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Bayonne's Jewish community put a dramatic spin on the story of Purim this year by performing "The Megillah According to Broadway," a musical featuring show tunes with lyrics adapted to suit the holiday.

After Megillah reading last month at Temple Emanu-El on Kennedy Boulevard, a crowd of about 100 from Emanu-El and nearby Temple Beth Am delved into hot dogs and hamantashen while listening to a cast of seven replace "Tradition" with "Megillah," "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered" with "Farmesht, Fartummeled and Farblonhdget," and "Hello Dolly" with "Shalom Esther."

Emanu-El Rabbi Clifford Miller and Beth Am Rabbi Gordon Gladstone sang in the play, in addition to Miller's wife, Debby, and synagogue members Al Rosenfeld, Esther Newman, Iris Rothblatt, and Carol Keene. The group held several rehearsals in the weeks leading up to the performance, directed by Joyce Nestle (who also accompanied the singers on the piano).

"On Purim we do things backwards, so we will say thank you before the play instead of after it," Debby Miller said. "Joyce Nestle has done a fantastic job as director, and is not responsible for anything you hear tonight."

Instead, the lyrics were the original work of Norman Roth, a Jewish playwright known for his clever Purim Shpiels. Roth depicts Queen Vashti's refusal to cooperate with King Achashveirosh with the line "She doesn't have Heart," from the song "Heart" in "Damn Yankees". The troubles of the Jewish people were deemed a "tale as old as time" in Roth's version of "Beauty and the Beast," which also included poetic lines such as "Haman is so cruel, Esther is a jewel."

Other songs included adaptations of "Makin' Whoopie" from Whoopie, "Sit Down, You're Rockin' The Boat" from Guys and Dolls, "One" from A Chorus Line, "Hernando's Hideaway" from Pajama Game, and "Major General" from The Pirates of Penzance.

The performance ended with a twist on "Do You Hear the People Sing," with lyrics that noted "It is the story of Queen Esther, this is not Les Miserable." The entire play was displayed on a projector screen so the audience could sing along.

"We did (our Purim Shpiel) this way so people could join in and it could be maximally participatory," Debby Miller said.

After Emanu-El put on a rock 'n' roll themed Purim show a few years ago, the synagogue decided this year that it was time to attempt an elaborate shpiel for the second time.

"The campiness of it was a lot of fun, and the songs are funny," Nestle said. "Anybody who loves Broadway just has to love the silliness of this."