January 24, 2005 SELINSGROVE, (Pa.) – The Susquehanna University Chancel Drama will present the musical comedy In the Beginning Thursday through Saturday, January 27 to 29. Showtime is at 8 p.m. in Weber Chapel Auditorium. A free will offering will be received at the door. The first five books of the Old Testament get a good-natured ribbing in this hysterical tribute to all of those ordinary, everyday people who didn’t make it into the Bible. The premise of the play is that in the beginning God created more people than Adam and Eve. There were four other couples in this stage production of the Garden of Eden – Lydia and Romer, Dottie and Zeke, Avi and Arielle, and Mavis and Ben. But they were down-to-earth folks, never tempted by the forbidden fruit and therefore not interesting enough to make it into the pages of the Bible. Unremarkable though they may be, these hardy Biblical bystanders somehow survive calamity after calamity in outrageous fashion. The characters invent useful and practical devices, including Life Saver candy, escape enslavement in ancient Egypt and help a young man named Cain find his redemption. They even clean up after Moses, picking up the pieces of the Ten Commandments, according to this tale. An ensemble show made for a cast of strong singers and comic actors, In the Beginning features the riotous writing of David Hahn and a clever, high-spirited score by Maury Yeston, the Tony Award-winning composer/lyricist of Nine, Phantom, Grand Hotel and Titanic. Filled with great one-liners and hilarious situations, In the Beginning is a non-denominational crowd-pleaser. Renowned for its high quality performances, the Chancel Drama is a student organization promoting the word of God through the art of theatre. Each winter up to 60 students return early from their winter break to prepare a full-scale musical. Past musicals performed by Chancel Drama include Smoke On The Mountain, Children of Eden, Jesus Christ Superstar and Godspell. Contact: Victoria Kidd 570-372-4119 #vk#1903#