October 27, 2005

Corban College (formerly Western Baptist College) will present Christopher Fry’s The Firstborn Nov. 10-17 in the Psalm Performing Arts Center on campus in south Salem (click here for directions to Corban).

It will be the first theatrical production in the Psalm Center, which was dedicated in mid-October.

“We are excited to stage our productions on campus now, rather than finding venues in the community,” said Tamara McGinnis, director and head of Corban’s drama department. “I’ve wanted to produce The Firstborn for years, but the epic nature of the play requires a bigger facility than we have had access to.

“The play depicts the biblical story of Moses returning to Egypt from exile to ask Pharoah to free the Israelites from their slavery,” McGinnis continued. “In beautifully crafted language, Fry takes an intriguing look at the relationships among the major players.”

In the three-act play, Moses’ Hebrew family tries to accept Moses as the brother and uncle they have never known, while his Egyptian family tries to hold onto the brother and uncle they are losing.

The 11-member cast includes senior Jake Bullock in the role of Moses.

Performance times are 10 a.m. Nov. 10; 7:30 p.m. Nov. 11, 12, 17, 18 and 19.

Tickets are $7 for seniors and students; $9 for adults; they can be purchased at the Corban Bookstore. Call 503-375-7035 for reservations.

The 1958 Broadway production of The Firstborn written in 1946 featuring songs by Leonard Bernstein and was produced by the America-Israel Cultural Foundation in tribute to the nation of Israel’s tenth anniversary.

--By Karen L. Willoughby