Christopher Mason Sings of a Persian Queen
With his lyrics that satirize the rich, powerful and social of New York and Washington, CHRISTOPHER MASON might seem an incongruous choice for Purim party entertainment. But at the masked Purim Ball of the Jewish Museum at the Waldorf-Astoria on Tuesday night, Mr. Mason, a performer and composer, will do songs about Queen Esther. She was the Jewish wife of the King of Persia, and she saved the Jews there from the hand of the wicked Haman.
"At our first meeting, the ladies of the committee looked at me curiously over their spectacles," Mr. Mason, who is often compared with Noel Coward, said yesterday after singing a sample of his songs over the phone. "I could see they were wondering if I could pull it off. Yesterday, I sang the songs for the committee, and they were overjoyed. I was greatly relieved."
So, on Tuesday evening, more than 500 partygoers will listen to Mr. Mason compare feasts given by King Ahasuerus with banquets in the Waldorf. They will also hear references to Le Cirque, Saks Fifth Avenue, Mike Tyson and the Golden Door spa, all woven into the "Purim spiel." Mr. Mason has even managed to refer musically to the $50 million renovation and expansion of the museum that is now under way.
Mr. Mason, who grew up in England and was educated at Cambridge, had had only the dimmest memory, from his school days, of the Purim story. But, though his preferred topics in his numbers are the Kennedys, Ivana Trump, Pat Buckley and the like, it is not the first time he has tackled a religious subject.
"When I was a child I wrote two musicals, 'David and His Superlastic Sling,' and one for Easter, "He Has Risen,' " he said. "Those were my last breaths of religion."
Maybe not.