Esther and Mordecai
1685, Aert de Gelder
Oil on canvas
Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest
LIGHTS UP
NARRATOR Now in Shushan the palace there
was a certain Jew, whose name was
Mordecai, who had been carried away from Jerusalem as part of the Babylonian
captivity. And he brought up Hadassah, that is, Esther, his uncle's
daughter: for she had neither father nor mother alive to care for her, and
the maid Esther was indeed fair and beautiful. So it came to pass, when the
king's commandment and his decree was heard, and when many maidens were
gathered together unto Shushan the palace, that Esther was brought also unto
the king's house. Only Esther had not showed her people nor her kindred:
for Mordecai had charged her that she should not show it.
A STREAM OF LOVELY WOMEN WALK ACROSS THE STAGE
NARRATOR (CONT) Now when the turn came for each maiden to go in to King
Ahasuerus, she was given whatever she desired to take with her from the
harem to the king's palace. (KING AHAHUERUS takes a seat on his throne in
the background, along with a table of 3 judges, 2 men and one woman, set off
to the side) Once seen, each woman did not go in to the king again, unless
the king delighted in her and she was summoned by name. One by one, each
girl was rejected for being too demanding and quite frankly, reminding the
king just a little too much of his psycho ex-wife, Queen Vashti.
HAMAN presents PRINCESS HARENI, another would-be Queen, to KING AHAHUERUS.
PRINCESS HARENI just stands there with a dumb look on her face, her Versace
gown draped in every jewel imaginable, then giggles.
KING AHASHUERUS looks over to the group of judges.
KING AHASHUERUS: Randy?
JUDGE #1: I'm just not feeling it, dawg. (looks to Judge 2) Paula?
JUDGE #2: I think she has a really nice manicure.
Judge #3 rolls his eyes.
JUDGE #3 Oh, you would say that Paula.
KING AHAHUERUS: Simon, what about you?
JUDGE #3 I think we're here to find the Shushanian BRIDAL. Not some chick
who's good for a weekend. Hey, (to the girl) you can give me your number
afterwards.
PRINCESS HARENI I got Botox for this?
HAMAN: (to girl) Just ignore Simon. (to the King) If you want to vote for
Princess Hareni to be Queen, just text message your vote to BRIDAL 03.
That's BRIDAL 03. Voting lines will open at the end of the show and remain
open until 12 AM standard royal time.
HAMAN escorts PRINCESS HARENI off the stage.
NARRATOR: When the turn came for Esther to go in to the king, she asked for
nothing except what Hegai, the king's eunuch, who had charge of the women,
advised. This immediately made her the Royal Staff favorite. And when
Esther was taken to King Ahasuerus into his royal palace, the king loved
Esther more than all the other women he had seen.
Esther enters, wearing a simple designer dress, a real natural beauty. KING
AHASHUERUS looks very pleased, then signals to HAMAN. She's the one. HAMAN
hands the king a crown.
NARRATOR: Therefore, ignoring the rules of text messaging, which you can do
if you are King, KING AHASHUERUS set the royal crown on Esther's head and
made her queen instead of Vashti. (KING AHASHUERUS does this in the
background as the NARRATOR speaks)
LIGHTS DIM