You’re gonna hear them roar

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While most students were unwinding over spring break, members of a new musical called “Daniel in the Lion’s Den” were hard at work at Lehman College. Riverdale resident and music professor Penny Prince composed the score, though the script itself was a collaborative process involving the cast.

“This show is something different, not only from the content and the story but also from the way it was made,” said Lehman freshman Bryan Paredes, who plays the part of King Belshazzar. 

To create “Daniel,” Ms. Prince wrote the music and lyrics and then held auditions for Lehman students, alumni and community members. Once cast members were chosen, they themselves wrote the script.

“The script is much more sophisticated and deep,” Ms. Prince noted.

She wrote her first version of “Daniel” 25 years ago, for the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale, but the version debuting later this month has many new songs. Ms. Prince said her cast was so talented, she wanted to give each member a solo or at least a duet.

The music professor also grounded the performers in some stage basics.

“It’s very important to me that we’re communicating so I needed people who when they are singing, they are not just looking down but looking straight at the audience,” Ms. Prince said. “People who are willing to express themselves and write... And they had to make a commitment to coming every single week, which is hard.”

The story of the show is taken from the Bible, but “Daniel” takes some liberties with casting. In the musical, King Nebuchadnezzar and the title character went to female performers.

“I believe it’s the character and the personality that counts most and not the gender. So as long as it’s Darius doing what Darius did, it doesn’t matter to me if it’s a woman or a man,” Ms. Prince explained. “There are also more women in the show than men: it made sense that the person who was best at the part should get the part.”

“We took a lot of it from the Bible, but we try to inject some social consciousness from nowadays,” she added.

Another innovation upon the source text is a rap sung by King Belshazzar — “My first rap song,” Ms. Prince called it with a smile.

That role went to Mr. Paredes.

“I’m a rapper — that’s my strong suit — but I do do singing, and acting is my second love,” he said.

The performer said he has been rapping for the past nine years and had a high school musical under his belt. But the writing process for “Daniel” was an entirely new experience.

”When she told us we were going to write it ourselves, I got a little bit skeptical and was like, how is this going to work out? And then when that whole process started, that gave me a new opening because as a rapper I have written songs but a whole show, dialogs… that was new for me,” Mr. Paredes said. 

He was looking forward to having his friends and family see him perform, saying, “They all want to know what’s been going on with me. I want to show them what I’ve been up to.”

“Daniel in the Lion’s Den” is at Lehman College on Thursday, May 12 at 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. and Friday, May 13 at 11 a.m. The show is at the Bronx Library Center on Saturday, May 14 at 11 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. Tickets are free. Call 718-960-77963 for reservations. 

Lehman College, Penny Prince, musical, Bryan Paredes, Alice Guilhamon

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