'Big River' proves to be big hit for Bedell

The first production at the River Campus' Bedell Performance Hall was a big success at the box office.

Three of the five performances of the musical "Big River" sold out -- Friday, Saturday and Sunday's matinee -- while Wednesday's opening show and Thursday night's performance were about 85 percent and 95 percent full, River Campus box office manager Ellen Farrow said Monday.

The Southeast Missouri State University Department of Theatre and Dance produced "Big River," a musical based on Mark Twain's "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn." It was the first major show in the 940-seat Bedell Performance, the biggest performing arts facility at the new River Campus arts school.

Farrow called the sales for the five performance "very good." The new Bedell has about twice the capacity of the Rose Theatre, which was the former stage for university productions, a fact that Farrow said puts sales of "Big River" tickets in perspective.

With the Bedell's newness also came a few hitches.

Robert Cerchio, assistant director of the Holland School of Visual and Performing Arts, said some people were upset Wednesday night about having to park away from the River Campus parking lot. Cerchio said he thinks they didn't know about the university's shuttle service for overflow parking from the Main Street parking lot in front of Hutson's Fine Furniture.

"It's like anything new," Cerchio said. "Once people realize that the shuttle is the next best thing to valet parking, they begin to use the service."

After Wednesday night, Cerchio said the information seemed to have gotten out. Shuttle service will always run if more than 500 tickets are sold, he said.

That means shuttles will be running when the first two touring shows -- the Shaolin Warriors martial arts troupe on Wednesday and the American Indian Dance Theatre on Saturday -- hit the Bedell stage. Both shows are sold out. Other touring shows -- "Late Night Catechism," St. Petersburg Ballet's "Swan Lake," the musical "Ring of Fire" and Hal Holbrook's "Mark Twain Tonight!" -- are also sold out, Farrow said.

Parking wasn't the only kink to be worked out. The theater and dance production also dealt with sound issues during the first big show, causing some noticeable troubles.

Dr. Kenn Stilson, theater and dance chair, said the problems weren't "major issues" but the new facility "will take a lot of tweaking."

Stilson said balancing the actors' real voices with the amplified voice proved to be a challenge in the new space.

The facility was only available for use starting at the beginning of October, and some work continues on the sound system. Technical director Jeff Lovett said technicians were installing patch panels Monday.

Stilson guaranteed that future university shows will experience no sound problems.

Local jazz bandleader Jerry Ford saw "Big River" opening night and again Sunday afternoon. He said at some points during the Wednesday night show the dialogue was hard to understand, but that did little to detract from the overall experience.

"It was great," Ford said. Ford said he was impressed by the new facilities and the performance, despite the bugs still being worked out.

msanders@semissourian.com

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