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Harley Erdman, professor of dramaturgy in the Department of Theater, will bring his research on a 1613 Spanish play to the stage in “Queen Esther: A Heretical Play from Early Modern Spain,” on Wednesday, Nov. 18, at 4:30 p.m. in the Rand Theater. The event is free and open to the public, with no registration required.

Written by Erdman and directed by Aaron Henne, the presentation is a co-production of UMass Theater and theatre dybbuk, where Henne serves as artistic director. It uses theatre dybbuk’s “Illuminated Lecture” format, which weaves theater and music into an academic lecture. Five student actors will support Erdman’s exploration of a play that landed its playwright, Felipe Godínez, in jail for heresy.

The lecture examines Godínez’s crypto-Jewish background and considers what made the play dangerous to the Inquisition. Erdman will explore how choices in the play might have conveyed hidden meanings to audience members of Jewish heritage who were forbidden from practicing their religion or expressing their culture publicly.

The collaboration brings together theater, Jewish studies and Spanish literature, using performance to engage audiences with scholarly research. Support comes from the Comparative Literature program, the Department of Judaic and Near Eastern Studies, and the Spanish and Portuguese Studies program.

Erdman is a dramaturg, playwright and scholar whose work focuses on adaptation and translation. His publications include “Women Playwrights of Early Modern Spain” and “Staging the Jew,” a study of Jewish representation on the American stage.

More information about the event can be found on the UMass Amherst Events Calendar.