In Esther, making its debut at A.D. Players now after being delayed by COVID for several years, the theater is making full use of the talents of Sharna Burgess, winner of Season 27 of Dancing With the Stars.
Burgess says it’s a dream role for her in that she gets to act in addition to show off her dancing skills.
“It’s all the things. It’s almost a dance opera. We are using dance as the story telling medium,” Burgess says.
A.D. Players hopes the production, complete with original songs, will be Broadway-bound, As many people know, the story of Esther (whether historically accurate or a morality play) is about the young woman — part of the Jewish diaspora that scattered Jews outside their ancestral homeland — who was given to the Persian king and becomes his queen, while hiding her true Jewish identity. Later, at great personal risk, she intercedes on behalf of her people when he, at the urging of one of his advisers, is prepared to initiate a pogram. The book in the Jewish and Christian Bible is said to take place between 483 BCE and 473 BCE.
Asked to describe her character, Burgess says Esther is young woman “divinely placed. She was living in a time when women did not necessarily have power.” First she was taken from her home, then taken from her uncle and given to the king where she became his favorite and eventually his queen.
“She has to adapt. She’s told to adapt. They change her name from Hadassah to Esther to not to give away her heritage.”
Burgess has undergone some adapting of her own. A ballroom dancer from Wagga Wagga, Australia, she started in jazz and ballet when she was about 4 years old. When she was 8 years old her grandmother took her to see a ballroom dancing competition and that was that. She started learning that within a year. When she was 12 they moved to Sydney and she had to pick one style and ballroom won out. “It seems to be what my body loves most,” she says. “It paid off in the end.” Now she’s making a further stretch, incorporating acting into her box of skills.
Esther was also a young woman who wanted more. Her first big moment was becoming queen and getting swept up in that world with all the advantages that brought, Burgess says. “And then she has a moment when she comes back to reality. There is a person in the palace seeking to undo her.
“This is a really big story of a young woman,” Burgess says. “Esther decides she can be strong for her people.”
Performances continue through September 22 at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday and 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at A. D. Players at The George Theater, 5420 Westheimer. Call 713-526-2721 or visit adplayers.org. $36-$75.
This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2024.
