The Shaarai Shpielers of Congregation Shaarai Shomayim will present their 24th musical Purimshpiel, "Dice and Dolls," on Sunday, March 5, at 1:30 p.m. in the synagogue's sanctuary at 75 E. James St., Lancaster. Admission is free and open to the public.

The Purimshpiel is a comic production with the name coming from the Yiddish word "spiel," meaning "play." It features participants wearing costumes that depict the characters in the story in the Book of Esther. This story describes what transpired on Purim, in which Esther and her cousin, Mordechai, save the Jews from death at the hands of Haman, and the production shares why Purim has become an important Jewish holiday. Each year the Shpielers take the songs from a particular American musical, parody the lyrics of those songs, and merge the themes of that musical with the story of the Book of Esther.

This year, the group is using the 1950 Frank Loesser Broadway hit "Guys and Dolls" as its vehicle. The Shpielers will parody such songs as "If I Were a Bell," "I've Never Been in Love Before," I'll Know When My Love Comes Along," "Luck Be a Lady," "I Love You a Bushel and a Peck," "You're Rocking the Boat," and more.

Lead roles will be played by Lisa Miller as Esther, Kevin Babione as King Ahashuerus, Tyler Mandel as Mordechai, and Stu Blumenthal as Haman. The musical director is Alan Levine, and the play is written and directed by David Stameshkin.

For more information, contact the Shaarai Shomayim office at 717-397-5575 or email Stameshkin at david.stameshkin@fandm.edu.