"Which do they start with--the Purim shpiel or Megillat Esther?"

"I once heard that kreplach enables cheaper cuts and mince to be served in a bekovede way which was necessary in der alter heim when poverty-stricken Yidden wanted to serve meat on semi-Yomtovim like erev Yom Kippur, Hoshanah Rabbah and Purim." (source)

"This Purim, I'm getting dressed up as Queen Esther." (Glinert)