Department started the creative process nearly a year ago.
"We started first of all by discussing the script and the story of ‘Esther’ and why it was important to all of us individually,” said Jennie Pardoe, the show's director, and Theatre Department faculty member.
Pardoe said she and the other faculty members conducted extensive research on the original text.
“I did a lot of historical background research on what it was like in ancient Persia at the time of Esther and the history behind it," Pardoe said.
The Theatre Department held auditions for the show during the Fall Semester, and Pardoe said she was impressed by the talent who showed up.
"Our cast is actually younger than normal for our productions,” Pardoe said. “We have a lot of people who are new to the stage for us who are in this show. And as we went through the audition process, it was interesting because I was able to feel through the Spirit that there were certain decisions that needed to be made.”
She said one of the students who they cast didn’t even audition, but they had worked with the student previously and felt strongly they belonged in the show.
"We put together the group that not only stood out in terms of their acting but also stood out in terms of the way that they approached working with each other in a Christ-like way and then used the Spirit to fill out our cast too," Pardoe said.
Pardoe said the story of Esther felt especially relevant for students right now. She added that the particular roles and themes in the play have been powerful to the actors.
“I think we as a group, as a cast, have really felt the Spirit as we've worked through things. We want people to know that you're going to feel the Spirit when you come," Pardoe said.
Pardoe says the show strays a little bit from the book of Esther in the Bible.
"If you haven't read Esther recently, you may go and then go, wait a second, and then go back to your Bible and be like, that's not the way it happened,” Pardoe said. She explained that because the play was written in the Neoclassical style, it had to take place in a 24-hour span of time.
One of Pardoe's favorite scenes is at the beginning, and she thinks the audience will understand why when they see the play.
‘Esther’ will open Feb. 4 and run through Feb. 14 in the Snow Black Box Theatre. The show on Feb. 14 will be a 2 p.m. matinee and the other shows are at 7:30 p.m. You can get tickets online at tickets.byui.edu.