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New York-based actress and Gaithersburg native Janice Mays is returning home this weekend to stage a production of her original musical "Esther" at Covenant Life Church.

"Esther" is a retelling of the biblical Book of Esther, in which the young Jewish Queen of Persia must prevent the massacre of Jews while keeping her faith secret.

Mays collaborated on the musical with her fiancé, actor and composer Martin Landry. She describes the musical to others such as "Beauty and the Beast" and "Into the Woods."

"It's definitely contemporary," the 24-year-old said. "It's pop, but Martin's a big comedian at heart so there are a lot of comedic moments and big numbers."

The musical features an ensemble of 40-50 actors, all of whom are local high school students.

Mays admits there are slight differences between her production and the original story. She and Landry kept the story's major characters, including Esther's cousin Mordecai and the villainous Haman, but created an original character, Tala, who serves as Esther's best friend in their story. Another notable difference is the extra focus on Esther's character and self-growth, she said.

"We tried to stay pretty close to it overall, but there are some aspects we focus on more than others," Mays said.

"Esther" will be staged at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and again at 7 p.m. March 26 and 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. March 27 at Covenant Life Church on Muncaster Mill Road in Derwood. Tickets are $6 for adults and $4 for children and can be purchased on the church's Web site at www.covlife.org.