Richard Abanes

Richard Abanes is an American playwright, composer, lyricist, author, singer, and actor. His first book, Prophets of the Apocalypse: David Koresh and Other American Messiahs, was published in 1994. Since 1994 he has written/co-written twenty books (as of 2009) covering a broad range of topics. Abanes has appeared on stages in a production of "Yes! The Musical" (written by Andrew Beall & Neil Van Leeuwen), and performed the role of Judas in Jesus Christ Superstar with Rockstar. He has been a guest speaker at various institutions, including the Simon Wiesenthal Center, Caltech, Mensa, California Baptist University, and Biola University. In 2010, Abanes ceased his activities as an author/journalist to work in the field of show business. He left Saddleback Music in 2000 in order to devote more time to writing (see Marc Gunfire, "Will Success Spoil Rick Warren?," CNN, October 31, 2005), and has since appeared on stage in several musicals.